DRAG RACE
FINAL ROUND / NOVEMBER 10-13, 2016
AUTO CLUB RACEWAY / POMONA, CALIFORNIA
P76
2016 NHRA MELLO YELLO PRO S TOCK MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP
ment and to get encouraged,
and people inspire you. There is
a God, and he is watching, and I
want to thank everybody. I don't
know what to say, but especially
thank you to the fans. Without
you guys, this would not be
possible. You make our dreams
come true, and you guys are my
family."
For Savoie, the champion-
ship provides redemption for a
heartbreaking loss a year ago at
the 2015 Auto Club Finals where
his championship hopes were
dashed when his bike spun the
tire in the second round. Savoie,
who has two wins in six final
rounds this season, becomes
the first Suzuki rider to win the
NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock
Motorcycle title since his new
teammate, LE Tonglet in 2010.
"We knew going into Dallas a
month ago that we had a good
package put together. We sent
our engines to Vance & Hines,
and they freshened them. We
had some misfortune in Dallas,
which would have been really
good to help us this weekend,
and go to Vegas and do what we
did. Look man, I'm just a Cajun
country boy doing my thing. I've
got the best crew guys in the
world. I love them all." CN
he lost to three-time champion
Angelle Sampey 6.87 to 6.91,
ending his bid for a record-tying
sixth championship. The title
was decided in another stunning
upset when Smith took a 6.90 to
6.87 holeshot win over Krawiec.
It was just the fourth time in 16
races that Krawiec did not reach
the semifinal round.
"I can't believe it," Savoie. "I
didn't want to cry, but to only
dream of winning one race and
to come out here and put a deal
together and the support of
Vance & Hines and my crew and
to win the championship, man. I
went to church this morning, and
the message was encourage-
lowing a strong performance in
qualifying, where he nailed down
the top spot with a 6.825-sec-
ond run, Savoie came into race
day with a four-point lead.
Given the performance of the
three contenders, it seemed
likely that the battle would not
be decided until the final round,
but it never got that far. Hines
and Krawiec both lost in the
second round, allowing Savoie
to clinch the title a bit earlier
than he might have expected.
Savoie opened the round with a
narrow holeshot win over Steve
Johnson and became an inter-
ested spectator minutes later.
Hines was the first to go when
Smith now has 18 career wins but
this was his first at Pomona.
