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NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Round 6: National Trail Raceway when a carburetor came loose. Once he felt the engine bog, Brown chopped the throttle and coasted to a stop as Savoie cruised to the win with the quickest run of eliminations - a 7.24. Though frustrated by the defeat, Brown's weekend was hardly a total loss. He not only reached his 10th career final, but he also accumulated enough points to pass Hines for the lead in the championship standings. "It's been a great weekend," Brown said. "We were out there doing everything we wanted to do. We ran the bike real consistently and safe through eliminations. That last round, when we went out against Angelle, I felt real confident. I felt we could have run a .25 or a .26, not quite a .24 like she ran. We leaned on it and everything worked fine, but my carburetor came off. The bike felt awesome out of the gate. Her team did a great job this weekend. I look forward to going to St. Louis next week and try to put it to them again. "I'm not one of your mathematics guys that sits there and calculates the points at the beginning of the season," Brown continued. "( try and wait until the end of the year. Then I'll calculate them before the last race in Pomona and see what I need or what 1 (Above) Team Winston's Angelle Savoie dominated the Columbus, Ohio, round of the NHRA Pro Stock Bike Series for the second-straight year. In the final round, Savoie rode to a 7.24 to beat points leader Antron Brown, who ran Into mechanical troubles on his Team 23 Suzuki. (Left) The Columbus victory was the 17th of Savoie's career, leaving her Just one win behind Top Fuel legend Shirley Muldowney, who Is the NHRA's winnlngest female racer. Savoie also moved to within five points of Brown's lead with the victory. STORY AND PHOTOS BY KEVIN McKENNA COLUMBUS, OH, JUNE 14-17 T he critics who dismissed Angelle Savoie's 2000 NHRA Pro Stock Bike championship as a one-off fluke must now come to the realization that she is the real deal. Following the Team Winston rider's most recent win at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals (her 17th career title) she is back in the thick of the championship battle. Savoie beat Team 23's Antron Brown in the final round and she now rests just five points behind Brown in the championship standings. Savoie also has plenty of reason for optimism, as for the second year in a row, her Team Winston Suzuki was the quickest bike in Columbus, a strong indication that she and her Star team have a combination that will be effective throughout the hot summer months. Unlike Savoie's last final in Chicago, where she red-lighted away an almost certain victory, she took a more conservative approach this time, and won with a 7.24 elapsed time while Brown slowed after a carburetor came loose on his Team 23 Suzuki just off the starting line. "I knew that Antron was going to cut a good light, just like we both did in Chicago, where we were both redlighted," Savoie said. "I wanted to give myself a green light, give myself a chance. I didn't want to give it away this time, so I got up there and I just did the best I could do, and, you know, today it was enough to win the race." Savoie struggled earlier this season, but has recently regained her championship form. In Columbus, she qualified in the top spot in the 16-bike field for the second-straight race. Savoie led the field with a 7.22, ahead of the 7.26 efforts turned in by Brown and former series champ Matt Hines, who were second and third, respectively. Savoie maintained her advantage on race day, as she had the quickest bike through all four elimination rounds. Savoie was also consistent, posting three-straight 7.26 runs in her wins over Blaine Hale, Steve Johnson and Craig Treble. Of the three, only Treble was able to offer much com- petition, but even though he had a quicker reaction time, his 7.30 wasn't enough to beat her. On the other side of the ladder, Brown was also turning in a consistent performance with a 7.27 win over Sam Hurwitz in round one, a 7.29 against Shawn Gann in the second, and a 7.29 in the semifinals against independent Mike Berry. While Savoie and Brown were battling for the title, former champ Matt Hines was once again licking his wounds after a first-round loss. Hines made one of the quickest runs of the first round with a 7.28 against Berry, but it was accompanied by a red-light start. Hines' loss was Berry's gain as the independent racer, who builds his own engines and works as his own crew chief, went on to reach the semifinals for the first time in his career. Brown had a shot to beat Savoie in the final, but his hopes for victory evaporated just off the starting line cue I • need to do to get by. You can't worry about the points lead right now. Matt [Hines] is still running strong. He just had an error this weekend." The win also gave a huge boost to Savoie, who moved into second place and is just five points behind Brown with the season's halfway point rapidly approaching. Savoie is also on the verge of making drag racing history. Her next win will be her 18th, tying her with Top Fuel legend Shirley Muldowney for most wins by a female drag racer. "My team has it going on right now," Savoie said. "It seems like we've got the advantage now, and as long as I can continue to drive right, then we'll get the points lead back real soon, but I really don't care about the points lead right now. I decided my new goal is to beat Shirley Muldowney with the most wins [for a woman]. I used to not even care about that. I thought it was stupid, but it's gotten my mind off of getting the points ·Iead. If I can just think about winning another race, then the points will come in the long run." _ Nations'Trsilllllceway Colu"bus, Ohio Resuhs: June 14-17 (Round 8 of 141 PRO STOCK FINAL: 1. Angelle SlIvoie (Suz) 7.24, 181.91 (foul) 2. Antron Brown (Suz) broke. NHRA WINSTON PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS (after 6 of 14 events): 1. Antron Brown (544); 2. Angelle Savoie (539); 3. Mllitt Hines (520); 4. Crllig Treble (429): 5. Geno Sc.li (345). Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - Madison, Illinois (June 21-24) Round 8 - Pomona, California (July 6-8) n e _ S ' JULY 4, 2001 29