Angelle Savoie and the CVEC Suzuki Racing Team scored a dominating win at the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. 

This was their second victory in 2002, and first at Route 66 Raceway following runner-up finishes in 1998 and 2001. 
Facing Antron Brown in the final, Angelle narrowly won the starting line battle with a .405 reaction time to edge her rival's equally impressive .408 light.  From that point forward the outcome was never in doubt as the bright orange, blue and white Suzuki rocketed down the Joliet track in 7.139 seconds, which was the quickest pass of the weekend, to claim the victory.

"I knew Antron was going to be tough in the final, so I tried really hard to cut a great light and I did. That .405 was the best that was going to come out of me, and I was happy to have it. From there, I shifted on time, everything was so smooth, and the horsepower was awesome, pulling all the way down the track.  Star Racing keep giving me an awesome motorcycle and I love
to ride it."

Since unveiling their new sponsor's colors in Atlanta three races ago, the Star Racing entry has been the dominant bike in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and this trend continued in Joliet.   From the second qualifying session forward, the CVEC Suzuki was never headed.  Capturing the No.1 qualifying position with a 7.146-second run on Saturday morning, Angelle entered eliminations as the only competitor to post an elapsed time in the 7.1-second range.

Despite having an apparent performance edge on their competitors, Angelle and the CVEC crew knew it would take a near-perfect performance to take home the Route 66 trophy.  In the first round, Angelle nearly duplicated her qualifying effort in defeating Fred Camarena, while combining a stellar .405
reaction time with a class-leading 7.189-second effort in the second round to shelve John Smith.  Finally, Angelle outdistanced long-time rival Matt Hines in the semi-finals with a 7.158-second, 184.22 mph blast to reach her third final of the 2002 season.

"These races are not easy to win. Even though I have an awesome bike, these races come down to the driver's performance. You have to work really hard to beat these guys who are cutting .400 lights, so it makes it exciting when you
do win.

"This weekend, I was really focused on doing a good job.  After that .471 light in the first round, I knew I had to improve, so I concentrated and had a couple .405s and a .428 after that. The way I see it, this CVEC Suzuki team has won when they get to the track, and it's up to me to get the job done, and today we did."

Angelle also spoke about scoring her first win at Route 66 Raceway. "I knew this was one of a couple tracks where we hadn't won, and I really wanted to win here. It was also important because this is the home track for one of our sponsors, Snap-On Tools, and we wanted to do it for them. Winning
was both my goal and my motivation coming into this race, and it feels really good to get Star Racing's  first win here with our CVEC Suzuki."

Fast Facts:

- This is the 24th win of Angelle's career (and second of the 2002 season) and first at Route 66 Raceway. 

- Angelle's 24 wins are the most by a female competitor in NHRA history, and tie her for 15th on the all-time win list with Terry Vance.

- Angelle's 7.139-second elapsed time in the final round was the quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle for the weekend, marking the 22nd time she has accomplished this feat.

-Angelle had the quickest elapsed time in each qualifying session except one and elimination round for Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend, and was the only bike to record an elapsed time in the 7.1-second range.

-Angelle had led the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle standings following 36 of the last 47 national events, dating back to the beginning of the 1999 season.  She has been ranked first or second an amazing 53 of the last 57 events, dating back to the fourth event of 1998.

-This is the 12th time Angelle has won from the No. 1 qualifying position.

- Angelle has won 19 of her last 48 national event starts, has appeared in 26 final rounds and owns a 131-30 (.814) elimination round win record during that span.  She has also recorded 19 low qualifier efforts during that span.

-Angelle's .773 (194-57) elimination- round win percentage ranks second among all active drivers, trailing only Matt Hines.