It's disappointing to reach an NHRA final round then see the opponent receive the trophy, but this weekend at the AAA Texas FallNationals yielded a double disappointment for Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Steve Johnson.

The lone Suzuki rider in the Countdown to the Championship field was unable to rebound Sunday from an engine change following the semifinals and conceded the triumph to Andrew Hines at the Texas Motorplex. The Harley-Davidson racer earned his fifth victory in six finals this season and regained the points lead from earlier-exiting teammate Eddie Krawiec.

It's disappointing to reach an NHRA final round then see the opponent receive the trophy, but this weekend at the AAA Texas FallNationals yielded a double disappointment for Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Steve Johnson.

The lone Suzuki rider in the Countdown to the Championship field was unable to rebound Sunday from an engine change following the semifinals and conceded the triumph to Andrew Hines at the Texas Motorplex. The Harley-Davidson racer earned his fifth victory in six finals this season and regained the points lead from earlier-exiting teammate Eddie Krawiec.

Hines will carry a 45-point lead over Krawiec into this weekend’s AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

Johnson, the runner-up Saturday in the resumption of the Charlotte race, couldn’t salvage a victory in two final-round chances. Worse, he didn’t even make it to the starting line following what he called his “$25,000 worth of catastrophic engine explosion.”

Hines and his Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson team waited for Johnson as long as the NHRA would allow them. But he went on and clocked a 7.571-second winning elapsed time at 186.54 mph on the quarter-mile south of Dallas at Ennis, Texas, that only frustrated Johnson more.

“The Harley bike broke,” Johnson said. “It might not have looked like it. It went from first gear to fourth gear. If I had known that, I would have put in my B engine. I wanted to tear their throats out. I wanted to win.”

Instead, he scrambled with the help of Top Fuel driver and close pal Larry Dixon and members from the teams of LE Tonglet (whom he beat in the opening round) and Jerry Savoie. Together they “were matching parts with other engines. It was a cool effort,” Johnson said, lamenting, “We never hurt so many parts in one race.”  

But Hines and his organization came away not only with the victory – its sixth in a row and ninth total this year – but also a compliment from Johnson.

“They have lots of resources and tons and tons of talent. To throw in sportsmanship, that makes them a class act. You couldn’t ask for anything more from a competitor,” Johnson said.

Hines wasn’t convinced he and his team would get as much credit from some other people.

“We’re going to look like the bad guys, no matter what. There’s those keyboard jockeys that are going to get their pants in a fire,” Hines said, defending his procedure.

“I went up there and did my normal deal,” he said. “I even took my time rolling in the water. They told me to start it. They told me to start it a second time. I sat there in my leathers an extra nine minutes.” That was no small gesture, as the track temperature was 138 degrees at the time.

Hines staid starter Mark Lyle “was holding me but once he waves you up, you’ve got to go. Steve’s probably not the happiest guy in the world, but what am I going to do?”

Hines said he was happy for his team’s performance (which followed Krawiec’s victory over Johnson the afternoon before in the Charlotte make-up final). However, he wasn’t gloating.

“The saying is ‘There are no bad win lights.’ But there was no good way around this one,” Hines said. “It’s a tough deal. It’s the Countdown.”

The 37-time winner (third on the all-time class victories list and best in the category this year) confirmed Johnson’s observation that the Harley-Davidson had a mechanical problem. He and announcer Alan Reinhart played a fill-in-the-blank game. Said Reinhart, “If he [Johnson] makes it [to the starting line] . . .” Replied Hines quickly, “I lose.”

He said of his bike, “It was rattling so hard in first gear, shaking the tire. I pushed the button for second [gear]. It went straight to fifth. Something annihilated itself inside the transmission. I’ve never experienced that before. If he had been there, more than likely you [media] have been talking to him. It probably makes Steve feel worse that my bike did that. But I guess it’s fate.”

Hines defeated Hector Arana, Savoie, and Scotty Pollacheck to get to the final round. Johnson advanced past Tonglet, John Hall, and Matt Smith.

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