INTERVIEW
P164
2014 NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE WORLD CHAMPION ANDREW HINES
W
hen Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew Hines
won championships in 2004-06 there was no rea-
son to think that much like the Engergizer Bunny, he
wouldn't keep going, and going, and going. After all, Hines
was young, talented, and had the best team in drag racing.
But strangely enough, he was unable to close the deal on a
fourth championship.
In 2007, Hines finished second to Matt Smith by just six
points, equal to less than one round of competition. In 2010,
he was edged by rookie LE Tonglet by just four points and
the frustrations began to mount. While Hines never finished
lower than fourth, he watched as other riders, including his
then-new teammate Eddie Krawiec, began to rack up race
wins and championships. Finally, in 2014, Hines apparently
had enough and delivered the title with a strong campaign
that included six wins in eight final round appearances.
"You don't know how frustrating it was to have to chase
this [fourth championship] for eight years, especially since I
let it slip away a couple of times," Hines said. "Those years
where I missed it by just a round or less were really hard on
me because when you look back at your season, you always
think of times where you could have won just one more round
or picked up a few bonus [qualifying] points here or there."
FOUR
SCORE
BY KEVIN MCKENNA
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT POLITO
Andrew Hines claims
long-awaited fourth NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle title
