Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec battled to a Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park on Sunday.
The win also moves Krawiec into contention for his fifth NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship with one event remaining on the 2020 schedule.
Pro Stock Drought Over
The victory in Houston ended a long drought for Krawiec, too. He last won a Pro Stock Motorcycle final in 2018, despite nine subsequent final-round appearances and a string of strong qualifying performances this season.
“Pro Stock Motorcycle is so competitive right now. You can never take winning for granted,” said Krawiec. “We have strong Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a great team also. I feel we always come prepared to lead the class, but sometimes there’s some luck involved too. Today things went my way.”
The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team races competition Pro Stock drag bikes inspired by the Harley-Davidson FXDR 114. It’s a high-performance cruiser based on the Softail platform. The bike also combines the power of the Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine with new weight-saving aluminum and composite components to amplify performance.
Krawiec qualified third for the Houston finals with a best elapsed time (ET) of 6.799 seconds. In Sunday eliminations, he defeated Michael Phillips in the first round. He then got a win in round two when Jerry Savoie did not make the start. Krawiec defeated Hector Arana Jr. in round three to advance to the final against Ryan Oehler. He posted his quickest run of the day in the final, a 6.801 ET to best Oehler’s time of 6.905. Krawiec now has won 48 Pro Stock Motorcycle finals in 85 appearances.
Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines teammates Angelle Sampey and Andrew Hines also qualified for eliminations at Houston. Sampey was the number two qualifier at 6.789 seconds, and lost in the first round on Sunday.
Standings
Hines, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, qualified fifth at 6.811 seconds and lost in round two. Krawiec leaves Houston with 504 points, tied with Scotty Pollacheck for second place in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings and 78 points behind first place Matt Smith also. Hines is in fourth place 496 points, 86 points out of the lead. Sampey is in fifth place with 447 points.
Final Round: FIGHT!
The final race awards “points-and-a-half” so Krawiec and Hines have a shot at catching Smith. The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines drag racing team closes out the 2020 season Oct. 30 – Nov. 3 at the Dodge NHRA Finals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
