BIKERS USA
In our 7th year, we have a new name. We still have worldwide biker resources!

SCREAMIN' EAGLE TEAM MAKES SECOND CONSECUTIVE FINAL ROUND APPEARANCE

Tonglet Earns Top Qualifying Award and Maintains Points Lead

Columbus, Ohio (May 23, 2005) – After just the fourth NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series event of the season, the two-bike Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team holds the number one and three positions in the point standings.

Points leader GT Tonglet earned the number one qualifying position for just the second time in his career and made a semifinal round appearance Sunday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio. Teammate Andrew Hines made his first final round appearance of the season, earning a runner-up finish and moving up from fifth to third in the point standings.

Tonglet took over as the category points leader following last week's victory at Atlanta Dragway. He has 326 points after four of 15 national events. Second-place rider Karen Stoffer has 268 points with Hines closely behind at 267.

"It took a long time for the victory to sink in," Tonglet said. "Being the points leader for two races is hard to believe too. It's nice knowing that both bikes are so high up in the standings, but we do have a lot of racing left and there are a lot of competitive bikes in the field."

Tonglet took the number one qualifying award with a 7.090-second pass at 187.03 mph.

"It was a really good week,” Tonglet said. “First I won in Atlanta, then we get my bike in the number one qualifying position. It was so important having a teammate on Friday because we couldn't get the bike started on the first run, and we were able to use the data from Andrew's bike to set the tune-up for the second qualifying run."

Hines, the 2004 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, beat Steve Johnson in the first round with a track-record time, riding his Harley-Davidson V-Rod to a 7.066-second run at 189.66 mph to beat Johnson's 7.212 at 184.65. Hines then moved on to beat Geno Scali with a 7.074 at 190.65, sailing past Scali's 7.137 at 184.42.

Tonglet ran a 7.153 at 189.04 to beat Kurt Matte's 7.357 at 175.75 in the first round before beating Angelle Sampey for the second consecutive week. Tonglet turned in a 7.093 pass at 181.98 to beat Sampey's 7.298 at 160.81 in the second round.

Then the teammates met in the semifinals, and Hines won the matchup with a 7.089 at 194.52 to Tonglet's 7.117 at 183.37.

"It's never fun racing your teammate because you both want to win so badly," Tonglet said. "It's even less fun to run a 7.11 and lose. Both bikes were running really well, and I'm sure that won't be the last time we race each other."

Hines, who had qualified in the number five position with a 7.112 at 181.45, moved on to his sixth career final round. Unfortunately, he jumped the start, giving Ryan Schnitz his first career victory.

"We struggled with my bike a little in qualifying, and we figured out a problem on that last qualifying pass," Hines said. "I was really looking forward to the elimination rounds because I knew we were going to be more competitive. This Screamin' Eagle V-Rod is flying down the track. I gave the win away in the final, which is disappointing, but was glad that we could put the bike in the number three position in the class after just four races.”

Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said the two-bike team has paid off lately.

"The last two races have especially shown the advantages of a two-bike team," Paluso said. "When GT couldn't make the run or when Andrew's bike wasn't as quick as we would have liked, they swapped data and helped each other.

"This was a good event for the team because we’re gaining consistency and making changes that will make us more formidable championship contenders as the season wears on."

Team tuner Matt Hines said the team is going to continue working on the bikes to make sure they stay competitive.

"It was a great weekend and both bikes were just awesome," Hines said. "We have a big string of races coming up, and I think we have a good shot of being back in the final round and maintaining high positions in the point standings. We still have some room to improve and want to make sure that we get more consistent and build from this weekend's performance."

SCREAMIN’ EAGLE/VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON TEAM RIDES INTO HISTORY BOOKS
Harley-Davidson rider Andrew Hines blazes the first 6-second run in NHRA history

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 18, 2005) – Simply put, the Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team is goal oriented.

The team’s biggest problem now might be coming up with a new list of desired accomplishments. In 2004 Andrew Hines rode the Harley-Davidson atop the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, becoming the first factory-backed Harley-Davidson rider to claim the championship. That was just another feat in a series of successes for the group.

Next, the team wanted to break the 6-second barrier. Check that one off the list too. Hines paced the Pro Stock Motorcycle field Friday at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway with a 6.991-second pass at 196.16 mph. Not only does he have the No. 1 qualifying position and his name etched forever in the record book, Hines also snagged a $10,000 bonus for becoming the first member of the Mickey Thompson 6-second Club.

“We have two new bikes for this Harley-Davidson team and the difference between last year’s bike and this one is night and day,” Hines said. “There is a lot of great competition out there and we kept hearing about these quick numbers other teams were producing during offseason testing, but we just kept doing our own thing. That paid off big time.

“Terry (Vance) and my dad (Byron Hines) have been racing together for a long time and I have heard all of their stories including how Terry became the first rider in the 7-second range. It’s great knowing that we are keeping the milestone accomplishments in the family.”

Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said she continues to be impressed by the successes of the team.

“We knew from the beginning of this partnership that the Vance & Hines team would be capable of accomplishing all of the goals we set at Harley-Davidson,” Paluso said. “We wanted to get the bikes qualified first. Then we wanted to win rounds. Then we wanted to win races. Then we wanted to put the Harley-Davidson name on the series championship trophy. They did all of those things in less than three years.

“Our next goal was to break the 6-second barrier and we’ve done that on the first day of the first race of the season. It’s incredible.”

Hines wasn’t sure if he was going to be the first rider in the 6-second range, but he was certain it was going to be someone riding a Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod.

“When I saw GT (Tonglet, teammate) leave the starting line on the second pass of the day, I thought, ‘Oh no, he beat me to it,’ because it looked like a great run,” Hines said. “But the scoreboard flashed the 7.007 and I was excited to have another chance to break the record. As soon as I launched from the starting line I knew we had it.

“People have been realistically talking about the 6-second barrier for at least three or four years. Everyone had a chance for it and I’m glad this team got there first. They make just one trophy for this and I’m thrilled it has the Hines name with a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on it.”

Byron Hines said the milestone has more meaning when it so closely follows a championship season.

“This is so important because no matter how hard you fight it, the hype of a championship always catches up to you,” Hines said. “This is a big shot in the arm for the team because everyone has worked extremely hard to make sure that we didn’t slack off and that we had two competitive bikes ready for the new season.”

Matt Hines, a three-time NHRA champion (1997-’99), was the first rider to accomplish a pass in the 7.0-second range. He said he vividly remembers making the 7.092-pass at Maple Grove Raceway in 2001.

“This is so exciting because the milestones of racing are few and far between,” the former champ said. “Andrew is going to remember this forever and so will the rest of the team. Accomplishments like this keep you motivated to work all those extra hours to make sure you are the most prepared team on race day.”

Qualifying resumes today at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway with the finals scheduled for Sunday.

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.

The Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Ford Truck, Dunlop, Matco Tools and S100.
 

Thanks for visiting BIKERS USA and proving a biker site can be biker-family oriented and still be popular! Please visit again soon !

HOTEL MAPS USA
New & RED HOT!

Used Harley-Davidson Motorcycles