VOL. 53 ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 P33
SAVOIE GETS BACK IN TITLE HUNT
W
hite Alligator Su-
zuki's Jerry Savoie
went winless during the
first 11 races of the 2016
NHRA Pro Stock Motor-
cycle season but he's
back in the battle for the
Mello Yello Champion-
ship after a late-season
rally. Returning to Gate-
way Motorsports Park in
St. Louis, the site of his
first pro win two years
ago, Savoie rode to his
fifth career title, Sep-
tember 24-25, after Star
Buell's Angelle Sampey
red-lighted in the final.
"That was a rematch
of the final round in Eng-
lishtown [New Jersey] earlier this
year and she beat me there, so I
owed her that one," Savoie said.
"Actually we got very lucky in the
final round because we went up
there with an engine that is hurt.
We knew we had a problem
in the semi finals but we didn't
have time to change the engine
so we just went up there and
hoped for the best. This time, it
worked in our favor."
Unseasonably warm tem-
peratures held performances in
check, but those are the condi-
tions that Savoie's Louisiana-
based team prefers. Starting
from the number-four qualifying
position, Savoie worked his way
past Steve Johnson, Victory
Gunner's Matt Smith, and Star
Buell's Cory Reed to reach the
final round. Savoie's first round
win against Johnson's Suzuki
also provided a measure of re-
venge following a tough loss a
week earlier in Charlotte.
"A week ago, I lost on a hole-
shot to Steve Johnson in the first
round and I didn't forget that,"
Savoie said. "That round was big
because it was the first round
of the playoffs and I thought it
might have ruined our chances."
Savoie narrowly defeated
Smith's Victory entry in the
second round 6.889 to 6.897
and he managed to slip by Reed
even though his bike slowed to
a 6.922.
"When we ran Cory, the bike
didn't feel quite right and when I
got back to our trailer, Tim [Ku-
lungian, crew chief] told me that
he was pretty sure that we'd hurt
our engine. It blew up for sure
in the final, but we got the win
anyway so that's okay with me.
I think we cracked a piston and
that's why I only ran 189 mph.
We're going to have to do some
work before Reading."
Following the win, Savoie
moved from sixth to fourth place
in the points standings and he is
now just 42 points behind leader
Andrew Hines.
"We're back in this thing,"
Savoie said. "We've got a good
motorcycle and we've got some
good races coming up like
Reading where we should be
able to run really fast. I wouldn't
count us out."
Kevin McKenna
Jerry Savoie is back in
business after nabbing
a win in St. Louis.
