SONOMA, Calif. (July 30th, 2016) – Eddie Krawiec is nothing but positive going into race day as the number 1 qualifier in Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend in Sonoma. On the second and final week for the bikes on the Western Swing, Eddie also managed a runner-up finish to Harley-Davidson teammate, Andrew Hines, in the Pro Bike Battle on Saturday.
Krawiec, who won the national event last year has a love for the Northern California drag strip. “I love coming to Sonoma. Not only is the view awesome with the vineyards everywhere but it’s a great atmosphere. It’s at sea level and when you run naturally aspirated bikes like we do, [Pro Stock Motorcycles] rely on atmosphere. When you come here you have great whether conditions, great everything, our motorcycles love it. It’s up to us to find a tuneup and make sure that we can get our bikes fast from A to B. All-in-all, I love this track. I’ve always done well here. I don’t look for things to change here. Hopefully I can repeat last year.”
Coming off of a runner-up finish at the previous event in Denver, Eddie touches on the importance of atmosphere and horsepower. “Denver’s probably harder to tune than anywhere because it’s so unlike any other place that you go. Again, touching that naturally aspirated power coming down to sea level. [In Denver] you’re a mile high, it’s definitely a big deal. The whole thing for a rider is just being able to adapt. We lose probably a hundred plus horsepower when we go up to Denver. When we come down here we gain all this horsepower. As a rider you have to be able to adapt because things happen much faster when that thing’s making a hundred more horsepower.”
Despite winning the annual Pro Bike Battle last year, Krawiec lost to teammate, Andrew Hines, by a small margin. “Things didn’t go to script for me because my teammate whupped me up there in the final. But to go 1 and 2 at the Pro Bike Battle is all we can ask for. We’ve been fortunate for our Harley-Davidson team to do that the past couple years.”
The Pro Stock Motorcycle points-leader was not shy about praising the people behind making those results happen. “It shows you how good our crew guys are and everyone that stands behind us. Ultimately we get to stand out in front of the press guys and everybody and say ‘Thank you’. But there’s a lot of people behind the scenes that make it happen. We’ve got 22 guys on our deal back at the shop and out at the race track. When we’re here at the races, they’re back at the shop working; making sure that we have the best stuff that we can have. When you’re out here making clean and flawless runs, that’s what you have to do. The level of competition is pretty fierce. You have the number 2 qualifier a thousandth of a second behind me on a different brand of motorcycle. Then you have Suzukis are another two-hundredths behind us. It’s a tight-knit pack and it makes for fun, great racing. Ultimately the only people that win here are the fans. The fans get to see awesome racing.”
Final Eliminations for the NHRA Mello Yello Toyota Sonoma Nationals begin Sunday at 11:00 A.M. PST. Live TV coverage begins at 1:00 P.M. PST on Fox.