White Alligator Racing Changes Hands
The landscape in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle category is changing in 2024, as veteran crew chief Tim Kulungian takes over ownership of White Alligator Racing (WAR) from 2017 class champion Jerry Savoie. Savoie stepped away from full-time competition in 2023 after hiring Chase Van Sant as one of two Suzuki riders, with John Hall on the second motorcycle.
When Van Sant, who was named 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year suffered a season-ending knee injury during the October Dallas competition, Savoie returned for the final two races of the season at Las Vegas and Pomona. Showing few signs of the layoff at Las Vegas, Savoie went to the semifinals where he ceded to 2023 Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Gaige Herrera’s Suzuki by .0938 seconds. At Pomona, he was out in the first round against 2010 champ LE Tonglet’s Suzuki by .0681 sec.
Whether those results cemented Savoie’s decision to cede the team to Kulungian isn’t known, but Savoie was pleased with Kulungian’s work as both crew chief and team manager per the past dozen years and, while he hasn’t stated as much at this time, felt that ceding ownership of the team to Kulungian was the right thing to do. The COVID emergency played into Savoie’s hands, as did the hurricanes striking his Louisiana home that ravaged the white alligator farm that Savoie owns and operates. The financial issues were devastating to the rider’s ability to continue racing.
Jerry Savoie had said he’d only make a few appearances in the 2023 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle campaign and that’s exactly what he did. It was time. After all, racing a motorcycle is not Savoie’s method of earning his livelihood. Savoie and Kulungian had been talking about an ownership change for quite a while, since the middle of 2022, and by the close of this season, both of them were ready for the change. “We came to an agreement; we’ve been very fair with one another,” Kulungian noted.
Tim Kulungian will begin his 13th season with White Alligator Racing (WAR) as its owner. He’ll have a Suzuki TL1000 for Chase Van Sant’s second year of competition (the team has two TL1000s and a single Gen 2 Hayabusa chassis) and is bringing a new rider to the team, Chris Bostick, who races a Suzuki Hayabusa Gen 3. The relationship with Bostick is a new one; there was no engagement during the season just ended.
Bostick’s entry on the WAR side of the PSM pits will amount to focusing on his riding, rather than having to tend to all aspects of his PSM entry. “We will take over running the motorcycle so he can focus on riding,” Kulungian said. “We have all the solutions necessary for his program and we’ll give him the opportunity to focus on his riding and competing.” This past season, Bostick did it all: he worked on his bike, helped to tune his bike and, as Kulungian said, that requires a lot of resources. “We’ve structured his program to allow him the convenience of just riding.”
Bostick’s first entry in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship playoffs occurred in 2023; the rider is known for his exemplary 60-foot times. “Joining White Alligator Racing is a fantastic opportunity and I’m eager to contribute to the team’s success,” Bostick said. “This team’s commitment to excellence and passion for the sport aligns perfectly with my values. together, I believe we can push the boundaries and make a significant impact.”
Tim Kulungian has been the face of WAR for nearly his entire tenure with the team. “Jerry trusted me; I had total control on how we do things. As far as managing the company, he allowed me to do my job,” he said. And goals for 2024? “We continuously focus on the future of our sport and look to the next generation of riders. I am proud to be part of the group presenting opportunities for development of riders and teams that will take the sport forward,” he said. “As a crew chief, it’s my responsibility to make it as easy as possible for the rider to execute.” And succeed.
WAR Racing uses some Vance & Hines products, notably their cylinder heads and engine cases, but their engine development is sourced through KB Titan Racing. “They do all the engine development, with Competition Engine Services’ Ron Moyer, who ran the Gray family’s Pro Stock program,” responsible for the engine side of their program. “We started working together in 2019 and into 2020; he went to KB Titan in late 2022, early 2023 and we followed him over there. They are our engine partners and they’ve got a lot of resources.”.
As he ramps up his ownership program, Tim Kulungian intends to keep the WAR Racing nomenclature, due to its history, recognition, the accomplishments of its previous owner and the riders who have joined WAR at one time or another. He says he has exciting news about added sponsors – Trick Tools is the primary on Chase Van Sant’s Suzuki – that should be revealed at or before the new year and season are engaged. The team of Van Sant and Bostick expect to start their testing program in Florida at the end of January and beginning of February, most likely at Bradenton Motorsports Park, due to the fact that it’s the home of Pro Stock, Pro Mod testing and, in February plenty of racing. Testing on a “green” track isn’t the preferred solution.
At the same time, he expects to work with NHRA to help effect better rider safety for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class, to help eliminate the issues that caused both his rider, Van Sant, and veteran Angie Smith to fall from their motorcycles and incur injuries in the shut-down area of the tracks. “We’re pushing for all kinds of safety changes in the rider’s equipment, especially in the area of elbows, arms, shoulders, hips, butts and knees in the leathers riders wear. We’re also addressing footwear to increase protection on ankles and feet,” he said.
With guys like Tim Kulungian – and a team like WAR Racing – in NHRA’s Missions Foods Drag Racing Series’ Pro Stock Motorcycle class in 2024, the sport is truly looking forward.