Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 EAL John Hall rode his Viper Motorcycle Co. Buell to victory in the NHRA's biggest race of the year – the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals – in Indianapolis. P69 Briefly... After a tough season, Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew Hines failed to make the Countdown to the Championship for the first time in his career. With no chance to win a fourth championship, Hines is now focused solely on winning races and helping to block for teammate Eddie Krawiec, who is also attempting to win his fourth title. Hines also acknowledged that without the pressure that is associated with the Countdown, he's now free to try a few things he might not otherwise consider including a more aggressive approach to his riding. "Right now, we're installing a new gear in my bike called 'park,' " Hines said. "From now until the end of the year, the people out here who don't like to stage first are going to start staging first. I can't win the championship, but I can have some fun. It's not going to be a lot of fun to race me." For someone who hasn't raced a Pro Stock Motorcycle in more than a year, Craig Treble showed no signs of rust as he made his first start of the season aboard a Suzuki that was leased from Karen Stoffer and her Jonco Team. Despite the long layoff, Treble managed to qualify with an 11th best 6.99. "I didn't forget how to ride," Treble said. "In fact, I've been racing my Hayabusa here [at Lucas Oil Raceway] in their sportsman series. I've probably made more runs down this track this year than everyone else in the field combined. That bike is slower than this Pro Stock Suzuki, but it's still seat time and it helped me a lot." Gann's Speed Buell's Shawn Gann rarely ever misses an opportunity to draw attention to himself so his latest gimmick should not be surprising. Gann arrived at Indy with a new set of leathers with a Batman theme and he looked every bit the cartoon character including a mask and cape. Gann offered no explanation for the new look other than, "It's just me being me. Following the completion of the Indy event, the field of 10 riders is now set for the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA's six-race playoff that determines the 2013 season champions. Hector Arana Jr. led the regular season points from wire-towire, and ended the Countdown as the top seed. Arana Jr is followed by Matt Smith, Michael Ray, John Hall, Hector Arana Sr., Scotty Pollacheck, Eddie Krawiec, Adam Arana, LE Tonglet, and Shawn Gann. The top 10 riders will now have their points totals adjusted prior to the next event in Charlotte. Arana Jr.'s once huge lead will be cut to just 30 points while each of the other riders will be separated by just 10 points. In the NHRA points system, each round win is worth 20 points. Heading into the second round of eliminations, Nitro Fish Suzuki's LE Tonglet faced a very simple, but extremely high-pressure situation. Win the round over Hector Arana Jr. and he would qualify for the Countdown to the Championship or lose and not be a part of NHRA's six-race playoffs. Tonglet responded with a great performance as he left the starting line first and never looked back in a 6.99 to 7.01 win over Arana Jr. "This is the best bike that I've had all year by a mile" said Tonglet. "I just tried to do my job and not get too worked up. We've had a fast bike all weekend so that wasn't a concern. This is a lot less pressure than I felt in 2010 when I was racing for the championship. I'm just glad that we made it." For Arana Jr., the loss could have been much worse as he was able to lock up the top spot in the Countdown and will enjoy a 30-point lead over Smith when the playoffs being in Charlotte in two weeks. "My bike bogged in that round against LE and we still don't know why," Arana Jr. said. "If anything, it should have spun the tire. I really have no idea but this is a new combination and we'll get it figured out before Charlotte."

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