MATT SMITH FINALLY MAKES STATEMENT HE WANTS WITH SEASON-OPENING VICTORY

Written by Susan Wade, photos by Roger Richards    Mon, 2021-03-15 13:55

 

When he outran “Flyin’ Ryan” Oehler Sunday in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final round, Matt Smith scored back-to-back victories at the NHRA’s Amalie Oil Gatornationals.

But in Smith’s mind, it was his first “legitimate” triumph in the Gainesville, Fla., spring classic.

“My whole life I’ve always wanted to win the Gatornationals – whole life. Yes, I won it last year, but it wasn’t the true Gatornationals, because it was mid-season,” he said, referring to the schedule change in pandemic-plagued 2020 that moved the race from March to September.

“We didn’t have the quickest bike here, by no means. We did have the fastest,” Smith said of bis Denso Buell.

On a day when 200-mph speeds were as plentiful for Pro Stock Motorcycle racers as fruit on Florida citrus trees, Smith swept to his 27th victory on a wave of 200s

In the first round against Jim Underdahl, Smith recorded a 200.89. He used a 200.71 in the quarterfinals to beat Hector Arana Jr., who recorded the first 200-mph mark on this Gainesville Raceway track in 2018 and had another Saturday. He outran semifinal opponent Steve Johnson with a 200.29. And in the final round against Oehler, he had a 200.65-mph speed to go with his winning 6.785-second elapsed time.

Runner-up Oehler, seeking his second career victory, countered with a 6.869, 196.53. Oehler had advanced against Jerry Savoie, Karen Stoffer, and Matt Smith Racing rider Scotty Pollacheck.

During Saturday qualifying, Smith’s wife, Angie, clocked another 200 as a follow-up to her winning 2020 Finals performance. Angelle secured the No. 1 qualifying position as she joined the 200-MPH Club.   

Smith has been on a roll since the Finals last November at Las Vegas. In an early-December Manufacturers Cup meet at South Georgia Motorsports Park, he had registered a 201.85 mph – unofficial for NHRA record-keeping – that topped his NHRA national mark of 201.76 that he set here last season. And he ran a 6.728 at Valdosta, Ga., that was just eight-thousandths of a second short of matching Andrew Hines’ national-record 6.720-second from the 2019 Gatornationals.

So the big question is who can interrupt Matt Smith’s momentum this season?      

As for Smith, he said he’s grateful: “Denso, Lucas Oil, Mark Stockseth, Greg Butcher Trucking . . .  I can’t say enough about all the people that help me – and my crew. I couldn’t do it without these guys. I’m proud to be associated with this team and to own this team and to have these bikes running like they are and my wife to help me out. I appreciate everything.”

He already knows these consistently gaudy numbers sometimes don’t come without adversity. “The long offseason was to make stuff more reliable. Then I come out here first pass and go in the sand trap. A front brake rotor exploded on us,” he said.

“But I’ve got to thank Joey [Gladstone] and Cory [Reed]. They gave me a front wheel and front brake system to put back on this bike, because I’ve got four bikes out here. I didn’t have a spare with me. They made it happen so I could go down this racetrack and win this race,” Smith said. “I’m just proud to be able to notch that one on my belt.”     

Whatever might have beset him Sunday, it wasn’t enough to deny him.

 

 
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