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/188118
COUNTDOWN: ROUND 4/OCTOBER 6, 2013 MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY/READING PENNSYLVANIA DRAG RACING P68 NHRA PRO STOCK CHAMPIONSHIP about our crew," Smith said. "We hurt our good motor [Saturday], but things worked out for us. All in all, we beat big competitors in the semifinals and final, extended our points lead… I'm really happy right now. "We've worked all year to build a winning team and it has all come together at the right time. We had a plan coming into this season and for the most part we stuck with it and I'm glad we did." One of just a handful of NHRA pros that still builds his own engines and tunes his own bike, Smith qualified fourth in the field with a 6.88, just a few hundredths of a second behind Sovereign/Star Buell's Michael Ray. Smith began eliminations with a free pass after rookie Chaz Kennedy, making his first start on the Sovereign/Star Buell, red-lighted. John Hall - Smith's teammate - also left the starting line too soon and fouled. In the semi fi- nals, Smith took care of business against Ray, with a 6.99 to 7.00. Krawiec knows that his chances of defending his 2012 championship are slim, but he has taken comfort in the continued development of the new two-valve engine combination in the Vance & Hines team's Harley V-Rod. After struggling to qualify at several events this year, Krawiec and teammate Andrew Hines, have made steady progress. In Reading, Krawiec also had his share of red-light starts by his opponents as the Lucas Oil Buell duo of Hector Arana Sr. and son, Adam, both left too soon. With his V-Rod sporting a special pink flake paint scheme in recognition of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Krawiec then nipped Nitro Fish Suzuki's LE Tonglet on a slight holeshot in the final four, 7.005 to 7.003. "I hate to say we are all racing for second, but Smith has a (Left) Eddie Krawiec falls short of Matt Smith in the final, but is happy with the team's late season progress. (Right) Matt Smith and the Viper Motorcycle Buell team celebrate victory. pretty big points lead and a fast bike," Krawiec said. "We have struggled a lot this season, so it's satisfying to be getting some good results the past few weeks. Some of the other front-running teams are either taking too many risks or not risking enough. I think our week-to-week consistency is what brings us the success we are having. "We ran close to Smith's time in the semi-finals, so I thought we had a chance in the finals," Krawiec said. "He knew a win would give him a big points lead and he went for it. Still, it was a good day for our team to get to the final." Smith now heads into the pen-