Matt Smith Retakes NHRA Points Lead
D
enso Buell's Matt Smith didn't
win four NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle World Champion-
ships by being timid so when
he arrived at the Texas Nation-
als in Dallas in second place in
the standings, he decided to
do something about it. Smith
entered the Dallas round in third
place, 32 points behind leader
Steve Johnson. He left with a
slim eight-point lead after win-
ning for the fifth time this season.
Smith won the final round after
Hector Arana Jr. red-lighted on
his Lucas Oil Buell.
"This was a great weekend for
this Denso team," said Smith.
"We were pretty flawless all
weekend, qualifying number two,
just a tick by Steve Johnson,
and we were low elapsed time of
every round today, so hats off to
my guys. We've got a pretty awe-
some team and to get that cow-
boy hat [symbolic of winning this
event]; ever since I started my
career, I've always wanted to win
this race and never got it done
and just glad to get it done."
Smith and the rest of the Pro
Stock Motorcycle field in Dal-
las faced unseasonably warm
conditions including 90-degree
temperatures on race day. That
didn't seem to faze Smith, who
had the quickest motorcycle in
all four rounds of eliminations
including the first round where
he unloaded a 6.79 to defeat his
teammate, Michael Ray. Smith
also clocked wins against Chris
Bostick, and his wife Angie
Smith, before finishing off the win
with a 6.83 in the final against
Arana Jr.
"The weather played into our
hands; the weather threw ev-
erybody a curveball, and I know
how to run into these condi-
tions," Smith said. "We ran these
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Denso Buell's Matt
Smith moved back
into the NHRA Pro
Stock Motorcycle
Championship lead
with a big win in Dallas.
PHOTOS: MATT POLITO
