INTERVIEW
2016 AMA PRO FLAT TRACK CHAMPION BRYAN SMITH
P114
"NOW YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT DOING IT AGAIN AS
OPPOSED TO HOW IN THE HELL YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT."
can ride' or whatever, but it's a pretty crazy
mindset, and probably only a few racers
have ever went into a race going, 'man,
this is literally all-in--where it doesn't mat-
ter, whatever it takes, whether you're going
to crash or not, you're going to do it. So
obviously, luckily, I didn't crash, but rolling
up to the starting line, it's almost an eerie
feeling in your gut. Like, well, I'm going to win this
championship or I'm going to be getting hauled
out of here in an ambulance."
As Smith came back to the finish line, one of
his guys said, Man you write stories." And he was
right. It was a fairytale ending that could not have
been written better—a race for the ages that will
stick in the minds of those who witnessed it.
But surely, if Smith was writing a script,
he would have written an easier one, espe-
cially for the season itself. It literally was a
roller-coaster ride of highs and lows.
"It's no wonder that it came down to the
last lap, last corner, because me and Jared
were damn near even all year," he said. "Re-
ally, what set it all up is we left Daytona with
exactly the same points. I would have some good
races and he would have a bad one, and a decent
one. Then he'd have a couple good races, I'd
have a bad one and a decent one. He had some
mechanical failures. I had a crash at Peoria that
kind of was the last straw. A lot of the other races
we came out even, where I would win and he'd get
second, or he would win and I'd get second."
Smith finally
had a little bit
of good luck
go his way
this year.
