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Round 6: National Trail Raceway NHRA WINSTON DRAG RACING SERIES (Above) Antron Brown claimed his second Pro Stock Bike title of the season at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals with a narrow 7.35-to7.37 win over former six-time NHRA champion Dave Schultz. (Left) After a successful rookie season in 1998, Brown and his Team 23 crew ha'(e come alive in 1999 with two wins in the first six events of the year. With the win, Brown Is now ranked second in the points standings, behind Team Winston's Angelle seeling. By Kevin. McKenna COLUMBUS, OHIO, JUNE 10-13 ith each passing event, NHRA Pro Stock Bike racing is becoming more and more competitive. Case in point: Antron Brown's victory at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus. Brown downed two-wheel legend Dave Schultz in the final to claim his second win of the season, but in all honesty, the title could just as easily have gone to Schultz, or points leader Angelle Seeling, or defending champ Matt HineS, or anyone of a half-dozen other riders ~ho 'have dramatically improved their programs for the 1999 season. Brown's second NHRA Pro Stock Bike win came much harder than his first, and to hear the 23-year-old secondyear phenom tell it, he wouldn't have it any other way. Brown, who rides the Team 23 Suzuki owned by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent, won his first national-event title in April at W 40 the Castrol Nationals in Dallas after all four of his opponents red-lighted. This time, he had no such luck, and he was forced to win each round by using a combination of quick starting-line reactions, solid tuning calls by crew chief Mark Peiser, and sheer determination. "The best part about this win is that nobody red-lighted against me and nobody broke - we won this one because we had the best bike, so now I don't have to hear about all that anymore," Brown said shortly after downing Schultz's Sunoco Suzuki in a close final, 7.35 to 7.37. "My first win was kind of a fluke. I mean, a win is a win, but how many times do you get four red-lights against you? That never happens. This time, our whole team stayed focused, and we were able to win a lot of close runs." From the start of the event, it looked like Matt Hines would be a guaranteed finalist after the reigning NHRA champ unloaded a 7.28 in qualifying on his Vance & Hines Eagle One Suzuki. Just one week after winning the Fram Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, Hines qualified six-hundredths of a second ahead of Team Winston's Angelle Seeling and cruised through the first two rounds of eliminations unscathed with wins over Rob Short (on the field's only Kawasaki) and former NHRA Sportsman Motorcycle Series champion Craig Treble with runs of 7:30 and 7.32, respectively. So confident were Hines and his father I crew chief, Byron, tha t they passed on an opportunity to test in Chicago the previous week and even sat out the final qualifying session when it became apparent that no one could touch their 7.28 blast. "We hurt an engine in Chicago and we didn't want to risk hurting another one by testing," Hines said. "When I made that 7.28 run, I could tell it was an awesome run. I expected maybe a low 7.30, but the .28 surprised me. The bike is working perfectly now, and we have a combination that works well in hot weather." ~ One thing that Hines didn't plan on was the riding error that cost him a semifinal-race. win against Schultz. Hines double-clutched the bike on the starting line and slowed to a 7.43 while Schultz cruised into his first final of the season with a 7.37. Seeling, who along with Hines was a co-favorite for the title, watched her chances to extend her lead in the points evaporate in the semis against Brown, who got off to a quick start and held off the fast-closing Team Winston Suzuki, 7.382 to Seeling's quicker-but-Iosing 7.377. '1 knew I left on Angelle a little, but at the finish line, it was too close to tell," Brown recalled. "I thought 1 was ahead, but my bike hit a little bit of a bump near the finish line and it moved me over to the right. When we went across the finish line, we were looking over at each other, but I don't think either of us knew who won until the .win light came on in my lane." Schultz, who shocked the Pro Stock Bike fraternity by announcing an engine-leasing program with the Vance & Hines team earlier in the weekend, backed up his semifinal finish in Chicago with another strong showing in Columbus. Pro Stock Bike's all-time winningest rider, who has been winless since the 1997 Gatornationals, qualified solidly in the fourth spot with a 7.37 and remained consistent in eliminations with runs of 7.37, 7.38, and 7.37 in his wins over Brian Ayers, Fred Camarena and Hines, respectively. "1 started my career with Vance & Hines, and we had a lot of good years together," said Schultz, who was tabbed to ride the Vance & Hines factory bike after Terry Vance retired in 1987 and has since become the sport's winningest Pro Stock Bike racer, with 42 national-event titles. "My own engines weren't horrible by any means, but I am happy to get on Byron's engine-leasing program and to have the same equipment that everyone else has. I can live with that, because the part of racing that J enjoy the most is all the tuning and tweaking that has to be done to these bikes. That's one area where I feel my experience will be a plus." Schultz aborted three of his qualifying runs when' the bike made hard moves toward the retaining wall, but he fixed the problem in elimina tions by replacing an out-of-balance rear tire. In the final against Brown, Schultz ran another 7.37, but it wasn't enough, as Brown gained a sizable lead atthe start and made it hold up for the win. "1 knew I left ahead of Dave, because when I popped the clutch, I didn't'see him," Brown said. "By the time 1 got to half track and plugged the'bike into fifth gear, I said to myself, 'I got him: because I knew he wasn't close enough to come around me. I was so excited 1 almost didn't get the bike stopped. "Winning our second race proves that our team has arrived," Brown continued. "And to beat Dave in the final is even more special. He was a big part of my learning curve last year; he's the guy who taught me how to be a racer,.and I'm glad to see him back in the final. Right now, the variety and competition in this class is awesome. There are a lot of teams that can win right now, and that helps to keep the fans interested. It's a win-win situation for us, and for NHRA. I think we showed that it's not just Matt and Angelle anymore." CIf National Trail Raceway Columbus, Ohio Results: June'lG-13, 1999 (Round 6 of 14) PRO STOCK FINAL: 1. Antron Brown (Suz) 7.35, '183,79; Dave Schultz (Suz), 7.37, 182,80, Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - Madison, Illinois, June 24-26 Round 8 . Denver, Colorado, July 15ยท18