Cycle News

COUNTDOWN: ROUND 5/OCTOBER 27, 2013 LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY/LAS VEGAS, NEVADA DRAG RACING P60 NHRA PRO STOCK SERIES say what I did, but it worked and it's something we can use for the next time we come here." With the pressure of the championship behind him, Smith also revealed his plans for the final event of the season coming up in Pomona, California, in two weeks. "I'm going to do something different," Smith said." I'm going to put Scotty [Pollacheck] on my bike and try to get him a win. Angie's [Smith] bike came around this weekend and John ran well, but I'm going to focus on the other three riders. I'm still going to race, but I'm going to give up my ride." The win was the sixth of the season for Smith. Savoie, who has spent the better part of the 2013 season recovering from neck surgery, moved into the second final round of his career following a strong performance that included wins over Scotty Pollacheck, Angie Smith, and Sovereign/Star Buell's Michael Ray "I actually had a little pain in my neck after the first qualifying round on Friday but I feel really good now," Savoie said. "We have got the best bike we've had in three years. We've made a lot of progress this year and I'm very excited. It's been a long road back but we're getting there." CN FINAL 1. Matt Smith (Buell) 6.991/192.08 mph 2. Jerry Savoie (Suzuki) 7.050/190.19 mph Briefly... Krawiec and Andrew Hines were both ousted in the first round of eliminations. Krawiec lost to Michael Ray and Hines fell to eventual winner Smith. "Obviously, we're already thinking ahead to next year," Krawiec said. "We've been working on our engine program all season and we're making progress, but it's been slow at times. Sometimes we take a step backwards in order to take two forward. Both Drew and I have wins this year so we can't say it hasn't been successful but we're already getting excited about 2014." After a season that includes two wins, it was hard for Sovereign/Star Buell's Michael Ray to complain even after his chances to win the championship evaporated with his loss in the semi-final round. "I wanted to be the first guy to go over to Matt [Smith] and shake his hand because he had a hell of a season, but so did we," Ray said. "We've built a winning program here and I still think the best is yet to come." Earlier this year Ray hinted at retirement but he's since backpedaled and he now expects to sign a multi-year agreement to remain with the Sovereign/Star team along with new rider Chaz Kennedy. Despite rumors to the contrary, there appears to be no plan on NHRA's part to make any major offseason changes to the current rules package. Although the Suzuki teams remain winless, the general feeling is that there is enough parity in the class to continue with the current structure. She doesn't get to race often, but Katie Sullivan has shown flashes of brilliance in her last two appearances in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Following her first semi-final finish last July in Sonoma, the 23-year old independent earned another round win when Adam Arana red-lighted against her. "A while back, we made the decision to race less often, but to try and be more competitive when we did come out and so far it's working," Sullivan said. "I have Gary Stoffer as my crew chief and we've bought the best parts we can afford so we're not wasting our time. So far, it's working because I feel like we're very competitive."

• Cover