Gladstone To The Front
T
wo months ago, Reed Motor-
sports' Joey Gladstone was
anxiously awaiting his chance to
win his first NHRA Pro Stock Mo-
torcycle event and now, he's got
three wins, and he's the frontrun-
ner to win the Camping World
NHRA Series World Champion-
ship. Gladstone's most recent
win came in Reading, Pennsylva-
nia, September 16-18, during the
first round of the Countdown to
the Championship, the five-race
dash to determine the season
champions.
After being bumped to second
place with an early loss at the
recent U.S. Nationals, Gladstone
recaptured the points lead by
beating Denso Buell's Angie
Smith, who fouled at the start in
the final round. Gladstone put
together a strong run of 6.835 at
196.93 mph to win for the third
time in the last four races.
"This is the playoffs, so this
win is big," Gladstone said. "[In-
coming point leader] Matt Smith
has been a strong force, so to be
able to get a good edge is awe-
some. We'll need it because he
hauls butt. Everyone in this class
is so tough, everybody is a con-
tender. I'm proud of my team and
proud of my tuner, Cecil Towner.
Today is also my daughter,
Olivia's, birthday. It was a really
special day and how memorable
is it to do this on her birthday."
Gladstone remains at a loss
to explain why he struggled two
weeks ago at Indy, but he quickly
bounced back in Reading with
a solid performance throughout
the event. Gladstone qualified
number eight in the quick field
with a 6.798 elapsed time but
was not far behind leader Matt
Smith, who used a 6.741 to grab
the pole on his Denso Buell.
Gladstone rolled through Sun-
IN
THE
WIND
P48
Joey Gladstone got
back to his winning
ways in Pennsylvania
and is now the new
series leader.
PHOTO: MATT POLITO
