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Draa Rac ine b b Round 14: Pomona Raceway .. , By Kevin McKenna Photos by Mike Basso ,. ;: ::liii ~ IIliii hi .. :l ¥ :ii o CD CD CD ~ Q) .c E Q) u Q) C 40 POMONA, CA, NOV.1l -14 s far as Pr o Stock Bike fan s were concern ed, the a nn ua l Auto C lub of So u t hern Ca liforni a Finals at Pom ona Raceway easily qualified as amoung the most intense and exciting races in NHRA history. An g ell e Seelin g a n d M att Hines, the series, two most domi nant rid ers over the last three seasons, entered the eve nt in a virtual d ead loc k fo r the 199 9 Winston cha mpionshi p. Ne ver before had a tw o-wh eel points race come down to the las t ev ent, and the po ten tial of a winne r-take-all final round was th e talk of th e pit a re a for da ys . Hines, w ho once trailed the Team Winsto n rid er by a whopping 144 points in the sta ndings, had staged a heroi c la te-season charg e and had t ri mmed Seeling 's lead to 'ju s t 14 points, or the equivalent of less than one round of competition, headin g int o the final even t of the millennium. Th e battle int ensified during qu alifying as Hines claime d the POde Wl a I S'th l track reco rd 7.19, we ll ahea 0 f eein g, who pl a ced third wit h a 7.24. Hines appeared to be zeroing in on his target. "O u r 7.19 run w a s pretty stou t," Hines sa id . "Angelle has never been in a points battl e like this, but neither have I. After all we' ve been through this seaso n; the probl em s' we had with the bike a t th e beginn ing of th e year a n d the first-round losses, I' m thankful to eve n come in her e with a shot at the poi nts . All I can do is d o my best and see wha t happens." The w ai t to crown a champion was no t a lon g one. The much-hyped final- (Above) Craig Treble (Iar lane) left the starting line seven-thousandths 01 a second too soon in the Pro Stock Bike linal and red-lighted the title away to Antron Brown (near lane). who rode his Team 23 Suzuki to a 7.25 lor the victory. (Left) Angelle See ling saw her dreams 01 a championship disappear after cutting a late light and losing to Greg Underdahl in round two. round sho wd own never materialized , as Seeling got cau ght napp ing on the starting line in the second round again st Greg Underdahl , who beat her 7.25 w ith a 7.35 effort. Hines , need ing only to win the round to clin ch the champion ship, quick ly o u tm uscle d Team 23' s To ny Mullen, 7.25 to 7.34, to move in front by ju st eig h t p oin ts and clin ch his thirdstra ight NHRA Wins ton title. "As soon as [ saw Angelle lose, my hea rt started pounding," Hines said . "I knew all I had to do was win one round to pass her, but I wa s thinking about the last race in Houston, w her e she lost in the semifina ls and then I got beat right in the same round. I'm jus t glad to finally ge t it over with. I've never had a year like this, an d I'm not sure I'd wa n t to go th rough another one. I'm su re it was p retty dra matic for the fans, but I know it took its toll on Angelle and I." Seeling, wh o 'Won a career-high five races, and led the points standings for 12 of th e firs t 13 races, was obviously distra ught after the loss, which dropped the Winston team to second place in the points standi ngs for the second straight yea r. "A lways a b rid esm aid , n e ver a brid e," Se eling s a id . "This ch ampionsh ip could easily have been ours. Right no w , I feel horribl e, not for myself, but because I let my team down. Th ey gave me th e best mot or cycl e all year and I d idn't ge t the job don e. Right no w, I don't eve n wa nt to thi nk abo u t racin g. I'm sure in a couple of weeks, I'll be read y to g o ou t a nd kick ass , but right now, I coul d care less." In the end , Hines wasn' t arou nd to celebra te the victory. Instead, that honor went to the rid er who many predict will cha llenge him and Seeling for the 2000 NHRA titl e, Team 23' s An tron Brown, who won hi s third rac e of th e se ason when another up- and-coming star, Craig Treb le, red-li ghted in the final round. "After all w e w ent throu gh 't his weekend, thi s is unbelievable," Brown sai d . "We had all kind s of problems with the bike, but my crew chief, Mark Peiser, stayed with it, and in the final, the bike finall y came aro und . As soon as [ saw his red -light, I go t so excited I got int o the rev-limiter, and rode tow ard the cen terline, and the bike still went a 7.25. It was aweso me."