Defending event and world champion Eddie Krawiec rode his bike to winner’s circle with a pass of 6.824 at 198.44 on his Screamin’ Eagles Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. This is his sixth event victory and third consecutive win at Gainesville.
“Right now, I’m riding with the confidence that no one can beat me,” Krawiec stated. “I have a great motorcycle underneath me and a great team behind me. Anytime a rider or a driver has confidence it just makes them that much better.”
Krawiec was the No. 2 qualifier and was victorious against LE Tonglet, Steve Johnson, Hector Arana, the No. 1 qualifier, and teammate Andrew Hines in the final round.
The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues with the DENSO Spark Plug NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway April 6-8 in Las Vegas.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 1
Holeshots were the order of the day in the opening round of Pro Stock Motorcycle with two of the pre-race favorites bowing out early. Jerry Savoie, the 2016 world champ, lost to Karen Stoffer’s .009 reaction time and Hector Arana Jr. and his 201-mph Lucas Oil Buell were caught by nearly-perfect .007 light. Low qualifiers Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec each advanced on their Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson’s while Cory Reed, Angelle Sampey, Scotty Pollacheck, Hector Arana Sr. and Steve Johnson also moved into round two.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND 2
The Harley-Davidson team could be in line for another all-Street Rod final after Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec each won their quarterfinal rounds. Hines defeated Angelle Sampey and Krawiec,, seeking his fifth Gainesville win, rode past Steve Johnson’s Suzuki. Both Harley’s ran 6.87-second elapsed times. Scotty Pollacheck continued his string of strong runs with a 6.875 to stop Cory Reed and Hector Arana Sr. rode his Lucas Oil Buell past Karen Stoffer to round out the final four.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS
In will be another all Harley-Davidson final round after Vance & Hines teamamtes Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec each won their semifinal races. Hines stopped Scotty Pollacheck with a solid 6.868, 196.96 run but lost lane choice after Kraweic powered past Hector Arana Sr. and his Lucas Oil Buell with a 6.852. Hines and Krawiec have combined to win the Gainesville race, the traditional season-opener for Pro Stock Motorcycles, six times since 2004. The final will also be a rematch of the 2017 race, which went to Krawiec.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE FINAL
After a lengthy and animated staging battle, which included multiple hand gestures and a lot of good-natured chiding, reigning NHRA Mello Yello series champ Eddie Krawiec got the best of Harley-Davidson teammate Andrew Hines, 6.824, 198.44 to 6.853, 197.19. It was Krawiec’s third-straight win in Gainesville and sixth overall at the traditional season-opener. Hines was also a runner-up at last year’s event.
Learn more KRAWIEC TAKES THE WIN IN GAINESVILLE on VANCE & HINES NEWS
