When opportunity knocked, Chase Van Sant couldn’t believe what was behind the door.

Van Sant was offered the opportunity to ride a Suzuki for Jerry Savoie’s White Alligator Racing world championship Pro Stock Motorcycle team.

The whirlwind event became official earlier this month and Van Sant, 25, is still trying to digest everything. 

“Yeah, it's still kind of surreal to me,” Van Sant told CompetitionPlus.com. “Because I think he had mentioned to you that he (Tim Kulungian, Savoie’s crew chief) met my dad (Bruce) at PRI in 2021 and they had worked and talked things out and I actually didn't show up until the following day, so I never even got to meet Tim until we showed up at the WAR shop in Birmingham (Ala.), just a couple months before I was going to ride the bike. It was kind of funny that this whole deal kind of started and I wasn't even really present in any of the conversations or anything like that. So, just how quickly that all kind of developed, it's still pretty surreal to me because it's really only been the culmination of a year.”

Van Sant acknowledged the chance was WAR was even more unlikely because he didn’t have any ties to the team or too many people in the PSM scene.

“It's pretty crazy in that sense just because up until fall of 2021, I knew a couple of the guys, but for the most part I was a huge fan and I watched and observed and I didn't really have any skin in the NHRA game,” he said. “It's pretty crazy that those people, who just a year ago I was looking up to and trying to emulate, riding on the motorcycle is now going to be my competition next year.”

Van Sant is no stranger to competing on a motorcycle

“So, last year we raced a 460-index class,” Van Sant said. “It's an eighth-mile index, so it's the fastest index that motorcycles have to offer right now. And that's kind of the best way to get into Pro Stock Motorcycle or at least get a feel for going that fast and getting comfortable. I've done that the last three or four years or so. I was mostly racing, the organization is called Man Cup, so it's short for Manufacturer's Cup. That's kind of where I've been at for the last three or so years. And then there's a couple other organizations that we've kind of gone to some races with, but us being in Iowa, we kind of have to pick closer races because it seems like all the motorcycle stuff is south and southeast.”

Van Sant works for his father Bruce at the family’s shop Trick-Tools Racing in Pella, Iowa, 45 minutes from Des Moines. Bruce is a longtime motorcycle. Trick-Tools will be Chase’s primary sponsor in 2023.

“Yeah, that was always kind of my goal and I think my dad's goal at the same time too,” said Chase about competing in the PSM class. “It was something we always wanted to do there. We just didn't really have a gateway into it. There's just not that kind of beginner's class to get into the Pro Stock (class). The 460-index class is becoming so popular in the motorcycle world that to even just to get your name out there, those guys, they're really doing a good job of that. And I think that class was just such a natural step for us because we already had a motorcycle, my dad raced Pro Mod in 1997 to 2002 or so.

“He kept the bike and we just kind of changed a couple things, and I've rode the same bike, it looks identical and everything. It was kind of cool, that was something ever since I was 2 years, 3 years old that I wanted to ride that motorcycle. So, I got the chance to do it for four or so years now and it's pretty surreal. And then the steppingstone to get into Pro Stock (Motorcycle), it's like things have really kind of come full circle for us.”

 

 

Van Sant’s progression to fulltime rider for WAR began with him working on the crew this past season.

Van Sant then began his PSM licensing process in Richmond, Va., in mid-May, which was an eye-opening experience.

“It's a funny story because Keith Nichols is the guy that worked on Jerry's bike, he was the mechanic that worked on Jerry's bike and he was also working on it when I tested,” Van Sant said. “Keith has kind of played around and he's also raced 460, so I've got to know him a little bit. So, I'm trying to ask him, because he's worked with Matt and Angie Smith and all sorts of these good riders. So, I'm trying to ask him, I'm like, ‘Okay. So, what do I need to expect when I throw the clutch lever because everyone says that it hits insanely hard?’ And he was like, ‘Man, just go out there and do your normal deal and we'll re-evaluate.’ He's like, ‘No one's going to be able to tell you anything that is going to prepare you for that. You just have to go out and ride it because everyone's confident you can do it.’ 

Van Sant described to CompetitionPlus.com what unfolded on his first hit.

