VOL. 52 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2015 P145
mark he posted a year ago.
The big difference is that Hines
peaked during the Countdown to
the Championship, NHRA's six-
race playoff that determines the
championship. Hines won three
of those six events to success-
fully defend his 2014 title.
"We struggled early in the
season and a lot of that was due
to the new Sunoco fuel we were
required to use," Hines said.
"It was quite a bit different from
what we ran last year and we
had to chase the tune-up a lot of
times. Sometimes, we thought
we had a handle on it and then
we'd get lost again. It was frus-
trating but our team never gave
up. My brother, Matt, and our
guys just kept working and work-
ing until they finally figured it out."
While Hines admittedly
struggled at times, his statistics
were also likely affected by the
parity that now defines the Pro
Stock Motorcycle class. The
days where Hines and Krawiec
could win 15 of 16 races, as
they did in 2012, are long gone.
Effective rule changes have now
allowed the Harley-Davidson,
Buell, Suzuki and the new
Victory brands to compete on
equal footing. While Hines and
Krawiec combined to win eight
races, Karen Stoffer and Savoie
scored five wins for Suzuki, the
father-son team of Hector Arana
Sr. and Jr. won three races on
their Lucas Oil Buells. Two-time
World champ Matt Smith also
When it was time to lay it on
the line, Hines' Vance & Hines
Harley-Davidson V-Rod was
always ready to perform.
