second behind Smith. Back-to-
back wins in St. Louis and Dallas
have given the defending World
Champion a 62-point lead over
Smith heading into the season's
final two races. Each round win
equals 20 points, while the final
in Pomona, California, features a
bonus structure with each round
valued at 30 points.
Smith has six World titles and
he's shown lately that he's not
about to give up without a fight
to the finish, so Herrera under
-
stands there is still much work
to be done.
"This Countdown has been
pretty tight," Herrera said. "We all
know there was some trash talk,
so for us to not have the perfor
-
mance advantage and get the
win, it means a lot to me. This
season, it just means a lot more
each round win we get. This year
has been a lot more pressure for
me as a rider. Each round and
win means so much more this
time. I'm kind of just showing
my real side and not holding it in
anymore."
Smith reached his fifth final
round in 2024, and he's now
achieved 40 wins in 80 final
rounds in his career thanks to
victories against Malcolm Phil
-
lips Jr., Marc Ingwersen, and
GETTRX Buell's Hector Arana
Jr., the defending Dallas win
-
ner. Smith had the quickest bike
in both the second and third
rounds on Sunday and appeared
well ahead of Herrera until his
200-mph Buell encountered a
mechanical issue.
The next event for the Pro
Stock Motorcycle class will be
the Ford Performance NHRA
Nationals in Las Vegas, October
31-November 3, followed by the
In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in
Pomona, California, November
14-17.
Kevin McKenna
FINAL ELIMINATION
1. Gaige Herrera (0.033) 6.816-200.56
2. Matt Smith (0.026) 7.703-125.55
VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P39
Herrera gladly
accepted the win
in the final after
Matt Smith's
bike suffered a
mechanical while
leading.
