MATT SMITH LEADS THE PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE FIELD INTO ELIMINATIONS AT LAS VEGAS

Written by Tracy Renck, photo by Burghardt Photography    Sun, 2019-11-03 02:55

 

Matt Smith flexed his muscles in qualifying at the Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion took the No. 1 qualifying spot with a track-record 6.840-second elapsed time at 196.93 mph in Q4 at The Strip.

“We have a lot of confidence going into (Sunday),” said Smith, who pilots a Denso-sponsored EBR motorcycle. “We tested something (Saturday) in Q3 and it didn’t work like we needed it to, so we went back to our basic for Q4 and went low ET of the round and low ET of the meet again. All in all, I think we have a pretty fast Hot Rod for (Sunday), and this Denso motorcycle is running on mean right now.”

Smith bettered his previous track record run of 6.842-second time earlier in qualifying. This is Smith’s 37th career No. 1 qualifying spot and sixth this season. He was also No. 1 on the ladder in Las Vegas in the spring race, Denver, Sonoma (Calif.) St. Louis and Dallas, the last race.

With two races left in the 2019, Smith is trying to come from behind and win his fourth world PSM world title. Smith, fifth in points, trailed leader Andrew Hines by 167 points coming into Las Vegas.

The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Series season concludes with the Vegas race this weekend and then the season finale – the Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 14-17 in Pomona, Calif. In Pomona, the points-and-a-half system will be in play allowing drivers to make up more ground.

“I’ve been doing this for so long and after the helmet goes on it is all serious and all business,” Smith said. “But before that we had a good time.”

Smith faces Katie Sullivan in first round Sunday. Smith has one race win this season at Chicago on June 2.

 

 
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