Krawiec Captures
48th Career NHRA Win
A
less optimistic person might have given up, but
that isn't Eddie Krawiec's style. Despite a two-
year winless streak, Krawiec never lost faith and
was rewarded with his 48th career victory at the
Mopar Express Lane Nationals at Houston Race-
way Park, October 23-25. Krawiec, winless since
the Brainerd round in August of 2018, earned the
victory by beating Ryan Oehler in the final. Krawiec
rode his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson FXDR to
a 6.80 in the final while Oehler slowed to a 6.905.
"I can tell you one thing; don't take a Wally for
granted because sometimes they don't come,"
said Krawiec who had lost nine-straight final rounds
following his Brainerd win, including five-straight
against his teammate Andrew Hines. "Sometimes
it's not you because sometimes luck just rolls your
way. With two plus years being out of it, it just feels
good. I feel like I've accomplished everything I
need to and don't have to prove anything, but it's
nice just to get it done. There is a lot of great racers
in the class and you can't take things for granted.
Take every win for what it is and enjoy it. We now
have four or five bikes fighting for the championship
so it's great racing and it's the way it should be."
Krawiec has come close many times including
three semifinal finishes this season. In Houston, he
qualified solidly with a 6.799 that was good for the
number-two spot behind leader Matt Smith, who set
the track record with a 6.729-second run, the third
quickest in the history of the Pro Stock Motorcycle
class. Krawiec was consistent on Sunday as he
scored wins against Michael Phillips, Lucas Oil EBR's
Hector Arana Jr. and White Alligator Suzuki's Jerry
Savoie, the winner a week ago at the Dallas round.
Smith's Denso EBR was again the most domi-
nant bike in the field but when he lost to Oehler, it
left the door open for Krawiec to possibly win the
championship. With just the last race remaining,
Krawiec and Scotty Pollacheck are tied for second
place, 78 points behind Smith. The final round in
Las Vegas next week offers an enhanced points
structure, so the race for the title is far from over.
"We've seen stranger things happen," Krawic
said when asked about the title. "I mean, anything
is possible, especially the way the points are in Las
Vegas. The best we can hope for is to go out and
win the race and hope that's enough. I'd love to fin-
ish this crazy season with back-to-back wins."
As for Oehler, it's not as though anyone thought
his first win earlier this year was a fluke, but just
in case there was any doubt, the hard-charging
privateer backed his Indy title up with a second
final round appearance in Houston. Oehler was
also very strong in qualifying with a fourth-best
6.808. Oehler then cleaned out some of the class'
heaviest hitters on his side of the ladder with wins
against Hines and Smith.
Kevin McKenna
Eddie Krawiec
captured his 48th
career victory and
the first since 2018
in Houston.
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