PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Andrew Hines claimed his third win of the season and fourth victory at Summit Racing Motorsports Park, riding his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a performance of 6.901 at 193.96 in the final round against Hector Arana’s Lucas Oil Products Buell.

“It was a lot of little things that needed to fall into place to finally come around today,” Hines said of his new bike at Norwalk this weekend. “Without the help of everybody on the crew, we wouldn’t been able to get where we are. We struggled in the semis. But I was able to outrun Hector and to get around him was big. The fourth win light was definitely the prettiest one of the day.”

Hines, a three-time world champion, beat John Hall, Jim Underdahl and Steve Johnson to reach the final round, and increases his points lead with the victory. His fellow Sreamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate and event’s No. 1 qualifier Eddie Krawiec remains in the second spot, while Hector Arana Jr. is third.


Andrew Hines and his son.

“Today, we learned exactly what we need to do,” Hines said. “We started treating it differently than in years past. Instead of slowing on Sunday my bike actually picked up. Hopefully, that’s bad news for the competition and we could continue on a roll. There is no time to sit back and relax.”

Back-to-back final-round appearances for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. have him feeling more confident than ever following the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Sunday, in Norwalk.

The Lucas Oil Buell seemed unstoppable during eliminations when Arana piloted it all the way to the final round. After a 6.958-second pass at 195.42 mph in the first round to knock out Shawn Gann's 6.926 at 194.13 mph, followed by Chaz Kennedy red-lighting and a come-from-behind win over his youngest son Adam in the semifinals, Arana looked poised to bring home his first win of the season.

With a great reaction time of .044 against Andrew Hines in the final round, Arana was able to hammer it down the track with a 6.924 at 195.53 mph. At the last possible chance, Hines got by Arana at the line with a 6.901-second pass at 193.96 mph.

"We left the line great," Arana said. "I went into second gear and the tire broke lose. That's when I saw him take a leap in front of me. That's all she wrote at that point. The bike seemed to be responding after that but he already had the momentum going in his favor.

"It's definitely a momentum builder though. It's always good when you can build up your confidence and feel comfortable on the bike."

After racing his oldest son in the final in Chicago, Arana faced his youngest son in the semifinal round in Norwalk. It looked like Arana was going to fall to his son once again after Adam had a great reaction time of .018, but Arana battled by with a 6.894 at 196.10 mph.

"It was kind of sad in a way to be up against Adam," Arana said. "I wanted to win but I also would have loved to see him win as well. I know he was going hard for it too. He had a terrific light and I'm sure his confidence is definitely going to be high now.

"We just have to finesse this bike right now. There's still a little bit more left in there and I know we're going to find it."