Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Eddie Krawiec was the top qualifier and won two rounds of Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations aboard a Harley-Davidson V-Rod at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. Krawiec moved into second place in the Countdown to One championship point standings, and now trails NitroFish Buell rider Matt Smith, the series leader, by 59 points.

For the third time this season Krawiec was the top qualifier for an NHRA national, topping the Dallas rounds with a run of 6.970 seconds at 191.92 mph, setting new track records for both ET and top speed in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category. Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines qualified second with a 6.985 ET at 191.27 mph.

Krawiec defeated Mike Berry on the MB Precision Machining Suzuki in the first round of eliminations, and got a win in the second round when Snap-On Tools Suzuki rider Steve Johnson fouled at the start. Krawiec faced Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Matt Smith in the semi-final round, but lost at the line when Smith got a 0.046 reaction time and a 7.115 ET to Krawiec’s 0.058/7.111 pass. Smith’s margin of victory was only 0.008 seconds. Chris Rivas defeated Smith in the final round to win his second event of the season.

“It was a good drag race in the third round,” said Krawiec. “My light was a little late, certainly not in the range I want to be in. I got that extra point for top qualifier, and when you look at the standings and see that less than 20 points separates second from fifth place, you know that every extra point is going to matter as we chase this championship. We lost a little ground on Smith this weekend, but I don’t think he’s too far ahead to catch.”

Hines saw his day end in the first round, with a red-light loss to Indicom Electric Buell rider Angie McBride. Hines left the start 0.033 seconds early.

“I messed up and threw away some points,” said Hines. “There’s nothing to do but bite the bullet and move on to the next race. I’ve won at Memphis three years in a row, so maybe that will be a good place to get back in the groove.”

After two rounds of the five-round NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Countdown to One series for the championship, Smith leads with 2243 points. Krawiec moves from fourth to second place with 2184 points. Rivas is third with 2183 points, followed by Johnson with 2166, Angelle Sampey in fifth with 2165, Chip Ellis in sixth with 2138 points, and Hines in seventh with 2132 points.

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycles will race next September 26-28 at the O’Reilly Midsouth Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis, Tenn.