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/1119655
IN THE WIND P46 Hines Wins Again I t took Screamin' Eagle Harley- Davidson's Andrew Hines nearly 15 years to win 50 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle events, and at the rate he's going now, he might well knock off another 50 titles before he's done. After suffering through a winless 2018 season, Hines has gone on an epic tear this season with four wins in the first five races. Hines' latest vic- tory came in Richmond, Virginia, where he stopped teammate Eddie Krawiec in the final round. Kicking off the final with identi- cal reaction times, Hines nosed ahead at the finish line to win by inches, 6.845 to 6.858. It was Hines' 52nd-career victory, by far the most for a Pro Stock Motor- cycle racer. It also came on the hottest weekend of the year, with temperatures in the 90s on all three days. "This was a hot one, for sure," Hines said. "It was hot, but we've developed a great hot weather tune-up for our Harley-Davidson Street Rods. We took what we've learned over the last few weeks and used it to improve the tune- up. I work on these bikes, and we never go to the starting line with the same tune-up twice. We're always trying something new. "It was also cool to win here in Richmond. I went to the final round last year but lost to LE [Tonglet]. This is a great track for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. It's pool table flat, and we don't have to worry about a single bump. That takes a lot off your mind as a rider." Winning four of the first five races of the season has been no accident for Hines, who now has a 17-1 record in elimina- tion rounds to start the season. His only loss came in the final round of the Las Vegas Four- Wide event when an electrical malfunction prevented his Street Rod from starting. Hines de- livered another dominant per- formance in Richmond, which began with a 6.812-second run in qualifying that led the 16-bike field and set the Virginia Motor- sports Park track record. From there, Hines made his way past rookie Jianna Salinas and Ryan Oehler before facing reigning world champion Matt Smith's Denso EBR in the semi-final round. Smith figured to be one of the few riders who could chal- lenge Hines, but he came up short in a thrilling 6.837 to 6.856 side-by-side match. "That was a big win to get past Matt," Hines said. "We were told that he went back to the engine that he ran last November in Pomona; the one that he won the championship with. It's good to know that we can run with him when he's got his best stuff in the bike. We've been busy building new bikes, so we haven't done much engine development since last year. We still need to find a bit of speed because we're making up all our performance in the first half of the track." Hines defeated teammate Krawiec in the final round in Gainesville and Charlotte, but he knows that streak may come to an end soon. Krawiec, a four- time NHRA Champion, debuted a new Harley Street Rod in Richmond, and without any test- Andrew Hines won yet again in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class in Richmond, Virginia.