Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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utar eliminators. For one, motorcycle sales have steadily increased for the last decade, even attracting large numbers of automotive enthusiasts. In addition, Pro Stock Bike reflects the current trends in motorcycling, and the "trickle down effect" has been evident at dragstrips across the country. While a 185-mph Hayabusa or ZX-12 is totally unsuitable for road racing, it is perfect match for the dragstrip. With little or no modifications, today's big-bore streetbikes are easily capable of nine-second quarter-mile times and the vast majority of the dragstrips that dot just about every corner of North America regularly offer some type of amateur motorcycle racing program. From 1990 through 1996, Schultz or Myers won every Pro Stock Bike championship and dominated so thoroughly that only a handful of other riders even won races. That all changed in 1996 with the return of the legendary Vance £, Hines team. Though Vance £, Hines had been on the sidelines for close to a decade, it didn't take them long to catch up. In his first season, Matt Hines, the eldest son of Byron Hines, won two races and finished second at two others. At the end of the year, he trailed only Schultz and Myers in the points standings was named the NHRA Rookie of the Year. The following season, Hines turned in one of the most dominant perfor- mances in the history of the sport. Hines reached the final round 12 times in 14 events, winning eight times. His win/loss record for the year was a stunning 48-6 in elimination rounds, a "batting average" of .889. Hines won the season championship in a landslide, wrapping up the title long before the final events of the year. Hines continued winning at a record pace, and after claiming his third-straight title in 1999, he appeared invincible. After winning 20 of his first 40 starts, it seemed likely that it was only a matter of time before he matched Schultz's 45 wins and six championships. Hines might well have broken Schultz's records, but a 5-foot 1-inch stick of dynamite named Angelle Savoie blocked his path. Savoie, who was known as Angelle Seeling prior to her 2001 marriage to former NFL football player Nicky Savoie, arrived in mid-1996 when she landed a ride alongside Myers on the Star Racing team. Women in drag racing are hardly a novelty. Shirley Muldowney won three Top Fuel championships during her career, and more than 30 other women have won national events in professional and amateur drag racing classes, but until the Denver race in 1996, no woman had attempted to tackle a 7-second, 190-mph Pro Stock Bike. Ironically, Savoie was one of three women to debut in Pro Stock Bike in Denver. Stephanie Reaves joined the class aboard a Schultz-prepared Suzuki, and former sportsman racer Karen Stoffer also attempted to qualify. Of the three, Savoie made the biggest impact, qualifying in the top half of the 16-bike field and reaching the semifinal round. Savoie grew up riding motocross bikes with her older brother, Ricky, cue I around their New Orleans home. Years later, when her first husband was shipped off to fight in the first Gulf War, Savoie took his street bike to her local dragstrip. After saving every dollar she could, she eventually enrolled in the Pro Stock Bike School that Bryce runs in Gainesville, Florida. After setting the track record on the school bike, Savoie convinced e n e _ S • MAY 7, 2003 51