Cycle News

DRAG RACING NHRA MELLO YELLO PRO STOCK SERIES ROUND 9/JULY 28, 2014 SONOMA RACEWAY/SONOMA, CALIFORNIA P76 big, but we're not where we need to be just yet. We've got a month off be- fore the next race so I'm sure we'll be doing some testing. We've got to do a better job of getting these bikes off the starting line." Savoie makes his living as an alliga- tor farmer in Louisiana and raises as many as 100,000 alligators each year. He's spent the better part of the last year working to refine the fuel inject- ed Suzuki four-cylinder engine com- bination in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Gaining ground for most of the season, Savoie enjoyed his finest outing as a pro in Sonoma. In qualify- ing, Savoie made the quickest Suzuki run in the history of the class with a 6.810 to claim his first pole position. Savoie also set top speed of the event at 198.29-mph and rolled to his third career final after wins against Chaz Kennedy, Hector Arana Sr., and John Hall. Despite the loss, the easy-going Savoie remained optimistic. "We're coming and the rest of these guys know it," Savoie said. "I've been working towards this for four years and we're finally getting where we want to be. I stuck with the Su- zuki when a lot of the other guys built a Buell because I knew how much potential we had here. The Vance & Hines guys have been telling us the power is there. We just had to find it. Now we can go out and hopefully win some races." CN 1. Eddie Krawiec (Harley-Davidson) 6.854/193.99 mph 2. Jerry Savoie (Suziki) 6.861/191.29 mph Briefly... edge over Chaz Kennedy. The Star Buell team would probably like a do-over on the Sonoma race after both of their riders, Michael Ray and rookie Chaz Kennedy, were knocked out early. To make matters worse, the team damaged three of their best engines in the pro- cess. "Earlier this year, we talked about having all new stuff by the time we got to Indy over Labor Day and we're on pace to do just that," Ray said. "We've got a month off so I expect the guys back at our shop are going to work a lot of overtime getting us ready for the rest of the year. The way the championship works with the playoffs, I'd rather get hot at the last six races than the first six." When Jerry Savoie claimed the number-one spot in qualifying, he became the first Suzuki rider to do so since Steve Johnson at the 2013 Englishtown race more than a year ago. Andrew Hines managed to win 13-straight rounds on his new Harley V-Rod chassis before he was defeated by teammate Krawiec in the semi final round in Sonoma. Hines won both of the races in Norwalk and Den- ver, and Saturday's MiraMonte Pro Bike Battle. "Usually, it takes a while to win one race with a new bike and I won three, he said. "I'll take that anytime. I lost on a holeshot, which means the bike didn't let me down. I think I'll win some more races this season." For the third time in the last four races, the father-son duo of Hector Arana Sr. and Hec- tor Jr. were paired against each other on race day. Hector Jr. de- feated his dad in an historic final round in Chicago and Hector Sr. returned the favor a week later in Norwalk. This time, Hector Sr. once again prevailed when his son red-lighted. Hector Sr. also won against Jr. in Saturday's Mi- raMonte Records Pro Bike Bat- tle. "I have no idea where that red light came from," Arana Jr. said. "I've been doing the same thing every time. I was red in a qualify- ing session and I said. 'Okay, I'll fix that.' I put a stack of rubber bands on my clutch lever. I don't know if I reacted quicker or what. The bike left really good, but we had the red-light." Just 16 bikes made the trip to Sonoma meaning that every- one qualified for Sunday's final eliminations. That number is expected to nearly double with 25-27 bikes expected when the tour heads back east for the next event in Indianapolis. Angie Smith made one of the best runs of her career in the second round with a 6.846, but it wasn't enough to get past Ed- die Krawiec, who countered with a 6.820 in a wire-to-wire race. "That's just my luck," Smith said. "I think I could have beat almost anyone else in that round; I even outran my husband [Matt]. I real- ly can't complain. I've had a great bike for the last few races and we're winning rounds and I can't ask for much more than that."

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