Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Hines and Harlev land back-tcHJ NHRA Pro Stock Motorcyd STORY AND PHOTOS BY KEviN McKENNA What was the turning point in your season? Even though I didn't win, the race in Denver was huge. We'd made some changes to the bike, and that was the first race where I really felt like I had the best bike in the field. I red-lighted in the second round, but we figured out that the bike was reacting so quick that it was pulling the front tire up and out of the staging beam. We stumbled onto that in Denver and made some adjustments to fix it. At that point, I started to get a lot more confident about my riding. The points battle was close all year. How much pressure did you feel late in the season? The team never put any pressure on me, but I put plenty on myself. I lost in the first round at Indy, which is our biggest race, and that really hurt. So when we went to the next race in Reading [Pennsylvania], I knew I needed to step up to the plate. My team is really good about letting me work out my own issues. My dad is a great coach, but he's not the kind of guy who's riding us all the time. He's had GT and I in the trailer before and told us, "Hey, you're slacking off," but that's all he needs to say. He's calm, but he gets his point across. The only time he gets wound up is when we have a mechanical problem that could have been prevented or if somebody forgets to do something that's really simple. In Memphis, we had a problem on the first qualifying run, and the bike just blew the tire off, and he pulled the whole team together and told us to make sure that was the last foolish mistake of the year. We all got the message. You're brother Matt won three championships, then gave up riding, to work on the bike and help your career. Is he a better coach or crew chief? Matt has been a huge help to me as a rider. He critiques my mistakes, and he's taught me a lot about dealing with pressure. I used to get wound up before a run, depending on who I had to race against. He's the one who convinced me that it doesn't matter. He taught me to focus and just go do the same thing every time and ignore who's in the other lane. He's been there for every run I've ever made, and I've been around for most of his, so we work really well together. That being said, he's very underrated as a tuner. He and my dad make an awesome team. They are the reason that we've been able to do what no one else has - which is win two championships on a Harley-DaVidson. You beat GT Tonglet for the championship. What was it like racing against your teammate? That was really cool. GT and I talked at beginning of the year, and he said that it would be great for it to come down to last few races. and that's exactly how it happened. Either one of us could have won it, but I managed to catch a few lucky breaks. We battled hard for the championship. but there was never a time when Iwanted to see him get beat. He's not just my teammate, he's my best friend, so it would be impossible for me to root against him. What's it like having a huge corporation like HarleyDavidson behind you? GT and I get do to some really cool things because of our relationship with Harley-DaVidson. We went to the Love Ride in Valencia, California, this year and got to hang out with Jay Leno and B.B. King. We also get to go to Sturgis every year and see what goes on behind the scenes. We also did a big display in downtown New York, and that was really awesome. I've done a lot of things I wouldn't have been able to do with anyone else, so I'm really thankful for it. Now that you're 22 and have been racing for four years, how much do you think you've matured? A ton. I was just a punk kid when I started. One year I was follOWing Matt around, and then I had a Pro Stock bike the following season. I beat Matt the first time we ever raced, and I don't let him forget that. It's still hard for me to believe that I was able to step into the Harley program at such a young age. I had a chance to turn it down. but I'm glad I didn't. It's the best move I've ever made. How important was it for you to be the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in the sixes? With the reputation that Vance & Hines has, it was really important that we were the first to do it. Terry Vance was the first in the sevens, and we've been breaking barriers ever since. Matt was the first rider in the 7.2s, 7.1 sand 7s, and he really wanted to see us do it not to mention all the media attention we got from that. It was really a highlight for me. I mean, they crown a champion every year, but only one rider got that sixsecond-club trophy. Were you surprised that you were the only one to run in the sixes in 200S? I'm really surprised, because I thought for sure that there would be three or four others right behind me. The funny thing was that my six-second run in Gainesville was only the third time that bike had crossed the finish line under power. It was a brand-new bike, and we had trouble when we tested it. I ran a 7.04 on the first pass, but a brake rotor broke, and I went into the sand, and then on my first run in Gainesville, the bike almost crossed the centerline, and I had to abort. Otherwise. I might have run a couple more sixes. What is your take on the new 2006 rules package? Don't get me started on that one. It should be really interesting. On the surface, the rules look more equal because the Suzukis and the Harleys will all be the same weight and will all have fuel injection, but I think the four-cylinder bikes will be really fast in the beginning. We've already seen how much power they make at 101 cubic inches, and if we have the right weather at the first race in Gainesville, we'll probably have six or seven bikes in the sixes. They'll be that fast. With all that extra power, they might start having reliability issues. Of course, we're working on our bike, so it should be faster as well. In the end, it will probably all work out for the best, but in the beginning, I think the Suzukis might have the upper hand. What would it mean to win a third-straight title in 2006? That would mean everything in the world to me. I hate to say it, but if it doesn't happen I'll never hear the end of it. Even if I win another championship down the road, Matt will never let up on me, because he won three in a row, so I have a lot of motivation for this coming season. I know it's not going to be easy, because there are more good teams and more good riders than ever, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. eN CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 4,2006 47

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