BY KEVIN MCKENNA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARY NASTASE
S
ensing that his champi-
onship hopes might be
slipping away, Screamin'
Eagle Harley-Davidson's An-
drew Hines responded in a big
way with a win at the AAA Texas
NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas.
Hines' latest victory came just
one day after his teammate, Ed-
die Krawiec, seized the points
lead with a win in the final rounds
of last week's event in Charlotte,
which were postponed and
moved to Dallas due to a com-
bination of bad weather, and un-
VOL. 51 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 P73
Briefly...
The race wins by Eddie Krawiec and
Andrew Hines notwithstanding, the
big story in Dallas was the return
of three-time World Champion An-
gelle Sampey after a seven year
layoff. Riding George Bryce's Star
Buell, Sampey, now 44, did not look
the least bit rusty as she qualified
number 12 in the field with a 6.988.
Sampey was leading round-one op-
ponent John Hall when her bike
wouldn't shift into high gear. Even
though she lost in the first round,
she considered her return a suc-
cess. "I didn't think I'd ever be back
here," Sampey said. "It's a lot differ-
ent from what I've been doing the
last few years; being happy, relaxing,
and being mommy-at-home with my
little girl. It's an awesome combina-
tion here with this race team."
Sampey's Star teammate, Chaz
Kennedy, who remains a contend-
er for the NHRA Rookie of the Year
award, helped his case by reaching
the semi final round for the second
time this season during the delayed
Charlotte event. Kennedy had a
chance to win rounds in the Dallas
race on Sunday, but his 6.95 came
up just short of Scotty Pollacheck's
6.94.
After winning Saturday's Charlotte
race, Eddie Krawiec looked like a
good bet to run the table on Sun-
day, but he lost in the first round for
the first time this season, ending his
12-round win streak. To make matters
worse, Krawiec had no one to blame
but himself. "I double-clutched it,"
Krawiec said. "I messed up. The
last time I did that was 2007. It's
less painful after winning Charlotte,
continued on next page
(Above) Hines's victory
moves him into the points
lead of the six-round
series after two rounds.
(Left) Andrew Hines won
Sunday's Dallas round of
the NHRA Countdown to
the Championship.
