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/127945
Township Raceway Park By Kevin McKenna ENGLISHTOWN, NJ, MAY 13-16 he entire Pro Stock Bike field had been waiting for this moment for the last six months. In front of a packed house at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, Matt Hines coasted down the track, the engine in hi~ Vance & Hines/Eagle One Suzuki silent, as his opponent, upstart Gary Tonglet, drove away for the win with a 7.44. Hines knew his win streak, which began late last season at the Sear·s Craftsman Nationals in Topeka and ran through the recent Pennzoil Nationals in Richmond - a span of six races - wasn't going to last forever, but he didn't expect it to end the way it did. . "When I got up there, I didn't have my head on straight," said Hines, who lost in the first round for just the second time in his three-year career. "When the tree came on, I was just sitting there, so I had a really bad light. Then, when I finally left the line, the transnussion broke, so I wasn't going to win anyway. A perfect season would have been great, but I honestly never thought we'd do it. At least now I can concentrate on winning the championship without the distraction of cltasing an undefeated season." There to pick up the pieces after Hines' early exit was Angelle Seeling, the only .rider who has consistently been able to put any pressure on the reigning champ this year. Seeling qualified her Team Winston Suzuki third in the field, with a 7.37, behind Hines' track-record 7.28 and John Smith's 7.34. In eliminations, she picked up the pace WIth a career-best 7.28 in round one against c.J. Smith's Pete Briggsowned Lake Mortgage Kawasaki. "I was sitting there right behind Matt ~hen he lost, but instead of being glad, It made me so nervous I started to shake," Seeling said. "I knew' I had a great opportunity to get back into the points battle, and 1 didn't want to blow it. However, just because Matt lost, that doesn't mean it was any easier to win. There were a lot of other bikes that were fast, and I knew if our team didn't put 100 percent into this, we weren't going to get the job done." . Seeling nearly lost that opportunity WIth a late 1Ight of/her own in round two against her Star Performance teammate, John Myers. In that round, Seeling left more than two-tenths of a second after the green light, but caught a break when Myers red-lighted. . "I've lost a couple of races this year on red lights and I didn't want it to,hap- (Top) Angelle seeling won for the first time In 1998 when she rode her Teem Winston Suzuki to a victory at the Mopar Parts Nationals In Englishtown, N.J. (Above) Greg Underdahl, neer lane, ran a 7.39 In the final but was no match for seeling I who made her fourth straight 7.2-second run with a 7.28 for her third career victory.