Cycle News

DRAG RACING NHRA PRO STOCK SERIES ROUND 10/SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 LUCAS OIL RACEWAY/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA P88 on his V-Rod. Runner-up Savoie was number two, but was well behind with a 6.878 run. Despite the apparent advantage over the rest of the field, Krawiec wasn't well aware that success in quali- fying doesn't always translate to race-day wins. "I know it's been a while since the low qualifier won a race in this class. I know that I was number one five times and didn't win," Krawiec said. "I struggled early in the year. I was in a funk and couldn't hit the Tree. I knew I had to review my game plan and there was no better time to figure it out." Krawiec need not have wor- ried though since he was not se- riously challenged during Mon- day's final eliminations. Beating Shawn Gann in round one with a 6.907, he returned to face his toughest opponent, teammate Andrew Hines in the second. Af- ter an eventful start, Krawiec won the all-Harley battle, 6.898 to 6.987. A 6.902 in the third round was enough to stop the Lucas Oil Buell of 2012 Indy champ Hector Arana Jr. "This is my home race and it is special to be able to share it with my family and my Vance & Hines teammates," Krawiec said. "Terry [Vance] and Byron [Hines, team owners] are the pinnacle of the sport and I'm proud that they choose me to represent them. The whole team stands behind me. Matt [Hines, crew chief] has been sort of my trainer and he took me under his wing and taught me a lot." Savoie is now 0-4 in NHRA fi- nal rounds, but he knows his day is coming. The White Alligator team has worked hard to refine their fuel injected four-cylinder combination and the results have been impressive. After reach- ing the final round at the most recent race in Charlotte, Savoie got there again in Indy when he defeated Star Racing Buell's Chaz Kennedy, and the Nitro Fish Buells of John Hall and Matt Smith. Had Savoie won the final, he would have also qualified for the Countdown to the Champi- onship playoffs that begin at the next event in Charlotte. "We're getting there," said Savoie. "We just need to get over the hump and start winning final rounds. We know it's com- ing, though. We didn't make the Countdown but we're gonna make life rough for the rest of the field at the last six races." CN FINAL 1. Eddie Krawiec (H-D) 6.941/192.63 mph 2. Jerry Savoie (Suzuki) 6.987/192.58 mph Briefly... Krawiec said. "The biggest thing is to make consistent runs and collect data. Even at a race like this where we get one extra qualifying run, it's important to take advantage of all of them." It was a tough weekend for George Bryce' s Star Buell team with both of his riders, Michael Ray and rookie Chaz Kennedy, getting beat in round one. The team plans to make significant changes to their V-twin en- gine program before the next NHRA round in Charlotte in two weeks. Krawiec celebrates his 25 th career NHRA Pro Stock victory.

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