It was what the team considered to be the lone highlight at a track that has normally been the site of so many momentum-building performances in the past. Fans at Gainesville Raceway have seen the first Harley-Davidson victory (2004) and the first six-second run (2005), just to name a couple of historic moments.

"This was the first race with a drastically different rules package for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class," tuner and team owner Byron Hines said. "We knew we were in trouble after the first couple of qualifying rounds. But the team handled the situation very well. The guys rode really well, and the rest of the team rallied and worked great together. Everyone had a common goal and that was to get things handled and make sure both bikes were qualified and that we were ready to race on Sunday."

Hines qualified third with a 7.056-second pass at 189.43 mph while teammate GT Tonglet took the 12th spot with a 7.122 at 188.16. Tonglet lost in the first round of eliminations on Sunday, turning in a 7.130 pass at 185.87 in a losing effort to eventual race winner Angelle Sampey's 7.099 at 187.14.

Hines won his first round matchup against Steve Johnson. He rode to a 7.092 at 185.37 to top Johnson's 8.212 at 115.85. In Round Two, Hines (7.239 at 179.17) took the victory over Karen Stoffer after she fouled at the starting line. He lost to Antron Brown in the semifinals, going 7.221 at 181.56 to Brown's 7.202 at 185.52.

"It wasn't the weekend we were looking for," Andrew Hines said. "But it felt good to get some laps under our belts and have one race behind us. It was good to see where we stacked up against the competition. Now we know what we need to do back at the shop to get ready for the next race."

Beyond being the season-opening weekend for the 15-event racing season, the team also helped debut the Harley-Davidson Acceleration Nation display. The new interactive pit display features real V-Rod motorcycles that fans can ride and is just one component in the new multi-year, multi-tiered sponsorship deal with the NHRA and Harley-Davidson, who is now the official motorcycle of the sanctioning body.

"We certainly faced some challenges on the race track this weekend, but the team learned a lot as well," Harley-Davidson Racing Manager Anne Paluso said. "You can't win two championships without being able to rise up to various challenges, and this team is capable of making the necessary adjustments that we need to be even more competitive.

"It was still a big weekend because we launched the new Acceleration Nation display and fans had a great time with that all weekend."

The team now has less than two weeks to prepare for the next event, the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Houston, March 31- April 2.

"We have 14 more races this season so we just have to focus on what we need to do better next time," Tonglet said. "It wasn't the best weekend for the team, but we also have high expectations based on what this team has accomplished in the past. A weekend like this will just motivate us to work harder for the next race."