“My very first run, I threw the clutch lever and it hit so hard, I've never rode anything that hit that hard and I've been much faster in the 60-foot even,” he said. “That's why I was shocked when I got back and I looked at the ticket and the 60 foot was slow, but the first three feet or were so violent that I couldn't believe it. I was pretty frustrated with myself because when I threw the clutch lever, it took me back a little bit and I was really far behind the motorcycle. Then I hit the rev limiter in first and I missed my shift going into second, and then I'm just kind of fumbling getting through gears, and I didn't get all the way to high gear, so it was just kind of a disaster of a first run in my standards. Tim was like, ‘Hey, that's okay. You know what to expect, let's go out and try again.’ 

 

 

Van Sant completed his PSM license at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“I rode Jerry's motorcycle at all of licensing,” Van Sant said. “I made four in each place (in Richmond and Vegas). I basically made four runs to the eighth mile in Richmond and four full passes in Las Vegas. I think for me there's a lot of unknowns yet about actually racing. I have an idea of what the bike is going to feel like, but for me, I think the biggest thing is just kind of mentally preparing. It's just one of those things where I know what to expect from the motorcycle now and I just need to kind of program my mind to become ready for that. I think the other big key here for me is just trying to train myself to be optimistic about things.

“Yeah, it sounds silly, but I know there's going to be a big learning curve and I don't think there's really a whole lot of expectations that are put on me at least, no one's telling me that you need to do this, or you need to do that. I think it's just go out and do your best and have fun and we'll kind of reevaluate after a few races when you get some more laps. I think for me, just trying to remain optimistic about the whole thing and not get frustrated when things aren't going to go my way. That's really the big thing because a lot of people don't know how difficult what they do really is. Guys like Matt Smith and all of them make it look so simple but speaking from someone who's a bracket racer and grown up and wanted to be here, I'm like, ‘Okay, this is a little more difficult than I thought.’

Kulungian is upbeat about Van Sant can accomplish in the upcoming season.

“I mean, even on his first lap, he came back and he's like, ‘Boy, that was terrible, ‘and I'm like, ‘Huh, you should have seen some of the other people's first lap,” Kulungian said. “We're a lot closer to the finish line than you think. He's done a remarkable job. And so, he worked with us in 2022. He came to the racetrack, and he spent a lot of time with the team, and he spent a lot of time with these motorcycles. He's got a lot of invested here and him and his dad, and so great family, great people. I think he's going to do remarkable next year.”

The NHRA season and Pro Stock Motorcycle season gets underway at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 9-12 and Van Sant is head is still spinning a little bit.

“It's so insane,” he said. “I think the part of it that is really hard to wrap my head around is just like, ‘Okay. So, you know you always wanted to race Pro Stock (Motorcycle). You kind of envisioned a couple years of struggle just trying to learn and lot of those guys too, and they're on motorcycles and everything. But like you said, the part that is I think craziest to me is, so I'm coming into the NHRA, no one knows who I am and I'm on a championship-caliber team. I'm like, ‘All right. Well, no one else is really putting pressure on me except myself. I don't really have to work as far as the performance of the motorcycle, that's all handled by Tim and the team. And now I just have the job of making it go down the track quick. And that's a very, very weird feeling for me.

“It's different than I envisioned if I ever got the chance to race Pro Stock Motorcycle, this is definitely different than how I pictured it going, but in a good way. It's just trying to process and wrap your head around, like if the team isn't performing well or something like that, it's probably not because of the team, it's probably going to be my fault. Because they're seasoned and they're very, very good at what they do and I'm new, and so it's like... Like I said, I try and be optimistic about the deal and I think we'll be okay.”

 

 

In related WAR news, Kulungian said the team isn’t done making announcements for 2023.

“We're going to have two full-time bikes, and then we're going to have a third bike with Jerry on it,” Kulungian said. “He hasn’t decided what races he's going to be at yet. There's going to be two full-time bikes, and on the second one, we hope to have everything buttoned up by the first of January and kind of announce who that's going to be, and what partners they're bringing on board.”

Kulungian added all three WAR riders will be on Suzukis in 2023.