IN
THE
WIND
P26
EDDIE KRAWIEC RUNS
THE TABLE AT NHRA OPENER
W
ith 16 races over the next nine months, the
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro
Stock Motorcycle Championship is a marathon
and not a sprint, but apparently no one has told
that to Eddie Krawiec. The Screamin' Eagle
Harley-Davidson rider turned in one of the most
impressive performances in his career to claim his
32nd NHRA victory in Gainesville, Florida, March
19-20. With the quickest bike in three of four
qualifying sessions and all four elimination rounds,
Krawiec barely had to break a sweat, including the
final round, where he defeated Lucas Oil Buell's
Hector Arana Sr. by a comfortable margin, 6.82
to 6.92. Krawiec also logged several speeds in
excess of 198-mph including a 192.23-mph run in
the final.
"Any win is great, but I'd have to say that this
is one of my best," Krawiec said following his
fourth Gainesville Raceway victory. "You want to
come out and get off to a good running start. The
awesome thing is that I have that win early in the
season. Since 2009, I've had at least one win per
season and I wanted to keep
that up. It's getting harder
and harder to do but now, I
don't have to sweat it.
"This weekend, we made a
bunch of runs where the bike
made chalk line straight runs
down the track," Krawiec said.
"That's a big thing; when you
don't have to make a bunch
of corrections it makes it so
much easier to ride. This is
four wins here and I'd have
five if my bike hadn't broken
an airline last year so this is a
special place for me."
Krawiec was the top quali-
fier in the field with a 6.801 which was no small
feat considering that there were 26 bikes vying
for just 16 starting spots. A slight tail wind boosted
performances on race day and Krawiec was there
to take full advantage of it. In the first three rounds
of eliminations, he made runs of 6.78, 6.79, and
6.80 in his one-sided wins against Michael Phil-
lips, White Alligator Suzuki's Jerry Savoie, and his
own Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate
Andrew Hines.
"Even though none of those races were close I
had to be careful to not screw up," Krawiec said.
"I knew I had a great motorcycle but sometimes
when you're in that spot you start to overthink
things and make mistakes. My biggest challenge
was to just relax, focus, and do my own deal. The
other teams won't sit back; they're already working
hard to catch us and that's why we have to keep
working, too. We'll enjoy this tonight and then
focus on the next race in Charlotte."
Kevin McKenna
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
KEVIN
MCKENNA
Eddie Krawiec had a rather easy
time of it at the NHRA opener in Gainesville, Florida.
