HINES RIDES SCREAMIN’ EAGLE V-ROD TO SEMI-FINALS AT HOUSTON

BAYTOWN, Texas (March 29, 2008) - Andrew Hines rode his Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines V-Rod to the third round of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations at the 21st Annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Hines qualified fourth for the event with a pass of 6.972 seconds and beat Edward Murphy and Steve Johnson with runs of 7.107 and 7.171 seconds to advance to the semi-finals, where he lost to Matt Smith on the Nitro Fish Wear Buell with a 7.076 to Smith’s 6.991. Smith, the reigning NHRA POWERade world champ, beat Matt Guidera on the Rocklin Motorsports Buell in the final round, 7.060 to 7.140, to take his first event win of the season.

“This was certainly a better result for us than last year at Houston, when we both went out with red lights in the first round,” said Hines. “We swapped engines twice before the finals, and then kind of missed our set-up on Sunday, when there was a big change in the humidity from Saturday. We gave it all we had and I didn’t beat myself, so it was a good weekend.”

Eddie Krawiec rode the other Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines V-Rod into the third qualifying spot with a 6.971 in the final Saturday round, bumping Hines down to fourth. Krawiec beat Michael Phillips with a pass at 7.066 in the first round on Sunday, but went out on a red light in the second round to lose to Guidera.

“I learned a big lesson in that second round,” said Krawiec. “My bike stalled on the line before pre-stage, which has never happened to me before. We restarted but I lost my routine at the line and rushed myself, which caused the red light. It’s too bad, because the bike felt strong. We had the third-best time in the first round and I think we could have won some more. I’ll learn from that mistake and move on.”

After two rounds in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, Matt Guidera leads in Pro Stock Motorcycle points with 212, followed by Smith with 195, Hines with 171, Chip Ellis with 151, and Krawiec with 111. NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycles will race next at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, April 24-27 at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga.

“The team had a challenging weekend,” said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. “There were some great passes and some passes we weren't so happy with, but as always we learned a great deal that helped us prepare for Sunday. In the end, we went rounds on Sunday and gained valuable points for the countdown.”

Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and power of motorcycle racing. Screamin' Eagle Pro parts are specifically designed for race-use applications, while Screamin' Eagle parts offer street-use performance options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner. Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.

Used with permission from H-D®.