Savoie prepped for the Big Go at Indianapolis

NHRA Rookie Savoie gears up for first Indy experience

Jerry Savoie

Photo by: Ted Rossino

CUT OFF, La. – In his first season of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition, Jerry Savoie has looked like anything but a rookie as he has been ranked in the top ten since his debut at the season-opening Tire Kingdom Gatornationals last March. Now Savoie [pronounced Sav-Waa] is looking to officially lock up his spot in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs as he makes his first appearance at drag racing’s biggest stage, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

With the help of veteran crew chief Mark Peiser, Savoie’s White Alligator Racing Suzuki has emerged as a solid contender in the NHRA Full Throttle series this season. After qualifying at each of the season’s first nine events and earning seven round wins, the Louisiana-based alligator farmer enters this weekend’s event as the ninth-ranked rider in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, and with a 93-point lead over 11th ranked Chip Ellis, he essentially needs only to qualify in order to clinch his spot in the upcoming six-race playoff.

“We’ve done well this year, but I honestly think we could do better,” said Savoie. “We’ve lost a number of close races this year and if just one or two of them had gone the other way, we could be in the top four or five in the points standings. I’m not complaining at all, but it seems like we just need a little bit of luck and we can start making some final rounds.”

In an effort to give himself the best chance for success in the upcoming playoffs – which begin at the upcoming event in Charlotte, N.C. in two weeks – the White Alligator team have decided to debut their all-new Suzuki Hayabusa this weekend. The new bike figures to be a bit more aerodynamic than its predecessor, the Suzuki GSX-R, and Peiser feels that the new machine could provide an immediate boost in performance.

“The Hayabusa offers a lot less wind resistance than the GSX-R and with these bikes, any time you can improve the aerodynamics, they are going to run quicker,” Peiser noted. “We’re going to try the new bike this weekend. It won’t be pretty because we don’t have time to get it painted or lettered, but if it runs quicker than the old bike, that will be fine with me. We don’t need to win the Best Appearing award.”