Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/103448
VOL. 48 ISSUE 44 DECEMBER 13, 2011 P95 When you're young like he is, you don't think about things. You just go out and do it. That's what made him so dangerous in the early part of the season. Then, once you start to realize what's at stake, it can rattle you. When he was winning he made a couple of comments that made me think he was getting a little too confident. That might have been his undoing. From day one, I have always felt welcomed here. Terry and Byron [Hines] took a chance when they hired me because I didn't have much experience, but I think they knew that I was going to put my heart into this. After it was over, Byron kind of nodded and said, 'Hey, you're doing an awesome job' and that's all he really needed to say. I never wanted them to look back and say to me, 'You didn't get it done.' It's great to walk into our shop and see this big trophy sitting here. I'll always be grateful for the opportunity they gave me and it feels really good to be able to give something back in the form of a championship. I know it means the world to them and it The Vance & Hines team de- means the world to Harley-Davidfines motorcycle drag racing. son. They're in this to sell bikes, How does it feel to be a part of but they also love winning chamthat legacy? pionships. Even though you had a sizable lead heading into the final event, were you nervous? I definitely was especially after I saw the weather report, and realized it might be possible for someone to get bonus points for setting a record. The kid [Arana Jr.] has a fast bike and if he had set the record, I'd only be one round ahead of him instead of two. Thankfully, that didn't happen. On Saturday night after qualifying, I felt really good. I had a lot of confidence and I told myself. 'This is mine.' Nobody was going to take the championship from me. I just knew I had to race smart and everything was going to work out. 90-95 Krawiec Interview.indd 95 Krawiec says he'd like to win that third championship in 2012. Finally, have you already started thinking about a third championship? Three. That's the magic number. It might sound greedy, but I really want one more championship. That would put me in a pretty elite group. If you look at the careers of Matt and Andrew [Hines], Angelle [Sampey] and John Myers, they all have three championships. That's where I want to be. Believe me, I'm grateful for the two I have, but one more would be an awesome accomplishment. Only Dave Schulz [five titles] has more and it might be a long time before anyone ever wins five, but three puts you in some pretty good company. CN 12/9/11 2:24 PM