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RACING Round 13: Mem Motorsports Park DRAGAWINSTON DRA::.,::G~~~~~~ phis NR H RACINGSER/~ (Left) In a rematch oflhe Sears Craftsman Nationals final a week earlier, Man Hines (near ยท lane) set a track record with a 7.35 and reversed the outcome of the Topeka final with a win over Angelle seeling, who red-lighted . (Below) Hines (center), who clinched his first NHRA Pro Stock Bike championship at the most recent event In Topeka, won in Memphis for the seventh ti me in 13 races. By Ke vin Mc Kenna MEMPHIS, TN, OCT. 3-5 or the better p a rt o f a d ecad e, Dav e Schultz a nd Jo h n Mye rs have been the biggest stars in the N I-I RA Pro Stock Motorcvcle class, but now it appears that man tle has been passed to Matt Hines and Angelle Seeling . Schu ltz and Myers are still two of the wi nni ngest rid ers in a ll of d rag racing. but after meetin g in the final for the s econd tim e in a s m an y wee ks . Hines and Se eling have begun to d evelop a serious rivalry. H i n es cli nc he d hi s fir s t W in ston champions hip at the recent Sears Craftsm an Nati onal s i n To peka , but w as emba rrassed in the final by Seeling, who used a qu icker reaction to take the win d espite her slowe r elapsed time. When Hin es arrived at Memphis Motorsports Park four days later , he had n't forgotten the Tope ka loss, and made it dea r tha t his sole mission was to redeem himself. And that he did. "I'd be lyin g if I said the loss in Topeka wa sn 't on m y m ind th is weekend," said Hin es, w ho won for th e seven th time in 13 races th is yea r wi th a track record 7.35 in the final after Seeling red lighted. "Even though we' ve already go t the cha mpionship wrapped up , I'm trying to finish the season stro ng . Nobody likes to lose like I did in Topeka, and I didn't want it to happen agai n here ." Seeling d id , however, s teal some of Hines' thunder in qualifying when she ran a 7.36 late Saturday afternoon. Hines had ea rlier run a 7.37 to tem pora rily claim the top spo t, and most, indud ing Seeling , figured that air and track conditions Satu rda y wou ldn 't permit anyo ne to run quic ker. "I could n't believe it when they told me I ran quick er than Ma tt," said Seeling, who ea rn ed he r firs t $1000 Wa x Sho p Low Q ua lifier Bonus che ck since t he Fram N a tio na ls in A p r il. "We were n' t even goi ng to run d u ring tha t qua lifying session , but I broke an engi ne earlier in the weeke nd and we wanted to test the new on e before elimina tions. Obviously, it's as good if not better than the one we broke." On race d ay , there was little doubt tha t the tw o seco nd- vea r racers were going to meet in the final round . Hines has had the low elapsed time each of the first th ree round s with co nsis ten t runs of 7.36, 7.38 and 7.37 in his wins over Rob Short, Gary Ton gle! an d reigning NH RA champ Schu ltz, respectively. Seeling nearl y matched Hines as she rod e her St ar Pe rfo rma nc e-powered Su zuk i GSXR past Joe DeSantis, Steve Johnson , a nd Jo hn Smith with three straig ht 7.39 efforts . Hines, who has ad m itt ed tha t he' s had tr ouble ma inta in in g his intensity level at times this season, had no trouble gettin g pumped up to race Seeling in the final. "By the time we staged for the final, I was feeling very motivated," said Hines, w ho had his best reaction time of the event, a .412, and made the qu ickest run of the wee kend with a 7.35 agains t Seeling's 7.38. "I wasn 't too crazy abou t my reacti on times this weeken d , but I man- aged to ge t it togeth er fo r th e final. Now, I'd like to finis h th e yea r with a brig ht s hi ne by wi nni ng the (Wins ton Finals) in Pom ona." For her part, Seeli ng con ti nu ed to rebound from a slow start, a nd pa ssed John Smith for fourth place in the points battle by reac hing the final. She also figures to be in the hunt for the title at the season-end ing event in Pomona, Ca lifornia. "I wan ted to wi n, but I ca n' t co mplain about being in two fin als in two weeks," said Seeling, who remains on e of the most popula r rid ers on the N HRA to u r. "I d on't feel so bad beca use th is one wasn' t m y fault. Even if I hadn't red-lighted, th e re was no w ay I w as go ing to catch Matt. We'll be read y for (C" him in Pomon a, though. " M emphis M otorspor1s Park Memphis, Tennessee Results: October 3-5,1997 (Round 13 of 14) PR O ST OC K FIN AL: 1 Ma lt H ines (Sut.) 7..35,182.00; 2. An~el1e St. t"ling (Suz) 7.38.181.92 (foul). " Upcoming Round: Round 14 - Pomona, Calitomla, November 6-9 r-, 0\ 0\ ,..... N' N .... Q) .g ..... U o 41