"Am not."

"Are, too."
 
That's about the size of the Pro Stock Motorcycle debate that started earlier in the year, cropped up again at the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, and is lingering as the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship kicks off this weekend at zMAx Dragway at Concord, N.C.
 
When he qualified No. 1 at Indianapolis on Don Schumacher Racing's Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki, Matt Smith had a comment about the Harley-Davidson duo of Andrew Hines and Eddie, the only riders besides himself who have won a championship in the past five years.
 

"Am not."

"Are, too."
 
That's about the size of the Pro Stock Motorcycle debate that started earlier in the year, cropped up again at the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, and is lingering as the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship kicks off this weekend at zMAx Dragway at Concord, N.C.
 
When he qualified No. 1 at Indianapolis on Don Schumacher Racing's Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki, Matt Smith had a comment about the Harley-Davidson duo of Andrew Hines and Eddie, the only riders besides himself who have won a championship in the past five years.
 
"I still think they're sandbagging," Smith said. "I know they have been. I look at back-half numbers . . . that determines horsepower. They've got a lot of power."
 
He said he wouldn't mind having a motorcycle with a performance level so far ahead of the others that the sanctioning body had to add weight to his bike.
 
"Make 'em put weight on us. Make 'em penalize us," Smith said, adding that he would relish working hard to run even better and prove he was best.
 
A week and half later, as he prepared to go after his first victory of the year at his home-state racetrack, the 2007 champion from King, N.C., hadn't changed his mind.
 
He indicated that the new points system (which awards three points to the rider with low elapsed time in each qualifying session and two and one, respectively, to the Nos. 2 and 3 competitors) will show he's correct.
 
"Maybe it will play to our advantage, but I think you'll see some of the riders who have not run like they should have in the last few races will step it up to get those points now," he said with an obvious reference to Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, the two dominant Harley-Davidson racers who lead in the standings.
 
"We certainly expect the Harleys to come out and run well. I believe they were kind of holding back, because they had an overwhelming points lead. I think they'll qualify better now for the simple fact that they will gain additional points, which will help them in the championship chase."
 
Smith enters the six-race playoff seeded fourth on the strength of a runner-up finish at  the class' season-opener at Gainesville, Fla., and semifinal finishes at Houston, Atlanta, Englishtown, and Sonoma. He led the standings through two of the first three events and clinched a spot in the Countdown in August at Brainerd, Minn.
 
Krawiec, the current champion and top-ranked rider with a class-best four victories in eight final rounds, rebutted Smith's accusation in Tuesday's NHRA teleconference.
 
"We go to every race with the intention of winning," he said, "and we go out there to perform the best that we can and run the best that we can at every event."
 
Hines has had two triumphs in three money-round appearances, as well as the trophy from this year's Ringer's Gloves Bike Battle.
 
Furthermore, Krawiec said, "I don't think it's any different than any other race that we approach for the final five. So I think you'll see our performance be right up there in the top two or three, all five races. That's the way that we have been running. I struggled a little bit the last race. Our bike, we were just off on the tuneup. So I would expect it to turn around and hopefully go to Charlotte here and run really well.
 
"I wouldn't say we were (sandbagging). I would say we were running and performing well," he said. "The only bike that was outperforming us out there was Hector Arana's, and he was running really strong." He cite Smith, too, saying, "He ran some low ETs at a couple of the races, also.
 
"I don't think we were holding back any," Krawiec said. "I think you'll really see, and other people will be stepping up their game."
 
Krawiec said the Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson tandem is no different than any other team, in terms of not always being perfect. No matter what, this new points system is going to cause every team to step up to its potential.
 
"There's a lot of bikes out there, or cars, that can qualify well, and sometimes struggle on race day," he said. "Now, with the way that it's going to work out, it's just going to throw a little bit more of a wrench in there. It means you have to go out there and you have to perform well, not only on race day, but you have to perform now during qualifying.
 
"The Full Throttle Award, which is something that a lot of the racers look forward to in past years, was a qualifying bonus that you received money for qualifying and being the most consistent. And at the end of the year, there was a bonus for the team that did it the best. We have been fortunate enough to win that quite a few times," Krawiec said, "and that shows how good as a team we are and how good we played during qualifying."
 
But will this first race into the Countdown prove Smith right?
 
"Will not."
 
"Will, too."

 

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