What a Countdown it has been for the riders of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

Entering this weekend’s showdown in Charlotte, there have been three different races, three different winners and three different points leaders. But on Sunday, Matt Smith brought a little stability back to the class.

Smith won for the second time in the Countdown to the Championship and the third time this year on Sunday, retaking the points lead and earning a little bit of a cushion in the process at the 11th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

“It is pretty big deal if you look at the Pro Stock Motorcycle points this season,” said Smith, who took a 41-point lead with two races remaining this season. “The past three races have seen first round upsets. It happened to me last race. I went up there and raced scared at Dallas trying to maintain the points lead and didn’t do my job. So I figured I would come here and do my job.”

And that he did.

Smith defeated Chip Ellis on Sunday to earn his 21st career Pro Stock Motorcycle victory, riding his Elite Motorsports Denso Auto Parts EBR bike to a 6.830-second pass at 196.64 mph in the win. Ellis, meanwhile, lit the red bulb by -.077 to finish in the runner-up position.

“The right lane, for some reason, with the wind this weekend you would get down to 1,000 feet and it would take you hard to the wall. In the finals, I decided the only way we were going to win was if I get in the right tire groove pointed at the centerline and drive into that and it worked,” Smith said. “We went straight down the track and put up our best time of the day. I thought when I went by the tree I saw red, but it took me a second to hit my first three shifts because they come pretty quick and I looked at the scoreboards and saw mine flashing. I almost shut it off, but I thought I needed to see what it will do.

“All-in-all the bike worked great. We didn’t have the fastest bike today by any means, but I did my job on the tree all day long and left on every person. We had some problems, hurt a motor after first round, but we swapped it out and didn’t even get to crank it up before second round. We just went up there blind, started it, and won the round. It was a real testament to my crew getting it done today.”

Smith added wins over Angelle Sampey, Scotty Pollacheck and Karen Stoffer to reach his fourth final of the year. Ellis had wins over Jerry Savoie, Angie Smith and Joey Gladstone.

But it was the action earlier in the day that had the biggest impact in the championship.

During a Countdown that has seen three-straight points leaders lose in the first round and subsequently lose the top spot, that trend continued on Sunday when points leader L.E. Tonglet was eliminated in round one by Angelle Sampey. Sampey then did it again in round two, eliminating second-place Eddie Krawiec to clear the path for Smith to retake the championship lead with two to go.

“(Sampey) is a tough racer. She’s a three-time world champ and that team is getting better and better every weekend. And what she did was big for us,” Smith said. “You don’t want to think about points, but they are there. It is in your mind, but you don’t want that to mess you up. But she helped us out tremendously. I might just send her a Christmas card.”

Smith exits Charlotte with a narrow lead over Tonglet, with Krawiec, Savoie and Andrew Hines not far behind. But right now, all Smith is focused on is getting down the track cleanly and not messing up what has already been a dream season for this team.

“I made the comment before the Countdown started that we had the best bike coming into the Countdown. I don’t know exactly what is wrong with it right now, it is not running like it should, but we are getting win lights and we are maintaining what we are doing,” Smith said. “I said if we can win three races in the Countdown I think we can win this championship. We just can’t have another first round loss.

“The dream has been alive since we started this Countdown. I’ve had full faith in my program and the way they are racing right now. Every race just keeps getting tougher and tougher and we keep flip-flopping the points lead and somebody has to step up and take control of this. I wish I was in the position that Steve Torrence is in, but I’m not. We are not one of those teams that has a big sponsor, but we are going to do everything we can to make this dream come true again.”