It has been obvious to anyone who follows the NHRA that this offseason, which ends in less than two weeks, has been a turbulent period for many teams. There have been wholesale changes among drivers, crew chiefs, crewmembers and just about every other facet of the sport -- some of them totally unexpected.

Now, there's yet another one.

Three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Hines will sit out the 2003 season after a disappointing year in which he won just two races and finished third in the standings, 288 points behind Angelle Savoie. Hines, and his legendary father, Byron, were also facing the '03 season without a major sponsor after Eagle One announced last year it was ending its relationship with Vance & Hines Racing.

"I've been racing for seven years now and our program has been very successful," Matt Hines said. "We've grown to the point where we can't run our operation at the high level we have come to expect without major sponsorship. The contract with our former sponsor ended prematurely and we have not been able to secure a sponsor that we feel comfortable with yet."

After finishing the 1996 season as co-Rookie of the Year with Pro Stock's Mike Edwards, Hines went on to win three straight NHRA bike championships in 1997-99. Hines became the youngest pro champ in NHRA history at age 25, while also becoming the first rider ever to win three consecutive titles.

Byron Hines, who has been a successful motorcycle racer and engine builder for over 30 years, has now embarked on a drag racing program in association with Harley-Davidson. It now appears his team's focus will shift to that operation for the immediate future.

"We are experiencing a lot of momentum with the Harley program right now and it would be very difficult to stop the progress we've made and split our attention between the two teams," Matt Hine said. "It's a big challenge for us and I think it will help me in the long run. This is going to help me look at tuning the bike in a different aspect."

Meanwhile, with Savoie and her Star Racing team still attempting to overcome its sponsorship woes heading into 2003, the prospect now looms that two of the biggest names in motorcycle drag racing may not be on the entry list when the schedule gets underway in Gainesville, Fla., in March.

At least for Hines, his participation in the NHRA will continue throughout 2003 as he takes over the job of technical consultant for the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team.

"At this point I really want to focus on the Harley program and when the time is right, I will go back to racing," he said. "This is definitely not the end of my racing career."