Jerry Savoie takes Pro Stock Motorcycle win in Vegas | Drag Racing
Last year, Jerry Savoie took Andrew Hines down to Sunday in Pomona in the championship chase, and though he enjoyed being part of the battle, Savoie admits he “wasn’t too worried” about it. This year, things are much different.
Photo: NHRA
Jerry Savoie rode his Savoie’s Alligator Farm Suzuki to a 6.915 at 194.13 to defeat Andrew Hines in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final round for his second win of the season, sixth of his career, and first in Las Vegas.
“To do what we did here, we been working hard,” Savoie said. “Tim [Kulungian] went back to the shop and looked at a bunch of notes and got on a dyno and an engine we had back home and did some work. It’s like football and anything else; the harder you work, the better you get. It all came together this weekend. No. 1 qualifier every round, and we got a fast motorcycle. It’s going to be very, very interesting when we get to Pomona.”
Savoie defeated Scotty Pollacheck, LE Tonglet, and Matt Smith in the early rounds and is now three points behind Harley-Davidson teammates Hines and Eddie Krawiec, who are tied for the points lead.
The final race of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, the Auto Club NHRA Finals, will be Nov. 10-13 in Pomona.
From the outside, Chip Ellis’ Las Vegas weekend may not have looked like a success, but Ellis and his crew are feeling good leaving Nevada. Ellis switched to the bike with which he started the season, and he steadily got quicker as qualifying went on. Ellis’ race-day efforts were stymied a bit when his Buell wouldn’t shift into high gear, and he had to sit up on the bike in a losing effort against Matt Smith’s very quick entry, but overall, Ellis was still pleased with what he saw from his entry this weekend.
Photo: NHRA
This weekend was most definitely a get-well outing for Angie Smith. It began during the third round of qualifying when Smith ran a 7.00, the first good, strong full pull for her in quite some time, then continued during the opening round when Smith turned a .021 to .116 lead at the Tree into a 7.05 to 6.96 win against Hector Arana Sr. It was Smith’s first round-win of the 2016 season.
Photo: NHRA
Heading into the first round against his teammate, Angelle Sampey, Cory Reed knew he was at a bit of a performance disadvantage and therefore needed a little help on the starting line if he was going to have a shot at winning the match. Reed was able to do just that, cutting a .009 light to the .057 of Sampey and carrying it to a 6.99 to 6.97 holeshot win.
Photo: NHRA
Like wife Angie, who saw her fortunes turn around this weekend, Matt Smith also had reason to smile after this weekend. His Victory showed a lot of potential, from qualifying when he finished fourth in the order through eliminations, in which he recorded a semifinal finish. What made the results all that much more promising is Smith admitted he is working on his 2017 engine combination, and judging by the performance this weekend, there appears to be great promise with it.
Photo: NHRA
Andrew Hines said the competition between him and teammate Eddie Krawiec “always makes us better,” and that competition is about to get much more heated thanks to a key semifinal race between the two. Krawiec entered the match with a 20-point edge over Hines, but further proving his point that Krawiec brings out the best in him, Hines cut a near-perfect .002 light and made a 6.96 run that was just .002 off his best of the day to turn on the win light. The win was huge because instead of giving Krawiec a 40-point lead heading into Pomona, it tied Hines with him.
Photo: NHRA
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE (following the 15 of 16 events)
| Position | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1t. | Eddie Krawiec | Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson | 2509 |
| 1t. | Andrew Hines | Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson | 2509 |
| 3. | Jerry Savoie | Savoie’s Alligator Farm Suzuki | 2506 |
| 4. | Angelle Sampey | Precision Service Equipment Buell | 2399 |
| 5. | Chip Ellis | PiranaZ Buell | 2359 |
| 6. | LE Tonglet | Nitro Fish Suzuki | 2340 |
| 7. | Cory Reed | Precision Service Equipment Buelli | 2281 |
| 8. | Matt Smith | Nitro Fish Victory | 2277 |
| 9. | Hector Arana Sr. | Lucas Oil Buell | 2245 |
| 10. | Hector Arana Jr. | Lucas Oil Buell | 2236 |
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