Smith Wins Pomona NHRA
D
enso Buell's Matt Smith
came up short in his bid
to sweep the Western Swing,
NHRA's annual three-race-in-
three-week tour through Denver,
Sonoma, and this year, Pomona,
California. Smith is headed
back to North Carolina with two
wins and that's good enough for
the reigning champ and cur-
rent points leader in the Camp-
ing World NHRA Drag Racing
Series. Smith's latest win came
at Pomona Raceway where he
defeated Vance & Hines Suzuki's
Angelle Sampey in the final
round.
In the final round, Smith
rode to a strong 6.828-second
elapsed time to easily cover
Sampey's 6.911. It was Smith's
fourth win of the 2021 season
and the 30th of his career.
"It's really hard to come out
here and run three races in three
weeks," Smith said, "but we
pulled it off and we're headed
home with two wins. It's not a
sweep but I'll take it."
Unlike last week's event in So-
noma that featured record-setting
conditions, the Pomona race
was extremely hot with some of
the highest track temperatures
recorded at an NHRA event. That
proved to be a challenge for both
riders and crew chiefs, and in
Smith's case, he operates as his
own crew chief, so the challenge
is even more daunting.
"It was so hot today, and that
was the biggest thing, just fight-
ing the track," said Smith.
Smith was the low qualifier,
which meant he got a single run
in the first round since there were
just 15 bikes in the field. He then
scored wins over his wife, Angie
Smith, and Denso teammate,
Scotty Pollacheck. Matt defeated
Angie by a comfortable 6.83
IN
THE
WIND
P38
Matt Smith finished off
the NHRA's western swing
with a win at Pomona.
PHOTO: MATT POLITTO
