Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Motorcycle leader looks forward to LV

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 10:10 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

It has been almost six weeks since the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle category has raced and points leader Angelle Savoie can't wait to get back to the track this weekend in Las Vegas.

Far from vacationing or relaxing around the house during the layoff, Savoie has been going virtually nonstop at her Suzuki dealership in Houma, La., since parking her Pro Stock bike following her fifth win of the season, Sept. 15 at the Lucas Oil Nationals near Reading, Pa.

"I've been under a lot of stress at home lately with a lot of things going on around here and I'm really looking forward to getting on that plane and getting away," Savoie said Wednesday from -- where else -- her dealership. "We had a whole month off and I needed the break in one way, but I need to get away now.

"(Racing) is definitely my escape from the real world because when I'm on the track, it doesn't matter what's going on back at home, which bills need to be paid ... I only have one mission and that's to win that race."

Savoie, who holds a 173-point lead over Craig Treble, can wrap up her third consecutive NHRA title at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals. Should she advance to the semifinals this weekend, Savoie would clinch the championship, regardless of what Treble does over the last two races. She also can win the title by matching Treble's performance this weekend and leaving with at least a 139-point lead.

But Savoie, who has a win and a semifinal finish in two previous appearances at The Strip, hasn't had time to ponder all the scenarios -- and that, she said, is a good thing.

"I'm really, really busy and I just don't have time to think about the races -- which I think is good because when I start thinking about it too much, that's when I get real nervous and worried and start beating myself up before we even get there," she said.

Savoie, the winningest female racer in NHRA history with 27 national-event victories, will match Shirley Muldowney for most series championships by a female competitor when she clinches this year's title.

That Savoie -- who started the year without a sponsor and then had to find another source of funding midway through the season -- is even in the hunt for a championship is a feat in itself.

"I don't think anything could be more special than the first (championship) but this one definitely is pretty amazing -- if we get it," she said. "Just the fact that we finished the year was amazing, much less to win the championship. We really did not know from race to race if we were going to make it to the next one.

"We didn't lighten up on anything because we knew we had to win this championship to try to get a sponsor, so it was really difficult. I really contemplated on calling it quits but when I sit down and I think about what my life would be like without it, I can't even imagine it.

"Hopefully, we'll get (a sponsor) for next year because I'm not ready to quit."