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Harley dominates NHRA Pro Stock motorcycle racing

Bruce Brown
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Harley dominates NHRA
Harley-Davidson competition drag bike rider Eddie Krawiec is building his lead over the rest of the field in the National Hot Rod Association Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series.

Krawiec’s winning quarter-mile run at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway took just 6.852 seconds. His fastest top speed in the finals was 196.70 mph, chalking up his third straight win as Harley dominates NHRA motorcycle drag racing. That’s Krawiec on the Harley-Davidson drag bike at Maple Grove in the photo below.

Harley dominates NHRA

Krawiec and his Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines teammate Andrew Hines both ride competition drag motorcycles with homologated bodywork based on the design of the Harley-Davidson Street Rod, a 750cc liquid-cooled V-twin production bike. The Pro Stock engine is a purpose built 160 cubic inch pushrod V-Twin engine that is not production based. Hines is currently in fifth place in the National Hot Rod Association Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series six races leading to the National Championship.

2016 Championship Chase | H-D Screamin' Eagle / Vance & Hines Racing

“I’ve won three in a row before but never in a sequence this important,” said Krawiec, who has now won five times at Maple Grove Raceway. “To win the U.S. Nationals and then to follow that with wins in the first two Countdown rounds is simply huge. The team is really clicking and I’ve got a strong Harley Street Rod bike under me. We’ve got momentum but we won’t relax.”

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The production Street Rod you can buy at a Harley dealership doesn’t have the same engine as Krawiec’s dragster. The 2018 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 2018 Street Rod both use the same base engine, set up differently for different results.

Forget about finding out the exact specs of Krawiec’s drag bike, by the way. The only sure thing we can know about his bike is the base engine. Everything else is secret – it’s a competition bike, after all.

Harley-Davidson also fields a team for American Flat Track Racing but 2017 is proving better for Harley and its riders on the drag strip than on dirt ovals. This year the H-D flat track team is breaking in new production-based liquid-cooled 750cc engines from the Street Rod after decades of running, and usually winning, with an air-cooled 750. At the NHRA tracks, however, the 2017 Harley-Davidson/Vance & Hines team is crushing opponents as Krawiec continues to rack up championship points.

Updated to correct engine information. The purpose-built V-twin drag race engine is not production based, although the homologated bodywork is based on the Harley-Davidson Street Rod motorcycle.

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Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
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Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
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