Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/164511
ROUND 10/SEPTEMBER 2, 2013 INDIANAPOLIS RACEWAY PARK/INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA DRAG RACING P70 NHRA PRO STOCK SERIES 15th quickest out of 16 riders, but on race day he found a way to get the job done in all four elimination rounds. Hall's performance improved dramatically in the opening round as he recorded a 6.97 to stop Screamin' Eagle HarleyDavidson's Eddie Kraweic. Hall admittedly had a bit of luck in round two as he slipped to a 7.15 after spinning the rear tire off the starting line, but was still able to get the win over Sovereign/ Star Buell's Michael Ray, who ran a quicker 7.11, but had a much slower reaction time. A 7.00 run in the semi final round was enough to down Nitro Fish Suzuki's LE Tonglet, who bogged badly on the starting line and slowed from his earlier sixsecond pace to a 7.25. "I almost didn't race this year and I almost didn't come to this race," Hall said. "My father's 93rd birthday is tomorrow and I thought about staying home for that. Earlier this year, I was sure I wasn't going to be here, but once the season got going and we started to do well I decided to run all the races. I guess I was just lying to myself because I'm really enjoying this." Smith, the 2006 Indy winner, had perhaps the toughest road to the final round of any Pro competitor at Indy as his side of the ladder featured Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson's Andrew Hines and Lucas Oil Buell's Hector Arana Sr., both World Champions Against Hines, Smith took a convincing 6.99 to 7.03 win. A round later, Smith stopped Arana with a perfect .000 reaction time and a 6.99. Smith was also involved in perhaps the best race of the day in the semifinals as he held on to defeat Sovereign/Star Buell's Scotty Pollacheck by just three-thousandths of a second, 7.018 to 7.019. "I had a bike that could have won the race today, but I hurt an engine in the semi finals and with both of our bikes in the final we really didn't have enough time to change it," Smith said. "At that point, I knew that either me or John was going to win the race and as long as the trophy stayed with our team, I was okay with whatever happened. That's why I slowed down so much in the final." CN Final 1. John Hall (Buell) 7.034/188.38 mph 2. Matt Smith (Buell) 7.065/189.66 mph Briefly... All three Arana bikes made the playoffs, including rookie of the year frontrunner, Adam, who will enter as the number-seven seed despite a round one loss in Indianapolis. Adding insult to injury, Adam Arana qualified in the No. 16 spot which meant that he had to race his father, low qualifier Hector Sr. in the first round. "I'm happy," Arana said. "I made it into the Countdown, which means I get to fight for the championship. I'm comfortable, calm, and relaxed. I have high expectations for the rest of the season. Right now, mentally, I'm in the best spot I've ever been. I'm excited to go to the next race." There were 23 bikes at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, which is a good sign of the relative strength of NHRA's premiere two-wheel class. There was a 24th bike on display in the manufacturer's midway as Anne Hansen had her Suzuki in the Rocky Mountain Radar booth. Hansen is expected to race at the upcoming event at zMax Dragway in Charlotte in two weeks. Hall (far lane) raced his team owner and crew chief Matt Smith (near lane) in the final.