Yesterday Harley-Davidson said it’s not fielding factory racing teams in American Flat Track(AFT) or NHRA drag racing in 2021. Now Vance & Hines says it’s redeploying its racing development team. They’re aiming toward creating high performance products for a variety of vehicles, brands, and race series. Not just on two wheels but also in the four-wheel area. From the sound of that, we could be seeing more V&H racing in the UTV segment, which is red-hot right now. Could it also mean racing products for Indian’s FTR models at the flat track? Possibly, but I think that’s unlikely since Vance & Hines still has a degree of contract exclusivity with Harley (more on that below).
“We thank Harley-Davidson for being a partner with Vance & Hines for 20 years. Together, in AFT and NHRA, we celebrated 116 wins and 11 championships,” said Vance & Hines founder Terry Vance. “Harley-Davidson has been one of the best partners we’ve ever had.”
Meet Vance & Hines RDC
The Indy Operations Team refocuses on performance products for two and four-wheel vehicles. Employees found that out yesterday. It’s also redeploying under the name Vance & Hines Racing Development Center (RDC). Additionally, the company continues its racing tradition in 2021 with sponsored riders in a variety of racing series.
In addition, the aftermarket manufacturer remains the sole licensee, manufacturer, and seller of Harley-Davidson XG750R Production Twin motorcycles and Harley-Davidson XG750R Super Twin motorcycles. This racing variant of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 won the AFT Production Twins championship in 2020.
“Vance & Hines is having its best year in over a decade. We’re strong and we have a strategy that drives our growth and expansion in our current markets and in new ventures,” said Mike Kennedy, President and CEO. “While we loved our time running the factory race teams for Harley-Davidson, we couldn’t be more excited about the future.”
The company has been contracted to run factory race teams for a range of companies during its 41-year history. They include Suzuki, Yamaha, and Ducati. The partnership with Harley-Davidson focused on drag racing and flat track racing.
