Angelle repeats as U.S. Nationals champion and
pads her POWERade points lead
Star Racing Report
Post Race Wrap Up
Contact: Jon Knapp
(704) 662-3121
J2Racing@aol.com
Angelle repeats as U.S. Nationals champion and pads her POWERade points lead
Event: 48th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
Location: Indianapolis Raceway Park, Clermont, IN
Date: September 2, 2002
Angelle Savoie and the Star Racing team successfully defended their title at
the U.S. Nationals by taking home the win in Monday's final eliminations.
This marks the fourth national event victory of the 2002 NHRA POWERade season
for the Americus, Georgia-based team and extended their lead in the
championship points standings to 111 points over second-place Craig Treble.
"Our first goal coming into this race was to go further than Craig,"
explained Angelle. "It was what we focused on throughout the weekend.
Whatever he did, we were going to make sure to do it better, and we sure did,
winning Indy. Being a two-time U.S. Nationals champion is just awesome. I am
so proud of this Star Racing team. They are always on top of their game."
Angelle's Suzuki scorched the competition in qualifying, capturing the top
spot with a stellar 7.152 second pass, which was over six hundredths of a
second quicker than the second place qualifier. Although an uncharacteristic
performance in Saturday's K&N Pro Bike Klash cut short Star Racing's hopes of
scoring the Indianapolis sweep, they quickly shelved any disappointment and
focused their attention on winning the biggest drag race of the season.
"The first thing I said to the TV cameras after I won was that the K&N money
would have been nice and it would have helped a great deal," explained
Angelle, "but the U.S. Nationals and the POWERade points that come with it
were our primary target and the whole team was really focused today."
Throughout final eliminations, Angelle and the Star Racing team displayed the
form that had earned Angelle and team owner George Bryce the distinction of
being 2002 Car Craft All-Star Pro Bike Rider and Pro Bike Crew Chief. In the
first round, Angelle left the starting line four hundredths of a second ahead
of Greg Underdahl and never looked back, posting the quickest elapsed time of
the round to gain the win. It was a similar situation in the second round,
with Angelle using the quickest elapsed time of the day at 7.215 seconds to
easily end Andrew Hines' day.
"I think the one thing I am most proud of today are my lights," stated
Angelle. "I struggled on Saturday, but I was just tuned in today. You can
go up and try to cut a .402 from time to time, but being consistent is the
hard part, and that's what I accomplished today. They might not have been
the caliber of an Antron Brown or Craig Treble, but they were good enough to
win the race, and that's what matters.
"I've decided to no longer care about who is in the other lane. I've always
worried about what my opponent would do, or what they would think of me, but
from now on, I will pre-stage when I am ready. It's no more Mrs. Nice Girl
on the starting line. I owe that kind of effort to my Star Racing team, who
work so hard to give me an awesome Suzuki to ride at every race."
This set the stage for a semi-final match-up with championship implications,
as Angelle would face Craig Treble, her closest pursuer in the NHRA POWERade
points battle. With both bike and rider showing incredible consistency,
Angelle combined a solid .444 reaction time with a stellar 7.217-second
elapsed time to score the important victory.
"There was a lot of pressure racing Craig in the semis, because of how close
he is in the points," said Angelle. "But I went to the line, said my prayers
to keep calm, didn't let the situation get to me, and got the win. He did
his job, but I was just fortunate to stay on my game and have the better
motorcycle."
The final barrier remaining between Angelle and her second consecutive U.S.
Nationals crown was close friend and rival Shawn Gann. In one of the closest
races of the day, Angelle had her hands full as she rocketed down track, but
was able to maintain control, using a 7.232-second, 183.39 mph pass to edge
Gann's 7.263 second, 184.22 mph run.
"I had such a lighter load on my shoulders going to the final against Shawn,"
detailed Angelle. "First of all, we knew we would be leaving Indy with a
bigger point lead. Second, our two teams are such good friends. We're the
only two teams who do their own engine program, and don't get them from the
black trailer. It's fun to race him, because I enjoy it when he wins. Don't
get me wrong, we really wanted to win this race, but I would have been very
happy for Shawn if he had won.
"That was a wild ride in the final. We lined up a little further to the
left, and I yanked the bike a little to the left, and with the front end
still in the air, it got into some loose gravel. It started swerving, and
while I was fighting to keep it straight, I expected Shawn to fly by me, but
he didn't. I can't wait to watch the replay on ESPN2 tonight."
Finally, the two-time U.S. Nationals champion took time to thank those who
helped make the weekend possible.
"I really want to thank all of our sponsors who stepped up to help us,"
commented Angelle. "I'm just glad we were able to take Snap-On Tools,
Suzuki, George Howard and the B&M Million Dollar Race and Retail Fixture into
the U.S. Nationals winner's circle with us.
"We're also looking forward to welcoming Mohegan Sun as our primary sponsor
starting in Reading. We had a lot of fun in Indianapolis this weekend, and
we're going to do everything we can to keep it going for the rest of the
year."
Fast Facts:
- This is the 26th win of Angelle's career (and fourth of the 2002 season)
and second at IRP.
- Angelle's 26 wins are the most by a female competitor in NHRA history.
- This is the 14th time Angelle has won from the No. 1 qualifying position.
- Angelle's 7.152-second elapsed time in qualifying was the quickest in Pro
Stock Motorcycle for the weekend, marking the 27th time she has set the low
elapsed time of the event
- Angelle has led the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle standings following 41 of
the last 52 national events, dating back to the beginning of the 1999 season.
She has been ranked first or second an amazing 58 of the last 62 events,
dating back to the fourth event of 1998.
- Angelle has won 22 of her last 56 national event starts, has appeared in
30 final rounds and owns a 152-34 (.817) elimination round win record during
that span. In that same period, she has also recorded 26 low qualifier
efforts.
- Angelle's .775 (211-61) elimination-round win percentage ranks second
among all active drivers, trailing only Matt Hines (.786).
2002 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle
Points Standings (after 11 of 14 events):
1. Angelle Savoie - 1074
2. Craig Treble - 963 (-111)
3. Antron Brown - 823 (-251)
4. Matt Hines - 785 (-289)
5. Shawn Gann - 771 (-303)
6. Geno Scali - 561 (-513)
7. Reggie Showers - 519 (-555)
8. Mike Berry - 498 (-576)
9. John Smith - 441 (-633)
10. Steve Johnson - 409 (-665)
2002 K&N Filters Pro Bike Klash Points Standings
(after 1 of 14 events):
1. Angelle Savoie - 175
2. Matt Hines - 165 (-10)
3. Shawn Gann - 155 (-20)
4. Geno Scali - 145 (-30)
5. Craig Treble - 140 (-35)
6. Reggie Showers- 135 (-40)
7. Antron Brown - 130 (-45)
8. John Smith - 125 (-50)
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