Just don’t even try to goof up Eddie Krawiec's rhythm.

It won’t work.

Just don’t even try to goof up Eddie Krawiec's rhythm.

It won’t work.

The three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion is enjoying one of those zones in which nothing can ruin his momentum – not even time zones.

Krawiec scored his third consecutive victory of the season Saturday in the postponed Charlotte-race runoffs, all while registering his eighth No. 1 qualifying position of the year for the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.

The Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson racer had more than one-hundredth-of-a-second advantage on his closest competitor, Hector Arana Jr., with his 6.841-second elapsed time (at 194.83 mph) on the Texas Motorplex quarter-mile.

Krawiec was as blistering as the 129-degree track temperature Saturday evening, when he beat fellow finalist Steve Johnson with a 6.888- second, 193.49-mph pass. Johnson challenged with 6.917, 193.29.  

The final three elimination rounds of the Pep Boys Carolinas Nationals, halted and moved to Dallas because of shoddy track conditions and rain at Charlotte last weekend, took place during qualifying for the Dallas event.

So Krawiec's success Saturday is even sweeter, considering the Charlotte victory vaulted him into the points lead past teammate Andrew Hines and the fact he has a chance to extend his streak to four consecutive triumphs again from the No. 1 starting spot.

This fifth straight Wally trophy for the Vance & Hines team is an even bigger blessing because it came in the first race of the six-event Countdown to the Championship.

"Having a fast bike at every race helps. Definitely competitors and everybody take notice of it," Krawiec said.

He entered this weekend 17 points behind leader and teammate Andrew Hines in the standings. But he traded places with Hines, thanks to gaining 11 qualifying bonus points and going one round better than Hines in the Charlotte finish. He will begin Sunday's racing for the Dallas trophy and custom-made cowboy hat 23 points ahead of Hines.

Nobody has had a chance to forget Krawiec. With his bike's consistency, his 'Don't beat-yourself' motto, and his quest to "stay on top of your game as a rider," he has built a 26-7 elimination-round record heading into Sunday's first-round Dallas competitor, Fred Camarena.

And uprooting Krawiec from a venue with unfinished business and expecting him to get back into a racing frame of mind at another facility – to take on both races in one weekend – didn’t rattle him too much. He did say he had endured an unusually long and peculiar week.

"It's been a long week. It's one thing to start a race at one facility, then pick up your stuff and drive 1,000 miles clear across the country and start back up again," Krawiec said after recording his fourth victory of the season and 26th overall. He described the exercise as "an emotional roller coaster," saying, "One of the hardest things is getting back into race mode."

He did that relatively easily, advancing past Scotty Pollacheck, Brian Pretzel, then beating Hines by about only four feet (.0147 seconds).

He said, "The key for us this weekend is rolling off the truck with great momentum and making a good run down the track. That's what I've done with my Harley for the last couple of laps here, making good, clean, straight runs."

The key word for Krawiec these days is "fun." And he has a chance to double it Sunday.

"Moving on to tomorrow, it’s even better," he said.

In Dallas first-round pairings, Arana Jr. will battle Shawn Gann, No. 3 Hines will face Hector Arana Sr., Charlotte runner-up Steve Johnson will race LE Tonglet. Other match-ups have John Hall (No. 5) facing Angelle Sampey (No. 12), No. 6 Jerry Savoie racing Angie Smith (No. 11), Chaz Kennedy (No. 7) going against Scotty Pollacheck (No. 10), and Matt Smith (No. 8) running against Adam Arana (No. 9).

Missing the field were Mike Berry, Michael Ray, Redell Harris, and David Barron.

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