Final entry: Hines clinches third consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle championship

Andrew Hines continues to bring glory to the Harley-Davidson brand, winning his and the manufacturer's third straight POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle title Sunday at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. Hines' $50,000 payday came after Craig Treble defeated Antron Brown, Hines' last remaining challenger, in the second round. [Complete story]

Pro Stock Motorcycle, round two

Craig Treble slaps a .005 light on Brown, virtually eliminating any chance the Army rider had, and powers away to a 7.068 to Brown’s distant 7.149 to hand the win to Hines, who was watching anxiously from the starting line.

Hines wins the championship, his third.

Quick Quotes:

Hines: “It was awesome to watch that Vance & Hines power [in Treble's bike] take over in that race. Craig Treble and Harry Lartigue have been running so string the last part of this year and they really helped us there. You don’t want it to end that way exactly but the championship is earned over the course of the year. It just finished this way. It’s an awesome feeling, even though it went down to the wire like this. I’d like to have five or six races back and have some different outcomes to have made it easier on us.”

Brown: “You work so hard all year, you get close like this it almost makes it hurt more. Steve Tartaglia and the guys all the work hard every day at the shop have probably have worked harder than anybody. I congratulate Vance & Hines and Andrew. They won, and they deserve to win. Next year it’s going to be a different story. We’re going to be tough, like we’ve never been before. I’m not going to be very friendly next year.”

Final points:

Hines: 1,099

Brown: 1,076

Pro Stock Motorcycle, round one

Antron Brown, running in the right lane, dodges a major bullet as Ryan Schnitz red-lights with a -.007 reaction time, invalidating a 7.057. Brown wins the round and keeps his hopes alive with a slower 7.152.

Hines red-lights with a -.002 reaction time, wasting a 7.028 against Tom Bradford’s 7.07.

Brown will face Craig Treble in round two. Treble, who ran 7.03 in round one, will have lane choice.

Quick Quotes:

Brown [prior to Hines’ red-light]: “Definitely a sigh of relief there. We didn’t know where we were with the bike after yesterday, but I’ll tell you what: this US Army team won’t give up. Steve will get us ready for the next round. Don’t give up on us yet; we’re still fighting. I slept great last night; the way I look at it I have nothing to worry about; I’ll do what I can do and the rest is out of my hands.”

Hines: “Oh my god; I flat-out blew it. I don’t know what more to say. Whatever will be will be, I suppose. Either way I’m proud of our team and all the works they’ve done to get us here. Hopefully we’ll still sneak out of here with the championship.”

Current points

Hines: 1,099

Brown: 1,076

Scenarios:

1. Antron Brown must reach the final round to win the championship or reach the semifinals and reset the national record.

Championship scenarios

Andrew Hines (pictured) owns a 43-point lead over Antron Brown, so Brown must go three rounds further than Hines to pass him, or two rounds further and reset the national record, which is a very remote possibility. If Hines reaches the semifinals, he will clinch the championship.

Hines and Brown are on opposite sides of the ladder.

Hines will face No. 16 qualifier Tom Bradford in the first round. If he wins, he will face the winner of the Michael Phillips-Geno Scali first-round race. His potential semifinal opponents are Shawn Gann, Mike Berry, Matt Guidera, and Steve Johnson.

Brown will face No. 7 qualifier Ryan Schnitz in the first round. If he wins, he will face the winner of the Craig Treble-Karen Stoffer first-round race. His potential semifinal opponents are teammate Angelle Sampey, Matt Smith, Chip Ellis, and GT Tonglet.

Quick note:

Red-lights decided 11 of 15 eliminations rounds at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals, and Hines -- with four red-lights on the season to Brown’s seven -- is trying to make sure that a foul fate does not befell him.

“My lights have been good so far, so we feel we’re in good shape,” said Hines. “I try to hit each lane as hard as I can in qualifying and to see where the sun is and what the rollout is. At this track, both lanes seem pretty equal in rollout, which isn’t always the case. Red-lights are just another running element; you need to know how to slow your motorcycle down. Our team is pretty good at that. They were able to speed my reaction times up in eliminations in Las Vegas and I had my best light in the final.”

Sampey officially eliminated from championship

Although it was almost a foregone conclusion entering the event, with the final results of qualifying, Angelle Sampey has been officially eliminated from contention for the 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Motorcycle championship.

If Hines were to lose in the first round and Sampey win the race and reset the national e.t. record, they would be tied at 1,099 points, but Hines would win the first tiebreaker, which is rounds won.

Hines already has 28 round wins this season and Sampey 23, so even four rounds to win the race would leave her one shy with a total of 27.