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76 nNovember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS 2016 NHRA HARLEY-DAVIDSON DRAG RACING SERIES Oct. 28–30 Rockingham Dragway Rockingham, NC Nov. 4–6 The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV 2016 NHRA MELLO YELLO PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SERIES Oct. 27–30 NHRA Toyota Nationals Las Vegas, NV Nov. 10–13 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pomona, CA NHRA MAPLE GROVE Krawiec races Screamin' Eagle Harley- Davidson power to big win Andrew Hines continues fi rm grip on points lead MOHNTON, PA., OCT. 3— Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle/ Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec charges within 38 points of cham- pionship contention with a big Pro Stock Motorcycle win at the Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Krawiec powered through the fi eld on a Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle, racing from the second qualifying position after rain washed out all but one qualifying session on Friday and Saturday. The win moves Krawiec from fi fth to second place in the Countdown to the Championship standings, just 38 points behind his teammate, Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines, who qualifi ed fi rst for the event. "We actually arrived for this weekend with a new set-up, and had to use that single qualifying session to gather data on our V-Rod bikes," said Krawiec, a three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. "Those turned out to be big runs for us because with the standings so tight every point is going to matter before this championship is decided. The Harley-Davidson bikes thrive on cool air, so the weather on Sunday was perfect for us. Everybody got faster as we went rounds but we started ahead and that paid off with a big win for the team today." Hines, the defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, led qualifying with a run of 6.784 seconds on his Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle. Krawiec qualifi ed second at 6.811 seconds on the team's other V-Rod. Hines advanced to the semi-fi nal round of eliminations on Sunday. Krawiec advanced to the fi nal round for the sixth time this season and won for the fourth time and the 35th time in his Pro Stock Motorcycle career. "My main goal this week- end was to come in here and win," Krawiec said. "If you win races in the Countdown, you're going to be fi ght- ing for the championship when you get to Pomona. This was a big day for all of our team actually, Andrew and Ed Krawiec takes the win March 16-19 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Gainesville, FL April 28-30 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Charlotte, NC May 5-7 NHRA Southern Nationals Atlanta, GA June 8-11 NHRA Summer Nationals Englishtown, NJ June 22-25 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk, OH July 6-9 Route 66 NHRA Nationals Chicago, IL July 21-23 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Denver, CO July 28-30 Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals Sonoma, CA Aug. 17-20 Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Brainerd, MN Aug. 30-Sept. 4 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN Sept. 15-17 NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte, NC Sept. 21-24 NHRA Keystone Nationals Reading, PA Sept. 29-Oct. 1 AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals St. Louis, MO Oct. 12-15 AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals Dallas, TX Oct. 26-29 NHRA Toyota Nationals Las Vegas, NV Nov. 9-12 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pomona, CA March 16-19 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals Gainesville, FL April 28-30 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Charlotte, NC May 5-7 NHRA Southern Nationals Atlanta, GA June 8-11 NHRA Summer Nationals Englishtown, NJ June 22-25 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk, OH July 6-9 Route 66 NHRA Nationals Chicago, IL July 21-23 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Denver, CO July 28-30 Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals Sonoma, CA Aug. 17-20 Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Brainerd, MN Aug. 30-Sept. 4 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, IN Sept. 15-17 NHRA Carolina Nationals Charlotte, NC Sept. 21-24 NHRA Keystone Nationals Reading, PA Sept. 29-Oct. 1 AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals St. Louis, MO Oct. 12-15 AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals Dallas, TX Oct. 26-29 NHRA Toyota Nationals Las Vegas, NV Nov. 9-12 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pomona, CA 2017 NHRA PRO STOCK MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES myself getting past the fi rst round. When you draw top riders in round one, you don't say, 'Well, this should be easy. This should be no problem this weekend.' For me, I was on a mis- sion because I knew if I went past the fi rst round I could keep the momentum and keep it rolling." After three of six events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, only 70 points separate the top fi ve riders. Hines leads the fi eld with 2341 points and Krawiec is second with 2303 points. Round four of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the NHRA AAA Fall Nationals, is set for October 13–16 at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. —Press release See your plate on the cover of THUNDER PRESS Send a photo of your personalized license plate and you just might see it appear on the cover of our March 2017 issue. Send digital Photos to: tpressplates@thunderpress.net