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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to the winner's circle. Savoie got a single run in the first round of eliminations when Winning Combination Suzuki's Craig Treble hurt an engine in qualifying and was unable to return. Savoie also got a free pass in the quarterfinals after Nitro Fish Buell's John Hall red- lighted. After beating Lucas Oil Buell's Hector Arana Jr. in the semi final with a 6.824 elapsed time, Savoie was clearly the favorite so it wasn't a surprise to see him finish the job with a convincing win over Hines. Savoie highlighted the win with a nearly perfect starting line re- action time. "I've been out here four years," said Savoie. "I always said that if I win one I'm retiring. Well, I lied. I'm not retiring. I am really sincere about where I am in life. I've ac- complished everything I've ever wanted to do in life. I have good friends and a good family and now we have the fastest Suzuki on the planet earth." Although he lost the final, Hines was more content to look at the big picture. With three rounds remaining in the sea- son, he's got a 57-point lead over teammate Eddie Krawiec that is equal to almost three rounds of competition with 12 rounds remaining. "I would have loved to get that extra 20 points for win- ning the final, but I'm happy for Jerry," Hines said. "If I'm going to get beat, it's best that I lost to someone who wasn't in the Countdown." Hines also acknowledged that his semi-final win against VOL. 51 ISSUE 39 SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 P101 Briefly... Matt Smith and his crew had a long night on Saturday night when they stayed up late to repair four engines. Smith broke one in Q4 and teammate John Hall also extensively damaged one of the team's S&S V-twin powerplants. "It looked like a junkyard over here," said Smith's wife, Angie. "We had parts and pieces scat- tered all over our pit area. It was a long night but we got the job done." Although he's qualified for the Count- down to the Championship, Michael Ray elected to skip the St. Louis round. Ray, who rode a Suzuki for Joe DeSan- tis at the last two races, is expected to race his own Buell in Las Vegas with an engine from Matt Smith Racing. Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Ed- die Krawiec qualified in the number- one spot for the ninth time in 13 races this season and he's on pace to chal- lenge the record of 11 poles, held by his crew chief Matt Hines, who accom- plished the feat in just 14 events. "Matt probably won't let me break his record," Krawiec laughed. "It would be nice to tie or even break Matt's record but I'd rather win race. Believe me; I'd trade all of my green [number-one qualifier] hats for wins." Two races into her return, and three- time World Champion Angelle Sampey is beginning to feel more comfortable on her Star Racing Buell. Sampey, who ended a seven-year retirement in Dallas, qualified number 11 with a 6.93, one of the best runs of her career. "I'm starting to get my timing back and I feel more and more comfortable with each run we make," Sampey said. "People have to remember two things; the best run of my career is only a 6.87 and I didn't spent much time riding a Buell. This is all pretty new to me, but I feel like I'm adjusting." (Left) Jerry Savoie won the St. Louis round of the NHRA Pro Stock Series at Gateway Motorsports Park. (Above) For Savoie the victory was his first in four years of trying. continued on next page