A runner-up finish at the Summernationals is just what Jerry Savoie and the White Alligator Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle team needed as the NHRA Mello Yello schedule gets serious in the heat of summer.
Despite changing weather at the venerable Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, WAR crew chief/tuner Tim Kulungian had Savoie’s Suzuki TL1000 running low ET nearly every round of qualifying and eliminations.
Savoie qualified second with a 6.788—just .005 of a second behind three-time champ Eddie Krawiec’s leading pass—and a198.26 mph speed—only .12 slower than top speed holder Chip Ellis.
But Savoie outlasted them both before a bold tuning decision cost the team lane choice for the final—crucial on a day when high crosswinds dramatically favored one lane. Savoie’s Louisiana neighbor Angelle Sampey drove straight down the right lane for her first win in 9 years, while Jerry had to let off after his bike was blown towards the wall on the big end in the left.
See all about the Englishtown weekend and the team’s march towards NHRA’s Countdown to One in this extensive video interview with Savoie and Kulungian: https://youtu.be/d3mb980C3W4
Jerry Savoie thanks everyone at Vance & Hines, E3 Spark Plugs, PJ1, Mr. Race Oil, tuner Kulungian, crewmen Jeremy Derouche and Steve Zellman, his whole family, and the staff of Savoie Alligator Farm.
For more information about Jerry Savoie and White Alligator Racing go to http://www.whitealligatorracing.com/
