The Vance & Hines team was
put to the test on race day as
Herrera wounded an engine early
in the race, necessitating a quick
pit-area swap.
"Unfortunately, we had a me
-
chanical failure first round," Her-
rera said. "It was either a broken
rod or piston, which is pretty rare
for these bikes. It happened right
at the [finish line] stripe so we
had to rush back and that was
our tightest turnaround time, and
we ended up having to change
motors, and we ended up chang
-
ing the rear tire as well. People
saying we're sandbagging a little
bit you know, but that just goes
to show we're pushing his bikes
as far as we can because we
always want to be on top."
Krawiec, who is still seeking
his landmark 50th NHRA victory,
made it to the final round for the
first time since last summer's
Topeka event when he stopped
Ryan Oehler and rookie of the
year candidate Chase Van Sant
in a close 6.82 to 6.86 race.
Krawiec went to the 92nd final
round of his career after world
champ Matt Smith's Denso
Suzuki wouldn't fire for their
semifinal battle.
While Herrera has a mon
-
strous lead in the champion-
ship standings, his immediate
attention shifts to next week-
end's Denso Sonoma Nationals
in his home state of California.
There, he hopes to make history
by completing the rare Western
Swing Sweep, a feat that has
only been accomplished nine
times by eight different drivers.
Herrera is also in the process
of making history as he's com
-
piled an otherworldly 23-2 record
in elimination rounds. His only
two losses in Camping World
NHRA Championship events
have come via a red-light start to
Steve Johnson in Bristol, Ten
-
nessee, and a loss to Jianna
Evaristo in the quarter final
round in Norwalk, Ohio.
Kevin McKenna
1. Gaige Herrera (Suz)
2. Eddie Krawiec (Suz)
VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P45
Herrera took down his boss Eddie Krawiec in the final.
