Five rounds of qualifying runs put 16 of 34 Pro Stock Bike entries into the U.S. Nationals elimination rounds. Tonglet qualified his Screamin� Eagle V-Rod fourth with a run of 7.191 seconds at 186.92 mph. Hines was right behind his teammate with a 7.194/186.10 run, which was good for fifth position. Chip Ellis was the top qualifier with a run of 7.115/186.85

On a hot and muggy Labor Day, Tonglet (7.288/185.33) rolled through the first round with an easy win over Chip Hunter (7.330/181.30). Hines (7.161/186.46) dispatched Geno Scali (7.288/182.53) to move to the second round, where he raced his Screamin� Eagle teammate.

Hines and Tonglet faced off for the fifth time this season and for the second race weekend in a row. Tonglet took a shot at a quick light but was just early, handing the red-light win to Hines, who had his best run of the weekend with a 7.145/187.96 pass.

The semi-final round found Hines facing Shawn Gann. Both riders had amazing starts with identical 0.004-second reaction times and it was a dead heat for the first 330 feet before Gann pulled slightly ahead. At the line, it was Gann (7.264/183.37) just beating Hines (7.268/183.99) to take the win by 0.0046-seconds, or about 15 inches.

�This is what racing is all about,� said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. �These two great riders faced off at the biggest drag racing event of the year and put on a great show for their fans � and it came down to just a few inches. The Screamin� Eagle team and our riders had a great weekend. We�d like to get past the semi-finals and it was sure close this time, but we leave Indy with the points lead, both riders in the top ten, and three events to go.�

In the final round, Gann (7.238/185.74) lost to Antron Brown (7.213/185.77), who claimed his second final-round win in a row.

Brown now trails Hines by 153 points in the Pro Stock Bike championship race with three events to go on the season. After 12 of 15 rounds, Hines has 1038 points, followed by Brown with 885 points, and Gann with 839 points. Savoie is fourth with 821 points, followed by Craig Treble with 789 points and Tonglet in sixth with 695 points.

On Sept. 4, Hines and Tonglet faced off in the final round of the 14th Annual K&N; Filters Pro Bike Klash, a special bonus event for Pro Stock Bike competitors held during the 50th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Eight riders qualified based on points earned for qualifying performance during the year. Hines defeated Michael Phillips and Brown to make the final, while Tonglet advanced by beating Scali and Angelle Savoie. Hines (7.203/186.10) beat Tonglet (7.270/183.99). The Screamin� Eagle teammates agreed to split the $20,000 purse evenly beforehand, so the race was for bragging rights only.

The next Pro Stock Bike event on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series is the 20th Annual Lucas Oils NHRA Nationals, Sept. 16-19, at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.