WIND
IN THE
P42
The U.S. Nationals presents
a unique challenge since it's the
only race on the tour that in-
cludes five qualifying rounds and
is contested over four days. This
year, rapidly changing weather
and track conditions tested even
the best NHRA crews, but Her-
rera's team was able to adapt,
and by the time final elimina-
tions began on Monday, he had
the quickest bike in the field.
Herrera qualified first and
then ran consistent 6.70s in his
wins against Wes Wells, Seattle
winner Chase Van Sant, and
his Vance & Hines teammate
Richard Gadson. Herrera also
made the best run of the event
with a 6.722 in round one to help
complete the rout.
"We had to deal with a rules
change last month that added
15 pounds to our Suzuki and
making adjustments isn't as sim
-
ple as it sounds," Herrera said.
"We tested and tried to learn
where the best place was to put
the weight and how to tune the
bike. That's where Andrew Hines
shines. He was determined to
get this bike figured out and it
took us a while, but we did it."
Smith's weekend got off to a
rough start as she struggled to
learn a new chassis. During qual
-
ifying, she experienced a brake
failure and wound up in the sand
trap. Although she wasn't injured
and her bike was not seriously
damaged, the team had to sacri
-
fice a qualifying run.
Despite the drama, Smith
reached the final round for the
first time this season and the
eighth time in her career thanks
to round wins against Steve
Johnson, Marc Ingwersen and
her husband, Matt.
The Countdown to the Cham
-
pionship playoffs begins at the
next event in Reading, Pennsyl-
vania, on September 12-15, and
Herrera will be the points leader
with Matt Smith in second.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL ELIMINATION
1. Gaige Herrera 6.763 (198.70) 2.
Angie Smith 6.829 (197.19)
Angie Smith made it to the final.
