DRAG RACE
NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 3 / MAY 6-7, 2017
ATLANTA DRAGWAY / ATLANTA, GEORGIA
P100
to stop. I still don't know what
happened to my bike in the
final round but if I had to lose to
somebody, I'm glad it was my
teammate, LE. I just wish I could
have given him a better run. It's
all good, though. This [two-bike]
deal is new for me and to come
out and win two of the first three
races is more than either of us
expected. We're going to be
good this year."
After three of 16 rounds,
Krawiec leads the NHRA Mello
Yello standings with Tonglet just
15 points behind. Andrew Hines
is third and Savoie is fourth fol-
lowing his runner-up finish.
The next round will take place
June 8-11 at historic Old Bridget
Township Raceway Park in Eng-
lishtown, N.J. CN
and that was a lot of fun. It was a
phenomenal environment."
After winning the champion-
ship last season, Savoie has
strugged to get out of the blocks
during the first three races of
2017. The alligator farmer has
qualified well, but his bike has
been a bit inconsistent on race
day. In Atlanta, Savoie reached
the final round for the 17th time
in his career after wins against
Polaris rider Matt Smith, Lucas
Oil Buell's Hector Arana Jr., and
Screamin' Eagle Harley-David-
son's Eddie Krawiec, who was
gunning for his fifth Atlanta title.
In that round, Savoie's 6.849 nar-
rowly edged Krawiec's 6.859.
"That was a big win for us,"
Savoie said. "Usually, it's hard
to beat the Harleys, especially
in the late rounds. Once those
boys get on a roll, they're hard
stunning Screamin' Eagle Harley-
Davidson's Andrew Hines.
"We beat one of the Harleys
today and when you can do that
it's a great accomplishment,"
Tonglet said. "Those bikes are
the best and they have the most
wins and the most champion-
ships. It was also big to get past
Scotty [Pollacheck]. He's been
riding well and he's got a fast
motorcycle this year. His day is
coming. I just don't want to be
in the other lane when he finally
wins his first race.
"Our team already has some-
thing special happening," Tonglet
said. "After Jerry and I both won
in the semis, we had a lot of fun
in our pit area before the final. We
knew we were going to win the
race; we just didn't know which
rider was going to do it. I've never
raced with a teammate before
Hector Arana Jr. was one of Tonglet's victims.
