Savoie look to gain points at Dallas

Savoie charging for points, first win as Countdown continues

Jerry Savoie

Photo by: Ted Rossino

DALLAS, Texas – He has never before been to Dallas, but White Alligator Racing Suzuki rider Jerry Savoie is looking to make the Lone Star State feel like home-away-from-home this weekend as he gets settled at Texas Motorplex for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals. The Cut Off, La.-based Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor will be hosting friends and family at the event, and he would like nothing more than to pick up a few more round wins and precious points with his fervent supporters there to cheer him on in person.

"Last weekend in Charlotte wasn't so good," admitted Savoie. "But hopefully we've got everything figured out and we can do better. I'm excited that so many of our friends can come to watch in Dallas, and I hope we can give them something to see."

Despite falling a bit short of expectations last weekend with an early exit on raceday, Savoie earned a spot in the quickest Pro Stock Motorcycle field in the history of the sport, and just two weeks prior he secured one of the 10 coveted positions in the Countdown to the Championship – NHRA's six-race playoff to determine the 2011 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series titlist – with a final-round finish at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. In his first season of professional drag racing, the 52-year-old Savoie has made a serious statement, and even the exhaustion of back-to-back events hasn't been able to quench the his desire to continue the rise.

"I'm fired up because when you get on that starting line for qualifying or eliminations, it's dog-eat-dog," he said. "It's all about the competition, and I love it. You never get tired of going down the track; it's always a thrill."

Savoie enters the second race of the Countdown chase in the No. 9 position, 185 marks away from current front-runner Eddie Krawiec. With five races left in the season, it's anyone's game, and picking up his first win sure wouldn't hurt Savoie's chances of inching right up to the big trophy. For now, the focus is on the task at hand: making strides at Texas Motorplex.

"We're definitely ready to get to Dallas," said Savoie. "I just talked to Mark [Peiser, crew chief], and he's feeling positive, and I'm feeling positive. Every race I'm thinking about getting that first win. We're looking forward to going out there and seeing if we can show some improvement on the racetrack."