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NHRA: Seeling and Hines to battle to wire for Pro Stock Motorcycle title

7 November 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

POMONA, Calif. - Every point will be critical when Angelle Seeling and Matt Hines settle the season-long debate: Who will win the NHRA Winston Pro Stock Motorcycle championship?

Seeling, from New Orleans, holds a 14 point advantage over Hines entering the 35th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals, Nov. 11-14 at Pomona Raceway. The $1.7 million race is the final of 22 events in the $40 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series for 1999.

If Seeling can win her first championship, she would become only the second female to win an NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series championship. Shirley Muldowney was the first female to accomplish the feat, winning NHRA Top Fuel titles in 1977, 1980 and 1982.

"I have a lot of respect for what Shirley Muldowney did for the sport and the women in it," Seeling said. "It would be a perfect start to a new century of drag racing."

Seeling, rider of the Team Winston Suzuki, has five victories in seven final rounds this season, and wants the championship to put the finishing touches on what has been her best season ever.

"In the beginning of the year I didn't know what it took to win a title," Seeling said. "I had no idea. Now I do, and I feel like we deserve this Winston championship. I feel like I'm ready and no one deserves it more than we do. I know we want it more than anybody."

Hines, from Trinidad, Colo., is seeking his third-straight championship on his Vance & Hines-tuned Eagle One Suzuki. Hines has claimed three victories in five final round appearances.

Although both riders suffered semifinal losses at the most recent NHRA national event at Houston Raceway Park, Hines cut into Seeling's then 35-point advantage by lowering the national elapsed time record to 7.154 seconds.

He may need to duplicate that effort if he's to earn a third straight Winston championship. Seeling, meanwhile, is not about to let her points lead slip from her grasp again. After opening the season in impressive fashion and leading the points chase for half the year, Seeling watched as Hines posted back-to-back victories at the U.S. Nationals and True Value NHRA Keystone Nationals to move ahead. Seeling regrouped and won at Memphis, Tenn. to get back out front. She doesn't want to look back.

"This year really has been awesome," Seeling said. "Now that we're in such a tight battle with Matt, if I'm lucky enough to leave Pomona with the Winston championship, I'm really going to enjoy it. If I win this championship in Pomona and they come at me with that bottle of champagne, I'm going to have to lie on the ground because I'll be so overcome. If I don't, I'll probably fall down because I'll be so excited and exhausted from the title chase."

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