Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Round 12: Maple Grove Raceway (Leftl Team Winston's Angelle Savoie moved a step closer to her second straight NHRA Pro Stock Bike title after taking a final-round win over Steve Johnson. Both riders made the best runs of their careers in the final, but Savoie's 7.09 was enough to hold off Johnson's 7.16. (Above) For Savoie, the win was the 21st of her career and her sixth of the 2001 season. She also holds a substantial points lead over second-place Antron Brown. W"rth two events remaining, Savoie leads Brown by 89 points. STORY AND PHOTOS BY KEVIN McKENNA READING, PA, OCT. 4-7 n a race that may ultimately ensure her second consecutive NHRA Pro Stock Bike championship, Team Winston's Angelle Savoie claimed her sixth title of the year at the Pep Boys Keystone Nationals in Reading, Pennsylvania. Heading into the race, the 12th of 14 events, Savoie was virtually neck and neck with Mac Tools/Team 23 rider Antron Brown in the race for the championship, but after defeating Brown in the semifinals, Savoie leads the championship battle by four rounds, with just eight rounds remaining. In other words, it will take a heroic late-season charge by Brown to keep Savoie from retaining her title. "I try not to count points, but at this time of the year, I do," Savoie said. "I'll admit that I've watched Antron this weekend and asked, 'Where is he?'" For most of qualifying, it was easy for Savoie to find Brown, as he was well ahead of her. Brown's best of 7.17 was good enough for the fourth spot in the record field, while initially, Savoie did not appear to be a threat. Her best of 7.20 was good for just the eighth starting spot in the 16-bike field, and was officially the worst qualifying effort of her five-year career. It also marked the first time in the 2001 season that the reigning Pro Stock Bike champion has been seeded lower than third. 54 OCTOBER 31,2001 • cue "We struggled really bad in qualifying," Savoie explained. "Our first couple of runs on Friday were pretty good, but on Saturday, when the air and track conditions were their best, we had shifter problems on both runs. It was really too bad, because I think I could have run quick enough to set the [NHRA national] record, and that would have meant bonus points towards that championship." Savoie's problems prevented her from setting the NHRA record, but her old nemesis, former champ Matt Hines, had no such problems. A nonfactor in the points battle for much of the season, Hines came to Reading and promptly announced that his Vance & Hines Eagle One Suzuki had regained its early-season form. Then he went out and proved it by qualifying on the pole with a 7.12. In the opening round of eliminations, Hines became the first rider to run in the 7.0-second range with a record setting 7.09. "We had some bad parts on the bike and it's taken most of the year to get it figured out," Hines said. "After the last race at Indianapolis, we took the bike back to our shop, took it apart, and found the problem. I don't want to say what it was, but now that it's fixed, I think you're going to see us run a lot better the rest of the year." Hines' glory was short-lived, though, as he lost in the second round to Savoie, who got the startingline holeshot and won with a 7.14, holding off Hines' quicker 7.11. A round later, Savoie engaged in a crun _ _ lIS •• cial battle with Brown's Mac Tools bike and won that bout as well with a consistent 7.15. Had she lost, Brown would have gained ground in the points battle, but with the win, Savoie had the chance to extend her lead. "As big as the win over Antron was, I think that beating Matt was even bigger," Savoie said. "He had set the record earlier and it was obvious that he had the quickest bike. He also had lane choice and he stuck me in the left lane, which wasn't as quick as the right. He had me covered, but my team owner, George Bryce, always tells me that I race better when I'm slower. It makes me a better rider because I have to concentrate more." With Brown and Hines out of action, the door was opened for a new face to reach the final round, and this time it was class veteran Steve Johnson, who rides the K&N Filters Suzuki. Johnson has been racing in the Pro Stock Bike class almost since its inception. He is usually competitive and often qualifies well, but he has yet to win an NHRA national event. Nearly every Pro Stock Bike rider made the best runs of their career in Reading and Johnson was no exception. In the first round, he stopped Kawasaki's Geno Scali with a 7.21 and then ventured into the 7.1 s for the first time in the second round with a 7.18 in an upset win over Matco Tools rider Craig Treble. Johnson made it to the fifth final round of his career and his first since the 1999 season after Rookie of the Year contender G.T. Tonglet redlighted in the semis. In the final round, Johnson set another personal best with a 7.16, but it wasn't enough to hold off Savoie, who made the best run of her career with a 7.09. Had she run a hundredth of a second quicker, she would have taken the record away from Hines. "I know I could have set the record in the final," Savoie said. "The bike moved over toward that wall, then got close to the centerline and I hit the rev limiter a couple of times. It was an ugly run, and I was shocked when I heard that I ran a 7.09. I'm obviously happy to get the win, but I'm a little bummed about that run because I promised the guys back at Star Racing that I would bring the record home. "Because of the way I qualified, I had my work cut out for me today. I had Shawn Gann in the first round, Matt [Hines] in the second and Antron [Brown] in the semis. Then I had to run Steve Johnson in the final and he was running pretty good. I felt like I had four final rounds today. I'm not ready to start celebrating the championship yet. I know we still have work to do, but I have faith in my team. I know we can do it." CN Maple &rove Raceway Raading, Pennsylvania Results: October 4-7 (Round 1Z of 141 PRO STOCK FINAL: 1. Angelle Savoie (Su,) 7.09. 185.842. Steve Johnson (Su,) 7.16.184.98 Upcoming Rounds: Round 13 - Las Vegas, Nevada, OCt. 25-28 Round 14 - Pomona, California, Nov. 8-11

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