Cycle News

Cycle News Issue 45 November 13

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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VOL. 55 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 13, 2018 P57 BY KEVIN MCKENNA PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT POLITO I t isn't an exaggeration to sug- gest that the final day of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California produced one of the most dramatic moments in the history of the Pro Stock Mo- torcycle class. After eight months and 16 events, the final race of the year at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona became a winner-take- all battle for the championship with Elite Performance EBR's Matt Smith winning his third title at the expense of Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Eddie Krawiec. Smith capped off one of the most dominant performances of this or any other year with a 6.76 elapsed time that easily covered Krawiec's 6.81. For good mea- sure, Smith also ran 201.22-mph at the finish line, the fastest speed recorded to date by a Pro Stock Motorcycle. "This is the same situation I had in 2007 where I had to win the race to win my first championship. We came out victorious then, and it was like history repeated itself today. The only difference was this time it's my birthday. "Racing Eddie in the final, I guess that's the way it was meant to be," Smith said. "It was supposed to be a storybook ending. This was the last of the four NHRA pro champion- ships to be decided on Sunday, so I guess we gave the fans a good rea- son to stick around and watch the bikes run. In the final, I just knew I had to stay focused. I had to leave TAKE ALL Smith wins third NHRA championship final event of the season

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