PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE


(Tim Marshall photo)

Andrew Hines captured his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship and first since 2006 when he claimed the first-round win over Katie Sullivan. Hines raced to six victories during the season to earn his first championship in the Countdown era aboard his Screamin’ Eagle Vance and Hines Harley-Davidson.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to be able to write ‘4x’ next to my name,” Hines said. “It was nice to finally get it done, but also to get it done with a win. I didn’t really want to have to be the guy who waited for someone else to lose to clinch it.

“It’s great to get that big trophy and that big check, but the biggest trophies I have are my wife, Tanya, and my kids, Declan and Rion."


Hector Jr. (near lane) took the event win over Eddie Krawiec, striking a blow for the Buells against the Harley’s resurgence this season.  (Tim Marshall photo)

Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 qualifier Hector Arana Jr. ended his season with the best possible outcome: Capturing his second win of 2014 during the 50th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals.

After racing his Lucas Oil Buell to two early round-wins over Freddie Camarena and Steve Johnson, Arana found himself heading into the semifinals as the rider to beat.

"This definitely ranks up there as one of my better seasons," Arana said. "I was just glad we were able to seal the deal after qualifying No. 1. Sometimes that can almost jinx you. I was able to stay strong and take that No. 1 all the way to the end.

"It's going to be a good off-season. I'm glad we were able to get a win for the team and give everyone a good confidence boost and good morale. I'm definitely going to be excited to be the NHRA Finals champion for four months until we get to Pomona next year."

Leaving the line late in the semifinals with a .107-second reaction time compared to Chaz Kennedy's .043, Arana found himself racing from behind for the first time this weekend. Arana beat Kennedy to the line with a 6.808-second pass and advanced to the final round.

"In the semifinal round against Chaz I was a little late on the light and the sun was in my eyes," Arana said. "I knew I had a good bike but I didn't want to ditch it and go red. I popped the clutch and realized I was going to have to run him down, so when I crossed the finish line there was a sigh of relief that I got him." 

In a season-long battle against the Harley-Davidson bikes, Arana cut a killer .010 reaction time against Eddie Krawiec in the final and never looked back. By running a 6.832 at 195.08 to Krawiec's 6.977 at 176.37, Arana earned the season-ending Wally.

"It was very exciting," Arana said. "It had gotten darker, so I knew I had to be careful with the lights because it would be easier to red-light. I ended up getting a really good light, .010. I popped the clutch and I never saw Eddie. My bike just went straight down the track and everything performed flawlessly. It was just a very amazing feeling."

With the excitement of snagging the win came the emotions of a realization that he was racing with his younger brother, Adam, for the last time. Adam will join the U.S. Coast Guard in January.

"It was very emotional for me," Arana said. "It was the last race for us as team members. It won't be the last race Adam is at though. He'll be at other races to watch, help, and maybe ride once or twice, but it was his last race as part of the team for an entire season.

"I was just very emotional that I was able to get that win together with him one last time."