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NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series Round 14; Pomona Raceway Angelle Savoie Inear lane) celebrated her second NHRA Pro Stock Bike champlonshi'p and her final race as a member of Team Winston with her 22nd career win. In the final, Savoie ran a 7.17 after Shawn Gann Ifar lane) fouled. STORY BY KEVIN McKENNA PHOTOS BY MIKE BASSO POMONA, CA, NOV. 8-11 Winston's Angelle Savoie lJ knew coming into the seasonending Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona that only a minor miracle would prevent her from winning the 2001 NHRA Pro Stock Bike championship, but she wasn't about to start celebrating until it was official. The only challenger to Savoie's crown was Team 23's Antron Brown, and in order to claim the championship, he had to not only win the race, but also hope that Savoie lost in the first r0l!nd, something she hadn't done in more than a year and a half. It didn't take long for the drama to end as Savoie won her opening-round match against rookie rider Jay Matthews, clinching her second consecutive national championship and the $30,000 bonus that went with it. "All year long, I tried not to think about the points, but this late in the year, it was hard to ignore it," Savoie said. "When I saw Antron lose, I couldn't believe it. It was like a 1000pound weight was lifted off my shoulders. Once the'championship was over, and the points were no longer an issue, I knew that I could just concentrate on making three good runs because I really wanted to win this race as well. " For Brown, the loss of the championship was a bitter pill to swallow, though he knew coming into the race that his chances for a title were slim at best. He felt even worse after losing to Joe DeSantis in the opening round. Both racers ran identical 7.27 11? eam elapsed times, but the race wasn't that close, as DeSantis opened up a huge starting-line holeshot on Brown's Mac Tools Suzuki. "I figured that if I couldn't win the championship, I'd at least like to have ended the year with a race win, but that didn't work out either," said Brown. "I red-lighted in the last qualifying round and I wanted to be extra cautious in the first round to make sure that it didn't happen again in the first round. I should have known better. I was initially pretty disappointed, but when I looked at the whole year, it was hard to be too upset. I've had the best year of my career and now we're just going to go back and work twice as hard this winter and come back and try again next year." From the start of the race, it shouid have been obvIous to tne-rest of the field that stopping Savoie was going to be a tall order. In qualifying, she claimed the number-one spot for the 24th time in her career with a 7.18. The only other rider who was able to run in the 7.1s was recent-Las Vegas champ Shawn Gann, who posted a .7.19 on his TLl 000. On race day, Savoie's Star Racingpowered bike was even more dominant as she posted the quickest elapsed time of all four rounds to win her seventh race of the season and the 22nd of her career. Following her title clinching win in round one, she took out Steve Johnson's K&N Filters Suzuki with a 7.18 and scored a semifinal victory over Rookie of the Year candidate G.T. Tonglet with the qUickest run of the event, a 7.15. Gann reached his fourth final of the season after a semifinal win over really wanted to end our relationship with a win," Savoie continued. "This is a really big deal to me because they have been like a family to me. Right now, we don't have a sponsor for next year, but I'm sure we'll find something. Even if we don't, I know we'll be back out here." While Brown, Hines, and Matco Tools rider Craig Treble figure to challenge Savoie next season, Gann must also be given some consideration as a title contender, especially after reaching the final round of four of the season's final eight races. Though he finished fifth in the final points standings, only Brown and Savoie earned more points in the second half of the year. "My goal this year was to finish in the top five in the points, and I managed to do that," Gann said. "I didn't like losing the final, but I've got nothing to be ashamed of. We sucked at the beginning of the year and even in the second half, when we were running really well, I didn't do as well as I could have. I red-lighted in the first round in Denver and Reading. Otherwise, I might have finished even higher. This was only my second year in NHRA racing, and I do think we can make a run at the championship next season." CN former three-time NHRA champ Matt Hines, but with a best run of 7.26, his performance was substantially behind Savoie's. Gann improved to a 7.21 in the final, but his run was negated by a red·light start as Savoie cruised to the win with a 7.17. "I saw Shawn's red-light as soon as I let the clutch out, so I knew I had won," Savoie said. "I actually figured that he might red-light because it was starting to get dark and just about everyone picks up in reaction time. My lights hadn't been so good, so it actually helped me, but Shawn is really quick; he's usually close to perfect anyway, and when the sun started to go down, I thought that might be enough to push him over the edge. "As everyone knows, this is my last race with Team Winston and I Pomona IIlIceWDY Pomona, CIIlifamiD Results; November 8-11 [Round 14 of 141 PRO STOCK FINAL: 1. Angelle S.vole (Su,) 7.17. 184.122. Sh.wnG.nn (Suz)7.21. 185.21 Savoie's 2001 season was one for the record books. She won seven of 14 races and did not suffer a first-round loss all season. She was also the low qualifier at nine races. , II: U II: • D n e _ S • NOVEMBER 28. 2001 27