In Pro Stock Motorcycle, championship hopeful Savoie rode to his third No. 1 qualifying performance in a row and fourth in the Countdown playoffs at the 51st annual Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, posting a 6.803 at 197.51 on his White Alligator Racing Suzuki. He will meet Mike Berry in the first round as he tries to overcome a 38 point deficit to series leader Andrew Hines.
“Things are clicking really well,” said Louisiana alligator farmer Savoie, who cut series leader Andrew Hines advantage from 46 to 38 during qualifying. “Tim (Kulungian, crew chief) has a good handle on the bike. We got a little aggressive and we tried a new combination and it freed up a little more horsepower. To be a true champion you have to be consistent and we really haven’t been this weekend until today. We’ll just see how it plays out tomorrow.”
Series leader Hines qualified fifth with a 6.837 at 195.73 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson and he will meet Michal Ray in round one. Title long shot Eddie Krawiec qualified eighth and will face Scotty Pollacheck in the opener.
Savoie needs to go two rounds farther than Hines to win the championship. Krawiec needs Savoie and Hines to lose in the first round and then go on to win and set a national record. Hines just needs to maintain his position and hope his two rivals lose early. All three riders are on the same side of the ladder, which will make things interesting for sure.
Friday leader Karen Stoffer dropped to second in the final order with a best of 6.823 at 196.36 and will face Jim Underdahl in the opening round.
