Morrison – Two-time defending world champion Andrew Hines won the pro stock motorcycle division Sunday at the Mile-High Nationals in dramatic fashion.
Hines defeated Matt Guidera, who was trying for his first victory, with a time of 7.435 seconds at 179.97 mph at Bandimere Speedway. Hines overcame a reaction time that was .58 slower than Guidera’s.
Hines’ victory added to the long list of racing accomplishments for his family, which now has won five times at Bandimere Speedway. His father, Byron, owns the team and his brother, Matt, had previously won four times here.
“Just to get this Bandimere win, everybody that does drag racing wants to win here,” said Andrew Hines, 23. “Just to be able to follow in my brother’s footsteps and be able to be here racing against the top guys, just makes it that much better. For me to be on this Harley-Davidson with (my dad) tuning it is just amazing.”
Hines fought through a tough bracket to get to the final, defeating top qualifier Chip Ellis, who set a track record Saturday in qualifying.
“To come here 28 points down and leave 28 points up is unreal,” Hines said. “I was hoping this race would be the turning point, and we’re looking like it might be.”
Connolly continues climb
Dave Connolly continues to move up at Bandimere. A year after finishing second to Warren Johnson, Connolly won Sunday in the pro stock division. Connolly defeated Jason Line with a time of 7.173 seconds at 193.07 mph.
“It’s good that we got a win up here. It was 103 degrees out here and it takes a toll on the crew, but I’m glad I could pay them back with a win,” Connolly said. “The final was probably one of the slickest tracks I have been on in a while.”
Just seven races ago, Connolly was 12th in the standings, 227 points back. Since then he has been in four finals and won three. Connolly now is in third place, 51 points behind points leader Line.
“If you had told me five or six races ago that we would be a couple rounds out of the lead, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Connolly said. “We have turned it around. We are catching the right guys at the right time.”
Footnotes
Pro stock’s Erica Enders, who was making her debut with Don Schumacher Racing, bowed out in the first round. … Schumacher, who had an event-record 12 entries under his banner, nearly produced a nitro sweep. He owns the funny car driven by winner Gary Scelzi and the dragster of top fuel runner-up Tony Schumacher, his son. … Scelzi, last year’s funny car world champion, posted his first win of the season in just his second final. … Sportsman event winners were Dean Carter of Glendale, Ariz. (competition eliminator); Ryan McClanahan of Alta Loma, Calif. (stock eliminator); Lakewood’s Gary Wamboldt (super comp); and Duane Kohl of Lincoln, Neb. (super gas).
Mike Chambers contributed to this report.
Brandon Meachum can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bmeachum@denverpost.com.
