NHRA's Eddie Krawiec steps outside comfort zone on weekends off
Imagine the scene, if you will.
Two cars on the starting line of a drag strip, both appear to be street legal, but clearly they are more powerful than any highway should ever allow. One car cackles and pops, as the turbocharger spools up during the staging process. The other shoots a plume of nitrous into the night sky as its engine revs.
The Christmas Tree, the starting device on a drag strip, flashes green. One car leaves the starting line with the wheels almost six feet in the air five feet into the run. The other car travels about 100 feet before it makes an abrupt turn right and crosses the centerline:
A Drag Radial race car is one of the most volatile race cars in drag racing, and as unpredictable as the nitro-burning machines on the NHRA tour.
This kind of drag racing vehicle is diametrically opposite to what Eddie Krawiec does 18-times a year while he drag races in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series aboard his 6.7-second Harley-Davidson within the Pro Stock Motorcycle division.
Pro Stock Motorcycles are rightfully predictable, the way they are built to be.
Krawiec's race vehicle during his off weekends is predictable in another way. He can never predict what it will do when he stomps the accelerator.
Krawiec's 440-cubic inch, LS-powered 2000 Camaro weighs a hefty 3400 pounds and covers the eighth-mile in 4.4-seconds; roughly the same elapsed time his championship winning motorcycle races to half-track at NHRA events.
The only thing his race vehicles have in common is the driver and a narrow ten-inch racing slick. While this type of tire is perfect for the motorcycle, on a car weighing over 3,000 pounds, Krawiec understands this is the kind of ride which could end up getting him featured on a "When Disaster Strikes" reality show.
Krawiec, a three-time NHRA series champion, admits the temperamental vehicle suits his thrill-seeking need; and admits while sitting still it's already on the edge of out of control.
Krawiec manhandles the 3,400-pound beast down eighth-mile tracks in 4.4 seconds at 170 miles per hour. That's half the distance he covers on two-wheels.
"I went to the Lights Out 7 [Drag Radial] event In Valdosta, Ga., and they were all telling me how crazy I am because I feel safer riding a motorcycle," Krawiec said with a laugh. "And this car runs just as fast as my bike does."
Racing this car to half-track is enough of a thrill for Krawiec, who has attempted one quarter-mile pass but wisely lifted 900 feet into the pass.
"It is a solid six-second car if you run it all the way through," Krawiec said.
Krawiec said the largest difference between the two race vehicles is his motorcycle has more of a power influx early into the run while the automobile gets the brunt of its power a little over 400 feet down track.
What would make a drag racer who makes a living for his ability to be robotic choose such a diametrically opposite kind of vehicle for his stress reliever?
Simply put, Krawiec has always maintained a passion for full-bodied race cars.
"If NHRA Pro Modified was a full-time professional class, I might gravitate that way," admitted Krawiec. "I love this style of class, and I grew up around this kind of racing. Pro Modified is an awesome class. In my opinion, it's probably the hardest car to drive and possibly there's more technology in those cars than a Top Fuel dragster."
Krawiec isn't alone in his affection for race cars, teammate and five-time NHRA champion Andrew Hines has attempted to make runs in Pro Stock cars in years past. Hines very well could take a spin in Krawiec's adventure machine.
"I've extended the offer, and he's probably going to make a run someday soon," Krawiec said. "The problem is, he'll probably want to start driving a car after he does."
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Bobby Bennett is the Publisher/Editor of CompetitionPlus.com, a leading independent online drag racing magazine, since 1999. For the latest in dragster news worldwide, visit http://www.competitionplus.com.
