"You just can't run with those Harleys,” said Matt Smith, his frustration with the current state of competition on the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle division boiling over in his words.

“We're running for third place,” he continued, the recorder held by his publicist Judy Stropus getting every word. “If we can keep going to the semifinals, we'll be all right. We'll be in the Countdown and maybe NHRA will do something (about the dominating Harleys) before the Countdown starts.”

Matt Smith was boiling over with frustration and after losing another race to a Harley he would hold his tongue no longer.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Rider Brings His Frustrations To The Media …

"You just can't run with those Harleys,” said Matt Smith, his frustration with the current state of competition on the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle division boiling over in his words.

“We're running for third place,” he continued, the recorder held by his publicist Judy Stropus getting every word. “If we can keep going to the semifinals, we'll be all right. We'll be in the Countdown and maybe NHRA will do something (about the dominating Harleys) before the Countdown starts.”

Matt Smith was boiling over with frustration and after losing another race to a Harley he would hold his tongue no longer.

Never one to mince words, the son of legendary Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith, Matt has been on both sides of the ladder. He's been the chaser and the one being chased. He’s been penalized for running too quick and likewise had his combination rewarded for running too slow.

When Smith set records at ease with his Buell the last two seasons, the NHRA’s tech department penalized his combination to the point he publicly stated he wouldn’t take any steps to improve his performance either through testing or innovation.

Smith, know a Suzuki rider, would like to see a bit of that same legislation meted out to the Harley-Davidson team.

“We’ve been frustrated for a while,” Smith said. “The Harleys came out for the first two races and kind of laid back in order to see what everyone was going to do. Ever since Houston when Andrew went out there and ran a 6.87 and messed up one of the engines, they’ve been running fast. They ran the fastest back half of anyone in Atlanta.

“They are just playing with us -- that’s all they are doing. [Crew chief] Steve Tartaglia and I know we are just racing for third place. Sooner or later, they are going to push one of those double-oh reaction times into a red-light and one of us are going to have to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Smith told CompetitionPlus.com that a petition was circulated in the Sonoma pits seeking relief from the NHRA through the rule book.  He confirmed the petition was signed by riders, team owners and a few dignitaries from both Suzuki and Buell combinations.

The source of their frustration stems from an off-season rules change that legalized the use of a four-valves per cylinder combination by the Harley-Davidsons. The Buell combination was denied the same rule change.

Buell is manufactured under the Harley-Davidson umbrella.

Suzuki has a similar four-valve per cylinder combination but it has yet to be completed by McClaren Technologies. Smith contends the new engine isn’t likely to be completed any time soon judging by the less-than-spectacular preliminary dyno results.

The engine was in Pomona last November, but was sent back to McClaren to adjust the configuration for changes to the transmission. Smith said the engine hasn’t been seen by his team since.

Lacking a new engine for the Suzuki, Smith doesn't believe a brand change, other than to a Harley-Davidson would make a difference.

“I really don’t think we’d be any better off with a Buell to be honest,” Smith admitted, citing that he ran a 6.88 with his Suzuki in Sonoma and has the damaged parts to prove it. “I’d be willing to bet they [Harley-Davidson] have 50 to 60 more horsepower than us right now.”

Smith alleges the rule change providing four-valves per cylinder for the Harley-Davidson has made the difference. The NHRA Tech Department has made adjustments to the Harley-Davidson weight minimum by adding 20 pounds to the combination prior to the NHRA Route 66 Nationals. The additional weight makes the Harley 45 pounds heavier than the Suzuki – 640 to 595.

He believes the only way that the NHRA is going to bring the Harley-Davidsons back in line with the rest of the class is to reduce the size of the engines to a similar displacement to that the Suzukis are required to run.

Currently the Harley-Davidson combination runs a 160 cubic inch engine which is substantially larger than the Suzuki’s 101 cubic inch powerplant. On the opposite side, Suzuki competes with 55 pounds less of a minimum weight. The Buell uses a 160 cubic inch motor with a minimum weight of 625.

“I don’t know why they [NHRA] would give the Harleys a combination that no one can challenge, or much less buy,” Smith said. “I don’t understand that, especially when they won four of the last five championships, why give them more of an advantage?

“The NHRA need to take the engine back from the Harleys because they gave them way too much to work with in the early going. The NHRA needs to take their engines back to 120 cubic inches. If they come out and they’re way behind, then the NHRA can take some weight off of them.”

That, Smith believes, would ease a lot of tensions in more pits than just his.  

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