Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/524688
IN THE WIND P38 SAVOIE TAKES A BITE OUT OF ENGLISHTOWN FIELD L ouisiana Alligator Farmer Jerry Savoie turned in a dominant performance to claim the Pro Stock Motorcycle win at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. In a rare all-Suzuki final round, Savoie topped the Bad Boy Buggies entry of Jimmy Under- dahl, who red-lighted at the start. It was the second-career win for Savoie, and his first of the 2015 season. "We've been working towards this for a while and it's nice to see that all that hard work is finally paying off," said Savoie. "All the credit goes to my crew. Those guys worked really hard and we finally got it together. This feels just as good as the first one." Savoie had to overcome adversity before the event began when his 18-wheel rig broke down and could not be repaired in time to make the trip to New Jersey. Savoie quickly struck a deal with fellow Suzuki rider Steve Johnson to share space in Johnson's rig. With that issue resolved, Savoie got down to business and recorded some of the quickest runs in the history of the Pro Stock Mo- torcycle class. In qualifying Savoie rode to a 6.80, the quickest run of his career for the number two spot in the field behind surprise low qualifier Chip Ellis. On race day, Savoie was even quicker with a 6.79 in his round two win over Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Eddie Krawiec, and a 6.78 that over- powered Lucas Oil Buell's Hec- tor Arana Jr. In the final, Savoie ran another 6.79, but didn't need it after Underdahl—appearing in his first NHRA final—left the start- ing line too soon and fouled. "Those 6.7 runs; we knew it could be done with our Suzuki but we didn't think it would be done this weekend," Savoie said. "We had great weather and ran a 6.78. That's really fast." Underdahl, who has been among the class' most improved riders this season, started from the number 5 qualifying spot and defeated three World Champions—Angelle Sampey, Matt Smith, and Andrew Hines—to cap off the best event of his career. Underdahl's father, Greg, reached the final round in Englishtown twice during his riding career, losing to Sampey both times. With the win, Savoie moved from 15th to eighth in the NHRA Mello Yello standings while Under- dahl is currently ranked fifth. Kevin McKenna (Above) Jerry Savoie took home this second career Pro Stock Motorcycle victory at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Englishtown, New Jersey. (Below) For the Louisiana Alligator farmer the second victory was just as sweet as the first.