PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Andrew Hines (far lane) used a perfect reaction time to beat sophomore rider Hector Arana Jr. in the final round in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Arana’s 6.886-second pass at 196.33 mph on his Lucas Oil Buell was quicker than Hines' 6.905 pass at 194.52 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, but Hines won the race on the starting line.

“I knew I’d need a good light, but I wasn’t expecting a .000," Hines said. "I’m lucky I didn’t roll in an eighth of an inch more or I’d have red-lighted. We had to add 20 pounds so I figured I’d need to win on a holeshot in order to have a chance, especially after he [Hector Jr.] ran that 6.84 in the semifinals.”

Hines has won this event three years in a row and he is now the series leader in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“I knew this was the 25th anniversary of this race so I really wanted to win that silver Wally,” Hines said.

"Ol' Andrew cut a perfect light on me," Arana said. "I did my thing. I cut another good light and ran a 6.886 in the final. It's hard to ask for more than that. I wanted to win but when someone goes triple-zero on the Tree, you just have to hope you have enough to overcome it."

Arana tracked down Hines for the entire quarter-mile and came within seven-thousandths of a second of taking the finish line stripe first.

"It's just more motivation to try harder next weekend in Atlanta," Arana said. "This was a great weekend for the Lucas Oil Buells. My dad (Hector Arana Sr.) qualified No. 1, I was No. 2, and we got one of our bikes to the final and had a great chance to win. Now we'll load up and head to Atlanta and try to do it again.

"I'm glad we don't have a weekend off. I'd race every weekend if I could. I love it, especially when you have a bike as strong as this one."

Karen Stoffer

Karen Stoffer had her best outing of the season Sunday at Royal Purple Raceway, riding her GEICO Suzuki past reigning world champion Eddie Krawiec and Chip Ellis for a steady semifinal finish at the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals.

Starting from the No. 6 qualifying position, Stoffer got a free pass against Ellis when the veteran rider left the Tree -.001 seconds early, an automatic disqualification. Stoffer still rode out the pass and posted a 6.960 at 191.70 mph.

Eddie Krawiec

Up next was two-time and reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Krawiec, who had qualified No. 3 on his Harley-Davidson V-Rod. But this time it was Stoffer who had the quicker bike, running a 6.907 at 192.85 mph to Krawiec's 6.928 at 192.41 mph.

"It's tough because I actually went into that round wondering how bad I was going to get beat," Stoffer said. "Eddie was so much quicker than us in qualifying and in Round 1. It was a real shock at the other end. It was actually Eddie that told me I won and I just couldn't believe it. I kept saying, 'Really? Really?' He's been the king of the hill for the last couple of years now, so to take him out was special."