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last all-Harley final and I got him this time." Krawiec was the number-one qualifier at the last two events in Denver and Sonoma, but he slipped to third in Brainerd behind Matt Smith and Hec- tor Arana Jr., each of whom are riding EBR-bodied V-twins. Smith took delivery of his EBR bodywork just days before the Brainerd race and promptly set the track speed record with a VOL. 55 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 21, 2018 P29 198.47-mph blast. Krawiec started from the number-three spot and quickly advanced with wins against rookie Ryan Oehler, Mark Paquette and Arana Jr. Krawiec ran between 6.90 and 6.91 in all three elimina- tion rounds while the best any of his opponents could muster was a 6.95 by Arana's Lucas Oil EBR. "I have a good motorcycle under me right now," Krawiec said. "I know if it's not winning it's probably because of me. I qualified number one at the last couple of races and didn't get the job done and here I am, the number-three qualifier and I win the race. To me, it doesn't matter where I qualify. It's just great to come out and run well. I have a very consistent motorcycle. I ran between 6.88 and 6.91 all weekend long. You need that to win races. You have to adapt to changes. Matt [Hines, crew chief] made awesome calls on my motorcycle. Going into the final, Andrew and I sort of each did our own thing and my bike liked the changes we made." Krawiec is now a perfect 4-0 in final rounds this season and his 47 wins are just one behind Hines for the all-time lead in the class, although Krawiec has competed in 59 fewer events. "Perfect in final rounds; I like that," Krawiec said. "That's a number we want to keep on the plus side. At this time of the year, it's all about rolling into the Countdown with momentum and I feel very confident. I lost two races in Denver and Sonoma because I didn't do a very good job as a rider. Here, I felt like we addressed a few of those issues, especially that .010 [reaction time] in the final. When you are coming off a couple of races where you get your butt beat, you tend to be a little more ag- gressive. With the bike I have, I know that if I'm not winning, it's most likely because of me." Hines worked his way to the final following wins against the Suzuki entries of Karen Stoffer, White Alligator Racing's Jerry Savoie and Denso Buell's Angie Smith. After the final, Krawiec now holds a 15-9 edge over his teammate in all-Harley finals. Hines is also winless in four final rounds this season, but the news isn't all bad. In spite of the loss to Krawiec, Hines still holds a slight 11-point lead in the standings with one event remaining before the start of the six-race playoffs. Hines, Krawiec, Arana Jr. LE Tonglet, Savoie and Matt Smith have clinched their spots in the playoffs while Scotty Pollacheck and Angie Smith are reasonably secure. At the tail end of the field, the battle to fill the final two spots is intense with Angelle Sampey, Hector Arana Sr., Jim Underdahl, Steve Johnson, Joey Gladstone, Cory Reed and Ryan Oehler all in the mix. Since the upcoming U.S. Nationals in In- dianapolis features a points-and- a-half structure, the field remains wide open. Kevin McKenna Eddie Krawiec (pictured) faced off with teammate Andrew Hines in the final and came out the winner at Brainerd.