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/127961
'.'. .. l:: ;~ - ~ ... '...: ---- , ..I., ".'r" ·' ,..".~ "'...... n-ei ' • • " ' • .• '~>:""". ' 'C " ' By Kevin McKenn a INDIANAPOLIS, IN, SEPT. 2-7 o r Malt Hines, racing has. never been a bout the money, but even , the soon-to-be two-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycl e ch ampion couldn't help but be o verw helmed by the $35,000 windfall he got for winning the U.S. Nationals titl e at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hin es m ad e a clea n sweep o f drag ra cing's oldest and most prestigi ou s event , winning th e speci al elite eightbik e NHRA Pro Bike Dash on Saturday and fo ll o w in g it up ' w ith the U .S . Nationals title on Monday. Co unting the long stand ing $10,000 bon u s tha t th e NHRA posted for aI1Y rider who cou ld w in bo th ev en ts, H in es left Ind y. more t h a n $3 5,000 r ic h e r th an w h e n he arrived . "The mo ney is grea t, but it's nothing compared to the feeling of wi nning the U.S. Nati onal s," sa id H in es , who has won 19 nati onal ev ents in his three-year car eer bu t had n e ve r w o n t h e U.5 . Nationals, until Angelle Seeling red lighted against him in the final round . F 22 . DRAG RACING ;.R n 0:Indianapolis Raceway Park ou d1 NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SER IES > " "" . ....... .. ~ "'".~ . . lk .1 ....... (Above) On Saturday at the U.S. Nationals , Matt Hines destroyed the competition in the special eight-bike NHRA Pro Bike Dash to earn the $15,000 first-place check with a win over Ange lle See ling. (Below) Two days later, Hines padded his bank account by an add itiona l $20,000 when he beat See ling again to claim the U.S. Nationa ls title. "All yea r lon g, one of my goa ls was to come her e and w in th e Pro Bike Dash" and th en win the U.S. National s, but. u nt il yo u d o it, yo u never know ho w , good it's goi ng to feel." I As u su al, th e Va nce & Hines Eag le On e Su zu ki was the quickest bik e 'in the fie ld, as Hines collected his ninth pole position in 10 races, with a track-record 7.33, but on race d ay, air and track conditio ns cha nged dram a ticall y , a n d H ines' perfo rm ance adva n tage d w ind led by the final ro u nd, in w hich he, fo u n d hims elf facing Seeli ng's Team Winston bike witho ut the benefit of lane, choice. I "The conditions were totally differen t today than they were during qualifying," said Hines, who actually sat ou t th e last tw o of five scheduled qualifying sessions because he was convinced tha t his spot on the pole was secure. "We w er e having problems getting the bike off the starting line all day. The Top Fuel cars we re ru nning 4.505 at 315 m ph , bu t we we re spinning the tire in low gea r. It was really stra nge ." Despite the tire spin, H ines man aged to ov erpower ro und-o ne oppo nent Reggie Co le, 7.41-7.80, and to ge t pas t Ron Ayers' Mac Too ls Suz u ki in ro u nd two by a 7.43-7.61 count. Hines advanced to his ninth fina l in 10 races this yea r wi th a 7.457-7.854 wi n over An tro n Brow n' s Tea m 23 en try (which is owned by N FL cornerback Troy Vincent of the Philad elp h ia Eag les) , but for th e firs t tim e in m a n y r a ce s , h e wa sn ' t t h e cl ear-cu t favorite to grace Victory Lane . Seeling, who hasn 't los t to a nyone but H in es since mid -Ju ne, ran t hreeth ousan d th s of a second quick er th an , Hines did in the semis wi th a 7.454 win over Steve Johnson, earning her choice of lanes for the final ro und. "We be lieve the left lane is probably .02 to .03 seconds quicker than the rig ht, so that should give us an advantage in the final, " Seeling's team owne r, George ,