on almost every run this week-
end until we finally hit the sweet
spot," Hines said. "We made a
conscious decision to try a lot of
different things just to see what
worked and what didn't. In some
ways we looked lost but believe
me, there was a method to the
madness. We're gearing up for
the last races of the season and
a big run at another champion-
ship. Of course, I want to win
some races. I hate that I haven't,
but I think we're going to fix that
problem soon."
The Sonoma round was also
the venue for the annual Mickey
Thompson Pro Bike Battle, a
special $25,000 to win invita-
tional event for the top eight rid-
ers in the class based on qualify-
ing results. Matt Smith earned
the prize when he defeated
Eddie Krawiec via a holeshot:
6.793 to 6.764. It was Smith's
first win in the special event.
"I'm out here racing without
a sponsor, so this means a lot
to me; I could use the money,"
Smith said. "We had a great
bike today but in the final round
I figured that I was a couple of
hundredths behind Eddie, so I
did what I needed to do in order
get him off the starting line. It
worked. We got the advantage
we needed and it was enough to
get the win. This is huge for our
program."
The Pro Stock Motorcycle
competitors will make their next
appearance on the NHRA Mello
Yello tour in Brainerd, Minne-
sota, August 17-19.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL
1. LE Tonglet (Suz)
2. Andrews Hines (H-D)
IN
THE
WIND
P42
Tonglet's Suzuki (near lane) went
up against Andrew Hines' Harley-
Davidson in the NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle final.
