story and photos by Tim Hailey
Kwick Eddie Krawiec (above) is working hard to overcome making my early season predictions of him winning this year’s Pro Stock Motorcycle championship from looking bad, ’cause lord knows he was making me look bad…But he won Norwalk, taking the stripe over Englishtown winner Matt Smith n the final. Matt had lane choice and took the tree but ran up against the same Achilles heel his Pro Mod Bagger suffers from—a busted tranny. “We had a good weekend,” said Matt. “The bike ran great every pass until the finals when the transmission broke. We got this Buell figured out and if we can just find a sponsorship for the rest of the season we will be out here fighting for that championship.” Ain’t that the truth…let’s get those $$ rolling for everyone in the most technically diverse class (along with Pro Mod) in NHRA drag racing.
Close readers of the eatmyink.com Breaking News section noticed that today’s semis featured 3 Buell’s and Krawiec’s Harley, as Norwalk failed to show Suzuki any love on raceday.
Arana Jr. on top at Norwalk
story and photos by Tim Hailey
The dance party will be in full swing at the Lucas Oil trailer tonight as baby-faced Hector Arana Jr. nailed the #1 qualifying spot for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio. Behind Arana Jr. at the top is fellow rookie Jerry Savoie with a 6.917. Newly unsponsored Matt Smith tied Savoie on ET was was a tick off on MPH so is third.
The second and final round of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying was a drama filled stage with two champions, including Hector Sr, unqualified after Q1. Hector Sr. and Andrew Hines got in the show, along Mike Berry and Jim Underdahl, but defending champion LE Tonglet got bumped out! Round 2 was slow as compared to Q1, and few if any riders above the cut-off line from the first round were able to improve.
earlier
Under the Gun at Norwalk!
Andrew Hines, and others, have one shot to make the Norwalk field
Yesterday’s washout left Pro Stock Motorcycle with only two rounds of qualifying for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio. The result after one round is a field in a blender. Rookie race Hector Arana Jr. leads the pack with a track record 6.88 while his dad, a former champion, is unqualified. And Hector Sr. ain’t the only big name below the cut-off line, how about multi-time champ Andrew Hines? Jim Underdahl and Mike Berry are also looking at one more shot to make the field.
Behind Arana Jr. at the top is fellow rookie Jerry Savoie with a 6.917. Newly unsponsored Matt Smith tied Savoie on ET was was a tick off on MPH so is third. Eatmyink.com will get back to you when the blender stops spinning and tell you what Norwalk’s served up for eliminations.
Soggy Day for Straightliners
Barely a wheel turned at either Norwalk or Bristol today, sites of this weekend’s two big drag racing events. Reports say the NHRA tried 6 different times to dry the Norwalk track but persistent rain won out. Weather looks good and fast there the rest of the weekend, but Norwalk has been plagued with drainage problems in the past. So we’ll see.
The NHRA was in Bristol last weekend, site of an all-motorcycle event this weekend. Sadly, all that good NHRArubber has washed away and seepage closed the track early today. Ryan Schnitz made a couple of hits on the HTP Pro Street ‘Busa, spinning through the eighth mile “like a John Force burnout.”
The Bristol turnout is very light so far. And Eatmyink may have jumped the gun a bit on claiming Jeremy Teasley would ride Robbie Hunnicutt’s Pro Mod this weekend, but maybe not. Hunnicutt’s interested in seeing (and showing) what a lightweight rider could do on his bike and there is no time like the present. Bristol is, after all, a non-points event…