2018 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Gainesville Results
| March 19, 2018
2018 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Gainesville Results – For the sixth time in his career, Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson’s Eddie Krawiec scored a Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the season-opening Amalie NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, March 16-18. Krawiec claimed the 44th win of his career following an all-Street Rod final round against Andrew Hines, his teammate. Hines was first off the starting line by a fraction of a second but Krawiec quickly made up the difference to win with a 6.824 elapsed time to Hines’ 6.853. Krawiec is now 13-9 against Hines in final rounds.
2018 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Gainesville Results
“We had a lot of fun in the final because when it’s Andrew and I, there is no pressure,” Krawiec said. “Before we staged, I heard him hit the gas a couple of times and I thought, ‘Okay, game on.’ At that point I knew that I wasn’t going to stage first. Honestly, I didn’t think he was going to mess with me, but I know we put on a good show for the fans.
“Right now, I have a lot of confidence. Over the winter we didn’t make a lot of changes to these Harley-Davidsons. We know what we have and when you have that sort of confidence, you go up there thinking that no one can beat you. In the final, Andrew and I both made slight tune-up changes to our bikes. He went one way and I went the other. We agreed to try something different, so we could learn. My bike happened to respond to the change a bit better than his did.”
Krawiec was the No. 2 qualifier behind Hines and rode to wins over world champs LE Tonglet and Hector Arana Sr. He also defeated Steve Johnson on his way to a third-straight win in Gainesville. Hines also enjoyed a solid season debut with victories against Mark Paquette, Liberty Racing’s Angelle Sampey, and Scotty Pollacheck.
The factory Harley team nearly ran the table in Gainesville but the one thing they did not get was the sport’s first 200-mph pass. That honor went to Lucas Oil EBR’s Hector Arana Jr. Seven years after Krawiec first topped 199-mph, Arana Jr. rode the sleek new EBR to a 200.23-mph pass on Friday. He later improved to a 201.01 run on Saturday. For being the first over 200, he was rewarded with a $10,000 bonus from Denso Spark Plugs as the inaugural member of their 200-mph club. Membership will be limited to the first four riders who eclipse the barrier at an NHRA event.
Kevin McKenna
2018 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Gainesville Results
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