VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON SERIES
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON
T
yler O'Hara didn't like the
direction things were go-
ing. A string of consistent
finishes was keeping him in the
title hunt for the Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson Series, but he
hadn't been on the podium since
Daytona and rival Danny Eslick
was taking full advantage, hav-
ing scored the victory at Laguna
Seca the week before and gain-
ing some breathing room on
O'Hara in the title chase.
O'Hara turned things around in
a big way at the Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course, coming out on top in
a sizzling five-rider battle. O'Hara
went from third to first on his Josh
Chisum Racing/Bartels Harley-
Davidson in a last-lap mash-up
and as a result got atop the po-
dium for just the second time this
season. And more importantly
he kept his championship hopes
very much alive, drawing to within
six points of Eslick in the stand-
ings with three rounds (a double-
header at Indy and the New Jer-
sey finale) to go.
"It feels really good," O'Hara
said. "We've been off the box
the last three races in a row bat-
tling with Danny. We're riding the
wheels off these things. To race
last weekend in California and
drive all the way out here and get
here Thursday night, it kind of
takes a little bit out of you, but re-
ally makes you want it. When you
come all this way and get the win
it feels really good. This weekend
was kind of a turning point for me.
Every weekend from here on out
it's a battle for every point. We
have three races left and I expect
nothing less than to just battle ev-
ery weekend. There's a lot of tal-
ent in this Harley class that I think
sometimes gets overlooked."
Eslick minimized the damage
of O'Hara's win by placing sec-
ROUND 5/JULY 20, 2014
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE/LEXINGTON, OHIO
P92
O'HARA KEEPS
HOPES ALIVE
EPIC FIVE-RIDER BATTLE TO THE FLAG
Danny Eslick (69) gets a jump on the field off the line in the Harley-Davidson final at Mid-Ohio. Race winner
Tyler O'Hara (29) and Ben Carlson (45) blast off the line with Eslick and the rest of the field.
