IN
THE
WIND
P50
Matt Smith Records 25th NHRA
Pro Stock MC Victory
F
ollowing one of the most
dominant performances of his
career, Denso EBR's Matt Smith
has put himself in a position to
win his fourth NHRA Mello Yello
Drag Racing Series Pro Stock
Motorcycle title. Smith won the
Amalie NHRA Gatornationals for
his 25th career title and in the
process, he took over the series
points lead with just four races
remaining in the abbreviated
season. In the final round, Smith
rode to a 6.84 elapsed time to
easily defeat his biggest rival,
Screamin' Eagle Harley-David-
son's Andrew Hines, who trailed
with a 6.92. It was the first time
in seven final-round meetings that
Smith has defeated Hines.
"Right now, we've got the
points lead and we've got a bike
that is good enough to stay there
and win another championship,"
Smith said.
Given the parity that exists in
almost all NHRA classes, it's rare
for any racer to have a sizable
edge over the rest of the field, but
Smith was dominant in Gaines-
ville with a 6.814 in qualifying that
was well ahead of second-ranked
Angelle Sampey, who rode her
Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson
to a 6.858. Hines was sixth in the
field with a 6.899.
Smith remained solid through-
out Sunday's final eliminations
including a 6.828 in the second
round against John Hall's Suzuki.
Smith also logged wins against
Kelly Clontz and his own team-
mate, Strutmasters.com EBR's
Scotty Pollacheck. When Smith
defeated Pollacheck in the final
four, he assumed the points lead
with races remaining in St. Louis,
Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas.
As an added bonus, Smith also
got to share the winner's circle
with his father, Rickie, who won
the Pro Mod division in his 250-
mph Chevy Camaro.
"This bike has been good all
year but there were a couple of
times when we didn't get to show
it," Smith said. "Now, I think ev-
eryone can see what we've got."
Hines, looking for a seventh
championship, helped his cause
by reaching the final even though
his bike was clearly off a tick.
After defeating Lucas Oil EBR's
Hector Arana Jr. in the opening
round, Hines topped his own
Harley teammates, Eddie Kra-
weic and Angelle Sampey, in the
next two races. Sampey outran
Hines by a tenth of a second,
6.84 to 6.94, but she left a red
light at the start.
Smith leaves Gainesville with
a slim 21-point lead over Polla-
check and is 28 markers ahead
of Hines while Sampey and
Krawiec are still very much in
the fight, 48 and 64 points back,
respectively.
Kevin McKenna
Matt Smith (pictured) scored a big win over rival Andrew Hines in the NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle final at the Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. PHOTO: NHRA
