WORLD CHAMPION MATT SMITH EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION OVER NEW HARLEY-DAVIDSON BODIES

Written by Tracy Renck    Sun, 2019-07-21 14:00

 

The Mile-High Nationals have been good to reigning NHRA Mello Yello Series Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith.

Smith has left a champion at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. in 2007 and 2008. He also was a runner-up at the event in 2017.

“I’m excited to be back,” said Smith, who is running a Denso-sponsored EBR motorcycle. “I’m just kind of frustrated a little bit with NHRA giving Harley more stuff (a FXDR body to run that’s debuting this weekend). They just keep giving them more and more stuff to just outrun us. Every time we get close to them or get an advantage on them, NHRA gives them something. It (the FXDR body for the Harleys) will make a difference. It doesn’t even look like the street bikes. I don’t understand how they can design something that doesn’t look like the street bike because when we did the design process with Victory our bike had to have the look, the lines, it had to have everything and yet they get to make whatever they want.

It’s kind of frustrating. I’m kind of over it. The tech department in the NHRA is not doing its job. They need to hire somebody to do the job right, I guess.”

Smith does take a lot of pride in the fact he has competed against the powerful Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team, which this season consists of Andrew Hines, Eddie Krawiec and Angelle Sampey, all who are running FXDR bodies beginning this weekend, and come out on top. Smith has won PSM world titles in 2007, 2013 and 2018.

“They get all this money, they have all these employees who work for them and here we are, we have low budgets,” Smith said. “We have a tenth of the budget they have, and they have 30-some employees and we have two and we still whoop their butt. When they are on a level playing ground they can’t compete, that’s why they have to have an advantage. It is just a frustrating deal.”

Smith, like almost everybody else, got to see the new Harley-Davidson FXDR bodies when they were unveiled prior to Q1 at the starting line at Bandimere Speedway.

“We only get to see the outside appearance of stuff,” Smith said. “There‘s no telling what all their internal parts and what they have in their motors now that we don’t have because nobody can buy the stuff, nobody can ever see the stuff and NHRA allows them to do whatever they want. We only see the outside appearance.”

After seven Pro Stock Motorcycle events this season, Smith arrived at Bandimere Speedway fourth in the points standings, highlighted by his win in Chicago earlier this season.

“I was sixth in the points (when the 6-race Countdown to the Championship started) last year and won the championship,” Smith said. “I figure as long as I’m in the top five, I’m pretty good. We work hard and have some good power and we still have a little bit up our sleeve to bank with them. I just don’t know what that body is going to do for them. I heard it was better in the wind tunnel. I heard it was better when they tested. That’s all we need - they have already won five (out of seven) races this year. I guess NHRA wants them to win all the races. I’ve won one race, and Hector (Arana) Jr., has won one, and Andrew (Hines) has won five of them. I guess they want their other teammates to win and win out the rest of the year.”

The Matt Smith Racing team consists of three other riders – Matt’s wife, Angie, Scotty Pollacheck and Michael Ray.

“Up here (at the Mile-High Nationals), you just have to survive,” Matt said. “If you can win a round or two out here, that’s great. You just have to survive, don’t tear stuff up. This is a beautiful facility, but a hard place to run. If you get lucky and hit the tune-up you can go to the semifinals or finals and maybe win the race. Right now, we’re just banking on qualifying and trying to win two rounds.”

 

 

 
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