to run the V-twin at the next two
races for sure. I told them earlier
this year, if they piss me off, I'm
going to bring the red rocket
[Buell] back out. Now, they had
better watch out for me. I'm go-
ing to defend this championship.
I can tell you that. Tonight, we're
going to celebrate. We're going
to live it up because this is the
U.S. Nationals."
Smith qualified number two
with a 6.800 just behind Vance
& Hines Suzuki's Angelle Sam-
pey, and then rolled through four
rounds of eliminations on Mon-
day against Scotty Pollacheck,
Hector Arana Jr., and two-time
Indy champ Jerry Savoie. Smith
was also extremely consistent
with four runs on Monday be-
tween 6.859 and 6.893.
The pressure of NHRA's
biggest event led to several
notable upsets as Sampey, her
teammate Eddie Krawiec, and
incoming championship leader
Joey Gladstone each failed to
advance to past the opening
round. Smith took full advantage
of the miscues of his opponents
to not only win the race, but also
to take over the top spot in the
standings, just in time for the
Countdown to the Champion-
ship, NHRA's five-race playoff.
Stoffer didn't win the race,
but she certainly benefited from
reaching the final round. Stoffer
won the season-opening race in
Gainesville with a record-setting
performance that included the
two quickest runs in the history
of the Pro Stock Motorcycle
class, but she's struggled since
then with just one final round to
her credit.
Stoffer ended a string of three-
consecutive round-one losses
in Denver, Sonoma, and Topeka
with a solid run at Indy that in-
cluded wins against Gladstone,
Ron Tornow, and two-time Indy
winner Steve Johnson.
The championship playoffs will
begin with the Pep Boys NHRA
Nationals at Maple Grove Race-
way in Reading, Pennsylvania,
September 15-18.
Kevin McKenna
PRO STOCK FINAL
1. Matt Smith (Suz)
2. Karen Stoffer (Suz)
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 7, 2022 P41
Smith went up against Karen Stoffer in the final.
