"I'd almost forgotten
what it was like to get back
here to the winner's circle,"
Krawiec said. "We were
starting a pattern of quali-
fying really well and then
not being able to get the
job done on race day. I've
been struggling with my rid-
ing, but I spoke with Terry
[Vance, team co-owner]
and he gave me some good
advice. He basically just told
me to go out and do what
you do. I know it sounds
simple, but he wanted me
to stop over-thinking and it
worked. My lights weren't
the best this weekend, but
I was focused."
Krawiec was the num-
ber-two qualifier behind
Savoie and reached the fi-
nal round by beating Fred
Camarena, Kandy Buell's
Angie Smith, and his Screa-
min' Eagle Harley-Davidson
teammate Andrew Hines.
The battle against Hines
was a major confidence
booster for Krawiec, who
won on a holeshot when his
6.837 elapsed time edged
Hines' 6.835. In the final
round, Krawiec slowed to a
6.854, but won instantly on
Savoie's foul start.
"We made a change to
my bike before the final
and it went the wrong way,"
Krawiec said. "It didn't work
out like we had planned
and I was lucky that Jerry
red-lighted. This win was
VOL. 51 ISSUE 30 JULY 29, 2014 P75
Briefly...
On Saturday, Andrew Hines won the
special MiraMonte Records NHRA
Pro Bike Battle a special event for
the top eight racers based on quali-
fying this season. Hines earned the
$25,000 top prize when he defeat-
ed Petrolhead Buell's Scotty Polla-
check in the final round. It was the
fifth time that Hines has won one of
the specialty races. "This is a big
deal for Vance & Hines and Harley-
Davidson," said Hines. "I've been on
a roll since we broke out this new
motorcycle a couple of races ago."
It's been a good month for Scotty
Pollacheck, who signed a sponsor-
ship agreement with Petrolhead Ap-
parel before the Chicago race and
now earned $10,000 for his runner-
up finish in the Pro Bike Battle. "At
one point, I didn't think I'd be able to
finish the season," Pollacheck said.
"Now, we've got something to work
with. We're going to be able to fight
for the championship until the very
end."
Katie Sullivan returned to the seat
of her family-owned Suzuki in So-
noma, one week after her father,
Charlie, fulfilled a lifelong dream by
qualifying for the Denver race. Katie
Sullivan qualified 14th with a 6.990,
but dropped her round one race
against Andrew Hines.
Following the Sonoma round, An-
drew Hines, Eddie Krawiec, and
Hector Arana Jr. have officially
clinched spots in the Countdown
to the Championship, NHRA's six-
race play-off to determine the World
Champions. The top 10 riders in the
points qualify for the Countdown. In
the battle for the tenth and final spot,
Steve Johnson holds a significant
continued on next page
(Left) Eddie Krawiec (far
lane) beat Jerry Savoie
(near lane) in the final of the
NHRA Sonoma Nationals in
California.
(Right) Krawiec and his team
celebrate their second win
of the season.
