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CVEC Racing Report
Post Race Wrap Up
Contact: Jon Knapp
(704)
662-3121
J2Racing@aol.com
Points leader Angelle Savoie's remarkable Englishtown weekend ends in the
semi-finals
Event: 33rd Annual Matco Tools SuperNationals presented by Racing Champions
Location: Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
Date: May 18, 2002
For the second time in as many races, Angelle Savoie and the CVEC Suzuki
Racing team headed into final eliminations at an NHRA national event as the
team to beat. This weekend, the location was legendary Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., and the race was the Matco Tools NHRA
Supernationals. Throughout qualifying, Angelle remained atop the Pro Stock
Motorcycle standings, posting the quickest elapsed time in each of the three
sessions and culminating with a national record 7.049-second pass on Saturday
afternoon.
Savoie and the CVEC crew kept up the pace in eliminations, opening with the
second-quickest pass of the first round at 7.130 seconds to defeat Fred
Camarena. In the next stanza, Angelle combined the second-quickest elapsed
time in Pro Stock Motorcycle history at 7.084 seconds with the fastest top
speed of her career, 192.44 mph to eliminate John Smith and advance to the
semifinals against close friend and rival Antron Brown.
The CVEC team recognized that it would take another outstanding effort to
defeat Brown, who had been consistently fast throughout the weekend and is
characteristically strong at the starting line. Despite a solid start and
a
strong 7.114-second pass by Savoie, it was not enough to prevent Brown, who
matched a near-perfect .407 reaction time with an equally quick 7.138-second
run, from bringing Angelle's weekend to a premature conclusion.
Even so, the two-time defending Pro Stock Motorcycle champion realized that
it had still been another productive weekend for the CVEC Racing team.
"I hate to keep saying that we had the bike to beat, but we really did.
Unfortunately, we did make a couple mistakes in the semis. We weren't
pointed perfectly straight at the starting line, which pulled it to the
right. I had to hang off the left of the bike almost to the eighth-mile mark
to keep it in the groove. Anytime you do that, you're scrubbing off time
and
speed.
"Everything else went pretty well - the engine was okay and my shift points
were good. But not going straight won't do it, especially when you're
running Antron Brown, who cuts those .407 lights.
"It just wasn't our turn today. Besides, it's more exciting for the fans to
have different winners. We were the No. 1 qualifier, we're leaving with
the
points lead and we set the record. I'm really proud of this entire team. The
CVEC Suzuki was awesome, and we came very close to that 6.99. All in all,
it
was a really good weekend."
Fast Facts:
- Angelle leaves Englishtown as the new elapsed time record holder,
having
made a 7.049-second run on her last qualifying attempt on Saturday afternoon.
This accomplishment carries with it a valuable 20 points towards the NHRA
POWERade Championship.
- Angelle also improved her career best top speed during her
second-round
win over John Smith by going 192.44 mph.
- After four of 14 Pro Stock Motorcycle national events, Angelle
leads the
NHRA POWERade Series points standings with 390 points, eleven better than
second place Craig Treble.
- Angelle's overall elimination record at Englishtown stands at an
impressive 17-3.
- Over her last 47 national event starts, Angelle has collected 18
wins in
27 final rounds, 18 No. 1 qualifying performances, and has complied an
outstanding 127-30 (.809) elimination round record.
- Angelle has not suffered a first-round setback since August 22,
1999 at
Brainerd, Minn. That span of 38 races represents the longest current
streak
in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing, and is only two behind the all-time mark set by
Bob Glidden.
NHRA/Winston Pro Stock Motorcycle Point Standings: 1.
Angelle (390) 2. Craig Treble (379) 3. Antron
Brown (281) 4. Shawn Gann (263)
5. Matt Hines (247).
NEXT EVENT: Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA
Nationals
Chicago, Ill
May 31- June 2
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