DRAG RACING
NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL ROUND / NOVEMBER 17, 2019
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY / POMONA, CALIFORNIA
P70
BY KEVIN MCKENNA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT POLITO
S
ome things simply defy explana-
tion and the Pro Stock Motor-
cycle class at the Auto Club
NHRA Finals in Pomona is certainly
one of them. Screamin' Eagle Harley-
Davidson's Andrew Hines entered the
season-ending event as the runaway
points leader and needed to do noth-
ing more than win the first round of
eliminations in order to secure his
record-tying sixth Mello Yello series
championship. Throughout his career,
Hines has failed to advance less than
20-percent of the time but a rare red-
light start made for an early exit. Hines
fouled against rookie Scrappers Su-
zuki's Jianna Salinas, who was com-
pleting her first season in the class.
Sidelined for the rest of the day, Hines
watched in agony, waiting for rivals
Matt Smith or Jerry Savoie to pass him
for the title. It never happened.
In one of the most surprising devel-
opments in this or any other season,
Salinas went on to win her first race,
becoming just the fifth female to win
an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event.
Salinas defeated Slick 50 Suzuki's
Steve Johnson in the second round
and then further impacted the points
battle when she defeated Smith's
Denso EBR in the third round. Smith
was well ahead at half-track before
his V-twin engine expired in a cloud
of smoke. That ended Smith's bid to
repeat as champion and sent Salinas
to her first final round.
Paired with Savoie's White Alligator
Suzuki, Salinas was, once again, a
big underdog, but in another bizarre
round, Savoie's bike encountered a
HINES
CHAMPIONSHIP
ANDREW HINES
