For the fourth time in the last six seasons, Andrew Hines has claimed the $25,000 top prize in the special Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle held Saturday at O’Reilly Raceway Park. The three-time NHRA champion rode his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson to a 6.970 at more than 192 mph in the final round after opponent Hector Arana fouled at the starting line. The Vance & Hines team has now won the specialty event 10 times since the inaugural race in 1991, including the last six with their Harley V-Rods.
“I can’t tell you what this means to me,” said Hines, who also scored Ringers titles in 2004, 2006, and 2007. “It was tough to see Hector go red, but as soon as I saw my win light on, I thought to myself, 'I just won 25 grand.’ With the economy being what it is, this really does a lot for our team.
“To win this race four times is also special The only other riders who have done that are my brother, Matt, and John Myers. John was my idol, and to be a member of that club really means a lot to me.”
Hines, who was the No. 2 seed in the eight-bike field based on qualifying results from the previous year’s events, was incredibly consistent with runs of 6.97 in his round one win against Steve Johnson and a 6.95 in the semi’s against his Vance & Hines teammate Eddie Krawiec, the defending event winner.
“I can’t say enough about the job that Matt has done with this V-Rod,” said Hines. “Everything was flawless today, and we just rolled on through with sixes on every pass. I red-lighted in the final last year against Eddie and that only made me more hungry for a win this time. I live a couple of miles from here in Avon and this is our home track, and it was so special to come down the return road in front of all the fans.”
Krawiec, the reigning NHRA Full Throttle world champion, gave up a couple of hundredths on the starting line in his semifinal race against Hines and quickly fell behind as he ran just a 7.01 to Hines’ 6.95.
“I double hit the [shifter] button and missed a gear,” said Krawiec. “I was also a bit later than I wanted to be on the starting line. I needed to have a .02 light, not a .046. I don’t like to get beat, but as long as the trophy stays in the Vance & Hines shop, it’s a good thing.”
Arana, who has won two national events this year, was making his fifth start in the Ringers Battle but his first since 1997. Arana, like Hines, lives in the Indianapolis area, posted the quickest time in the opening round with a 6.93 and then won a pivotal semifinal race against Matt Smith, who fouled by eight-thousandths on his Nitro Fish Suzuki.
“I can’t believe I red-lighted,” said Arana, who received $10,000 for his runner-up finish and remains the top qualifier for Monday’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil eliminations with his earlier 6.93 run. “I just want to win so bad that sometimes I can’t help it. This doesn’t change the fact that we still have a great bike. I just hope we can make up for this on Monday.”