NHRA PREVIEW
ciate sponsorship for five races
each that helped bring a bit of
clarity to his future plans. What
isn't clear, however, is how it af-
fects Smith's teammates, includ-
ing his wife Angie, John Hall, and
Scotty Pollacheck. Collectively,
the team went to 11 final rounds
and claimed six wins with Smith
grabbing four and Hall taking
two, including the prestigious
U.S. Nationals.
"This is a huge help, but we
still need to secure additional
funding for six races on my bike
along with help for Angie, John,
and Scotty," Smith said. "I plan
on defending my title, but we still
are going to need a little help and
luck to able to run the entire sea-
son. We went through this after
I won my first championship. We
had a commitment from a spon-
sor and they didn't return, but we
got through it. The off-season is
a crucial time to go testing and
prepare to defend our title, and
now we have to add the pressure
of finding funding to go forward
but we don't give up. Somehow,
we're going to find a way to de-
fend this championship."
Smith is one of the few NHRA
racers who still builds his own en-
gines and also works as his own
crew chief, which means that
he's able to keep his costs some-
VOL. 51 ISSUE 10 MARCH 11, 2014 P77
After a relatively quiet off-season, NHRA's Pro Stock
teams are ready to do battle in Gainesville
NHRA Pro Stock Champion Matt
Smith should be a favorite to defend
his title in 2014, but he's having
trouble securing the necessary
financial help to get through the
season.
THE CALM
BEFORE THE STORM
