HINES RACES HARLEY V-ROD TO NHRA SEMI-FINALS IN ATLANTA

Harley-Davidson® Screamin' Eagle®/Vance & Hines COMMERCE, Ga. (May 15, 2011) Early Exit Drops Krawiec from Pro Stock Motorcycle Points Lead Harley-Davidson® Screamin' Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines advanced to semi-final round of eliminations at the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, and moved into second place in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle season points.

Hines qualified his Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® fourth for the event with a 6.937 elapsed time (et), and defeated Coffman Tank Truck Buell rider Angie Smith in the first round of Sunday eliminations. Hines got a win in the second round when the Lucas Oil Buell of rider Hector Arana Jr. broke at the starting line. Hines faced Nitrofish Suzuki rider LE Tonglet in the semi-final round, and lost when his 7.112-second pass could not match Tonglet’s 6.893 ET, a run that would be the quickest of the day. Tonglet defeated Geico Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer in the final round to win the event. “I’m glad we made it to the semi-finals, but my bike was bogging at the line today,” said Hines, who posted ETs of 6.983 and 7.064 in the first and second rounds respectively. “The team worked really hard to figure it out, but I think we’ve concluded that at some point we hurt the engine. We’ll tear it down when we get home and figure it out.” Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec qualified third for the event with a 6.933 pass, but lost to Suzuki Extended Protection rider Jim Underdahl in the first round. A reaction time of 0.099 seconds put Krawiec behind at the start, and his 6.997 ET was not enough to catch Underdahl, who had a 0.038/7.050 run. “That bad start was rider error, plain and simple,” said Krawiec, who won the opening race of the season at Gainesville, Fla.. “I have realized that I got out of my starting routine, and I’ve been focusing too long on the staging lights, and today I was really late. Which is too bad, because I had an awesome V-Rod to ride today. The bike was really running great. I think I’ve identified my problem at the line, and will get that taken care of.” His early exit in Atlanta drops Krawiec from the series points lead. After three of 16 scheduled Pro Stock Motorcycle events, Stoffer takes over the series lead with 278 points. Hines moves from third to second place, with 263 points. Krawiec is third, with 244 points, followed by LE Tonglet with 240 points. The Pro Stock Motorcycles will next race at the 42nd annual NHRA SuperNationals, June 2-5, at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, N.J. About Harley-Davidson Motor Company Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit http://www.harley-davidson.com. The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team is sponsored by Matco Tools and Dunlop.