Team to Debut New Four-Valve/Overhead
Cam V-Twin Engine for 2009 Season
3rd March 2009
 The
Screamin’ Eagle® / Vance & Hines team
brings a tradition of championship-winning performance
to the Pro Stock Motorcycle division of the 2009 National
Hot Rod Association® Full Throttle Drag Racing
Series. In 2008 the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance
& Hines team earned its fourth NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle title in five seasons, as rider Eddie Krawiec
rode a Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® to win his
first NHRA championship.
“It’s going to be great to be back racing
with that Number 1 on the wheelie bar of the Screamin’
Eagle V-Rod,” said Screamin’ Eagle / Vance
& Hines team owner Byron Hines. “This is
a team that races with clarity and confidence. We
are out to win our fair share of events and be in
position to contend for another championship for 2009.”
In 2009 the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines
team will debut a new fuel-injected V-Twin engine
with four-valve cylinder heads and dual overhead camshafts.
The new engine is a response to a change in the Pro
Stock Motorcycle rules, and will replace the two-valve/pushrod
EFI V-Twin the team has used since 2002. The team
will also make subtle changes to the V-Rod motorcycle
chassis to accommodate the new engine.
“We have been developing this engine since
last year,” said Byron Hines. “It uses
the same bottom end as our previous engine, but has
new cylinders, pistons and connecting rods to work
with the new heads. For now this new engine will allow
us to make competitive power with less stress on the
engine. The new engine should be more durable and
require less maintenance, and give our riders more
confidence when they bring the bike to the line.”
Creating a V-Twin Challenger
Harley-Davidson and Vance & Hines Motorsports
created the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines
team in 2002 to compete in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
division, and to develop a drag-racing motorcycle
powered by a V-Twin engine to challenge the dominance
of four-cylinder engines in NHRA competition. In 2004
the team won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship
as Andrew Hines won three races and, at age 21, became
the youngest professional champion in NHRA history.
It was also the first NHRA title won by a V-Twin-powered
motorcycle. Andrew Hines went on to ride a Screamin’
Eagle / Vance & Hines V-Rod to the NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle championship again in 2005 and 2006. Krawiec
joined the team in 2007, and in 2008 became only the
second racer in NHRA history to earn a national title
without winning a national event during that racing
season. Krawiec qualified seventh for the five-race
Pro Stock Motorcycle Countdown to One playoff, and
then won 14 of 20 possible Countdown rounds to clinch
the championship during the semi-final round of the
season’s final event in Pomona, Calif.
A Team of Champions
Based in Indianapolis, Ind., the Screamin’
Eagle / Vance & Hines team is lead by Vance &
Hines Motorsports owners Byron Hines and Terry Vance.
The duo began racing together in 1972. With Hines
as crew chief and Vance riding, they became a dominant
team in national Pro Stock and Top Fuel motorcycle
drag racing, earning 24 NHRA national victories before
Vance retired from competition in 1988. Matt Hines,
the older son of Byron, returned the team to drag-racing
prominence, earning 30 NHRA event wins and 44 number-one
qualifying awards in eight seasons. Matt Hines was
the first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer to win the
championship in three consecutive seasons (1997-‘99).
Matt Hines retired from racing in 2003 to become assistant
crew chief for the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance and
Hines team. Today, Matt Hines brings his competition
experience to his role as crew chief of the Screamin’
Eagle / Vance & Hines team, making race-day tuning
decisions and advising the team riders. Byron Hines
leads engineering, development and tuning efforts
for the team. The Vance & Hines organization has
won 11 professional motorcycle drag racing titles.
In 2009 the Screamin’ Eagle / Vance & Hines
team will defend its NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle title
with riders Andrew Hines and defending NHRA champion
Eddie Krawiec.
Andrew Hines will turn 26 on May 25, 2009. Since
making his professional debut in 2002, Hines has 15
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event wins and has won the
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship three times.
He is also a three-time winner (2004, 2006-‘07)
of the Ringers Glove Pro Bike Battle bonus event.
In 2008 Hines won two NHRA events and made three other
final-round appearances. He was also the No. 2 qualifier
for the Countdown to One playoffs and finished the
season points race in fourth place.
Eddie Krawiec is 33 years old. He started motorcycle
drag racing in 1999 and had nine wins in the AMA Pro
Star series. He made his NHRA debut in 2004. In 2008
he won the Ringers Glove Pro Bike Battle bonus event
at Indianapolis, qualified seventh for the Countdown
to One playoffs, and won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
championship.
The 2009 Pro Stock Motorcycle season schedule includes
17 events on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series,
beginning at the NHRA AC Delco Gatornationals March
12-15 in Gainesville, Fla., and ending November 12-15
with the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA
Finals in Pomona, Calif.
Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts are inspired by
and built in the spirit of the raw adrenaline and
power of motorcycle racing. Screamin' Eagle Pro parts
are specifically designed for race-use applications,
while Screamin' Eagle parts offer street-use performance
options for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner.
Visit www.harley-davidson.com for more information.
The Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle
team is sponsored by Matco Tools, Dunlop and S100.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based
motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweigth motorcycles
and a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories
and general merchandise. For more information, visit
Harley-Davidson’s website at www.harley-davidson.com
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