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Monday, February 3
Updated: February 4, 12:35 PM ET
Savoie not without ride for long
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com
Just when you thought the off-season couldn't get any more unpredictable, something else ambushed the NHRA ecosystem just days before the new season fires up in Pomona, Calif.
Angelle Savoie's plans have changed yet again.
Within 48 hours of announcing her split with George Bryce and Star Racing, which would leave her without a deal for the upcoming campaign, the three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion announced on Sunday's RPM2Night that she had agreed to team up with her cousin-in-law, Antron Brown, and will race a second Suzuki for Team 23.
The announcement was just the latest in a series of twists and turns that have punctuated Savoie's career from the moment she jumped aboard a Pro Stock Motorcycle in 1996. Through the years, she has weathered the sexist disapproval from a number of her competitors. She also raced alongside the late three-time champ John Myers. And last year, she overcame the stresses of competing for her third title last year without a sponsor, and did so while her motorcycle dealership back home in Louisiana was struggling through management and financial issues.
Yet, shortly after winning her third straight championship, Savoie said she had no intentions of racing with any other outfit than Star Racing. Bryce, Star's owner, discovered Savoie while teaching a class at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School at Gainesville Raceway in Florida in 1995 and has guided each step of her meteoric rise to the most successful woman racer in NHRA history.
There is one possible hitch for Team 23. Brown and his crew chief, Mark Peiser, have been in a concentrated search for sponsorship for 2003 and hope to have enough funding in place soon to be able to run both machines for the entire 14-national event season. According to Brown, who finished the 2002 season fourth in the standings, the team can race until midseason with the current level of funding.
"Right now, we have an outside investor who has seen the potential of this team and has loaned us some money," Brown said. "Now it's up to us to find a sponsor. We've had some interest over the last few weeks but now that we've added a three-time champion to our team, I expect that should open some doors for us. I believe we have a lot to offer a sponsor."
Savoie's announcement lends new life to the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, which had been looking at the loss of two three-time champs after Matt Hines announced last week his plans to sit out the season and devote his energies to the team's new Harley-Davidson program. Savoie and Hines have accounted for every title since 1997 and their fierce rivalry has helped popularize the category.
The first national event in which the bikes will compete in 2003 will be the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., on March 13-16.
Bill Stephens is an NHRA reporter for ESPN and covers the NHRA for ESPN.com.
Updated: February 4, 12:35 PM ET
Savoie not without ride for long
By Bill Stephens
ESPN.com
Just when you thought the off-season couldn't get any more unpredictable, something else ambushed the NHRA ecosystem just days before the new season fires up in Pomona, Calif.
Angelle Savoie's plans have changed yet again.
Within 48 hours of announcing her split with George Bryce and Star Racing, which would leave her without a deal for the upcoming campaign, the three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion announced on Sunday's RPM2Night that she had agreed to team up with her cousin-in-law, Antron Brown, and will race a second Suzuki for Team 23.
The announcement was just the latest in a series of twists and turns that have punctuated Savoie's career from the moment she jumped aboard a Pro Stock Motorcycle in 1996. Through the years, she has weathered the sexist disapproval from a number of her competitors. She also raced alongside the late three-time champ John Myers. And last year, she overcame the stresses of competing for her third title last year without a sponsor, and did so while her motorcycle dealership back home in Louisiana was struggling through management and financial issues.
Yet, shortly after winning her third straight championship, Savoie said she had no intentions of racing with any other outfit than Star Racing. Bryce, Star's owner, discovered Savoie while teaching a class at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School at Gainesville Raceway in Florida in 1995 and has guided each step of her meteoric rise to the most successful woman racer in NHRA history.
There is one possible hitch for Team 23. Brown and his crew chief, Mark Peiser, have been in a concentrated search for sponsorship for 2003 and hope to have enough funding in place soon to be able to run both machines for the entire 14-national event season. According to Brown, who finished the 2002 season fourth in the standings, the team can race until midseason with the current level of funding.
"Right now, we have an outside investor who has seen the potential of this team and has loaned us some money," Brown said. "Now it's up to us to find a sponsor. We've had some interest over the last few weeks but now that we've added a three-time champion to our team, I expect that should open some doors for us. I believe we have a lot to offer a sponsor."
Savoie's announcement lends new life to the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, which had been looking at the loss of two three-time champs after Matt Hines announced last week his plans to sit out the season and devote his energies to the team's new Harley-Davidson program. Savoie and Hines have accounted for every title since 1997 and their fierce rivalry has helped popularize the category.
The first national event in which the bikes will compete in 2003 will be the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., on March 13-16.
Bill Stephens is an NHRA reporter for ESPN and covers the NHRA for ESPN.com.