Over the next three-plus weeks, MotorSportsTalk will feature season-ending reviews of the top drivers of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Each day, we’ll have one in-depth review of a driver that finished in the top-five in each of the four professional classes (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle), as well as a compendium of select other drivers that did not finish in the top-five.
The list of drivers we’ve already posted is below. Today, we feature five-time champion Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Andrew Hines:
Driver: Andrew Hines
Age: 33
Hometown: Villa Park, California
Team: Vance & Hines Racing
Sponsor/motorcycle: Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
Crew chief: Matt Hines
2016 season finish: Third in Pro Stock Motorcycle
2016 season statistics: 16 races, 5 wins, 4 runner-up, 2 semifinals, 4 quarterfinals. No. 1 qualifier two times. Round-by-round record: 39 wins, 11 losses.
Career statistics: 230 races, 47 wins, 30 runner-up, 47 semifinals, 55 quarterfinals. No. 1 qualifier 38 times. Round-by-round record: 424 wins, 182 losses. One DNQ. Five-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014, 2015.
What went right in 2016: Hines had a championship season – but without the championship. He earned five wins in 16 starts and reached the final round 9 times. Had strong battle with teammate Eddie Krawiec (finished second) and surprise 2016 champion Jerry Savoie.
What went wrong in 2016: Hines was in the championship battle until the final race, but when he lost in the quarterfinals in the season-ending event at Pomona, that ended his title hopes, finishing a mere 31 points behind champion Savoie. … Not a lot went wrong for Hines overall, but he seemed to struggle at times during the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs, including second-round losses at St. Louis, Dallas and Pomona, and lost in the finals at Charlotte and Las Vegas (recording a rare red-light foul at the starting line). Had he been able to turn one of those losses into a win, he might have been able to overtake Savoie.
What to look for in 2017: Hines is one of the toughest competitors in Pro Stock Motorcycle. To come so close to yet another championship in 2016 will definitely be a rallying cry and incentive for him and his team in 2017. Don’t be surprised if Hines gets off to a big start – and carries it on all the way to a sixth championship.
Season reviews already posted:
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