Smith Takes Over With Second
NHRA Win of the Season
F
or all the talk about how
RevZilla/Vance & Hines
Suzuki's Gaige Herrera has
dominated the NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle class, it's actually
Matt Smith who currently has
the best bike in the class, and
he proved it with a dominant win
at the NHRA Carolina Nationals
at zMax Dragway, September
20-22.
Racing at his home track,
Smith took a big step towards a
possible seventh world champi
-
onship when he rode his Denso
Buell to a second win of the sea-
son. Smith won the final round
after rookie Richard Gadson
left the starting line too soon,
drawing a red-light start. Smith
took full advantage with a rolled
6.846 elapsed time at 199.35
mph to earn his 40th career win.
More importantly, he took over
the championship lead for the
first time this season.
Ironically, Smith was so
focused on his own bike that he
didn't initially realize that Gad-
son had fouled until after the
race was over.
"I was just trying to stay good
and tough against Richard, and
when I went through the [finish
line] lights, I didn't see my win
light, and I didn't know if I won
or not," Smith said. "It's never a
good feeling when you can't see
a win light because you thought
you had a good deal, but you
don't ever know. But all in all,
what a weekend, what a great
day."
Smith's path to the final round
includes wins against his wife,
Angie, and Matt Smith Racing
teammate Jianna Evaristo. In a
surprising turn of events, Smith,
who also led the field in qualify
-
ing, now leads defending World
Champion Gaige Herrera by 25
WIND
IN THE
P58
Matt Smith topped
the NHRA Pro Stock
Motorcycle round with
a strong performance
and is the new
Championship leader.
PHOTOS: MATT POLITO
