Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1166337
IN THE WIND P54 Savoie Takes Over NHRA Points Lead With Pennsylvania Win F or the past few years, Su- zuki teams have taken their lumps in the NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock Motorcycle series, but the tide appears to be turn- ing after White Alligator Suzuki's Jerry Savoie earned his second- straight win at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Read- ing, Pennsylvania, September 16. Fresh off a big win at the sport's marquee event in Indianapolis, Savoie went back-to-back for the first time in his career when he rode to a 6.774 to 6.805 victory against fellow Suzuki rider Steve Johnson in the final round. It was NHRA's first all-Suzuki final in nearly a year since Savoie raced then-teammate LE Tonglet in Dallas. "We're on a roll now, but I re- ally didn't see it coming; I don't think anybody did," Savoie said. "We were barely in the top 10 a month ago, and now we are lead- ing the points. That's really hard to believe. This is just a great day. In the final, we had Steve, and we stepped it up; actually, I think conditions got better, so we both stepped up. I know we ran a 6.77, and everyone is looking at and pointing at the scoreboards, but Steve went 6.80 in the other lane. I honestly don't really like racing against Steve because you never know what you're go- ing to get. He's been out here a long time, and he's tricky. I feel for him because he could use a win. We both made nice runs. All the credit to Tim [Kulinguan, crew chief] and everyone else on our team, they worked their butts off to get us where we are." Savoie skipped the mid- season events in Richmond, Chicago, and Norwalk. He was 10th after Sonoma and managed to jump five spots after winning Indy for the second time. During his post-race interviews at Indy, Savoie made a point to say that as one of the 10 qualifiers for the Countdown, he would commit to the final six races, and he'd do everything he could to pursue a second world championship. Fol- lowing the win, he has taken over the lead in the Mello Yello stand- ings by six points over regular- season leader Andrew Hines. "I didn't count on making a run for the championship or the top 10," Savoie said. "I took three races off, and when we came back in Sonoma, we ran well and got to 10th. The spread between number 10 and number six was really close, and when we left Indy, we were actually fifth. I gained a lot of points and bam, here we are. It's a great accom- plishment. Now, we just need to see if we can hold on for the next five races and finish this thing off." On a weekend where Suzuki- powered bikes occupied three of the top eight qualifying spots Jerrie Savoie took over the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle points lead after winning the first round of the Countdown to the Championship in Pennsylvania.