After that first qualifying pass at Houston Raceway Park, two-time defending NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines was in ninth place. Teammate GT Tonglet wasn't even qualified.

The weekend, however, came around. The team rallied in qualifying and made the most out of the day that really counts � Sunday.

Hines earned his first final round appearance of the season and 11th of his career, falling short in the final to Suzuki rider Angelle Sampey. Tonglet moved past the first round since the Reading, Pa., event in September last season, where he also earned a semifinal appearance.

"Considering where we started out on Friday and where we ended up on Sunday, we did better than anyone expected," team owner Byron Hines said. "We were so far off after the first round of qualifying and Matt (Hines, crew chief) decided that we needed to take the bikes in two completely opposite directions. When one bike outperformed the other, we changed the setup for the slower bike. It worked great and we were the last V-Twin standing. I was very happy to see how Matt and the entire crew focused this weekend."

Hines qualified in the No. 7 position after posting a 7.096-second pass at 190.92 mph, while Tonglet started eliminations in the No. 13 position with a 7.134 at 190.70.

In Round One, Hines beat Buell rider Matt Smith (7.107 at 190.38 to starting line foul) while Tonglet beat Buell rider Tom Bradford (7.168 at 187.65 to foul). In Round Two, Hines beat Suzuki rider Antron Brown (7.176 at 189.47 to foul) and Tonglet beat Suzuki rider Shawn Gann (7.217 at 185.95 to foul).

"The first couple of rounds weren't exactly pretty, but both bikes saw the win-light and that's all that matters," Tonglet said. "We moved up in points and that was our main goal and to do that, we needed to go rounds. It was especially nice to win first round because it's been a long time since I've been past that first round and that was a big relief."

Tonglet lost to Sampey in the semifinal matchup, turning in a 7.225 at 186.20 to her 7.163 pass at 189.50. Hines beat Buell rider Chip Ellis in his semifinal race, going 7.177 at 189.23 to Ellis' 7.271 at 185.46.

Hines lost in the final round, but made up points in the standings and is now in second place after two races in the 15-event series. He rode his V-Rod to a 7.200 run at 188.04 to Sampey's winning pass of 7.144 at 190.11. Sampey leads the category, holding a 63-point lead over Hines. Tonglet is in eighth place, 129 points behind Sampey.

"We struggled this weekend but in the end, the team made some good adjustments and put the riders in a position to win rounds," said Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso. "Andrew going to the final round and GT making his first semifinal appearance since last season is exactly what the team needed going into a month-long break. Now we have some good data to work from and get ready for the next race in Atlanta."

Andrew Hines said Sunday made up for the struggles throughout qualifying.

"We can't complain too much with two semifinal appearances and my first final of the year," Hines said. "We are starting to figure out the right tuneup, and GT and I are doing everything we can to ride our best. We have a few weeks to get back to the shop and get our V-Rods tuned up. It was a good Sunday, but we still have a lot of work to do."

The next NHRA POWERade Drag Racing event that features the Pro Stock Motorcycle category is the May 4-7 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.