The 2021 season of domination continued for reigning NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith.

Smith, in his Denso-sponsored Buell, qualified No. 1 and then claimed his first title at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil win since 2008.

Smith clocked a 7.118-second elapsed time at 189.04 mph to defeat Eddie Krawiec 7.175-second lap at 189.34 mph in the finals.

“It’s good to get back winning here,” Smith said. “I love this racetrack. I came out here when I first started my own team in 2007 and won it and I came back and won it in 2008. I have been to a couple finals here since then, but just could never close the deal out. We had the bike to do it this weekend and I just had to do my job.”

Smith, who won world PSM titles in 2007, 2013, 2018 and 2020, now is a three-time Mile-High Nationals champion in 2007, 2008 and 2021.

This is Smith’s 29th career national event win and his third this season in six races. Smith, who came to Bandimere Speedway as the points leader, has wins in Gainesville, Norwalk and Denver.

Smith is atop the points standings with 626 points followed by second place Steve Johnson at 463.

Smith’s victory march Sunday started with a bye in round one, followed by wins over Cory Reed, Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec.

“The bike is flawless right now,” Smith said. “I kind of gave up on it a little bit in the middle part of the day and didn’t have some good reaction times, but I stepped up when I needed to.”

Smith acknowledged beating former world champ Krawiec out of the Vance & Hines stable at Bandimere Speedway was a little more special.

Since 1996, the Vance & Hines Pro Stock Motorcycle team has won the Mile-High Nationals 13 times, the last being in 2019.

“To beat them (Vance & Hines), they have set the bar so high over the last ten years,” Smith said. “They had all the money, all the support, all the technology, they have had all that. We have caught them and actually I think we have passed them a little bit, but they still have all that. They have good stuff and they can come back at any time and start winning. We’re doing a good job right now as a team and we just have to keep this Denso bike running mean.”

Smith’s win gives him a chance at history to become the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rider in history to sweep NHRA’s Western Swing. This is the first time the Pro Stock Motorcycle class will compete in all three races of the Western Swing, which is concludes in 2021 with races in Sonoma, Calif. (July 23-25) and Pomona, Calif. (July 30-Aug. 1).

“You just have to win one race at a time,” Smith said. “We have a chance to do a three-race Swing and we just have to go to Sonoma and perform. We just keep fine tuning. 
When you have good equipment and you have good people on your team and you have good workers and a good wife (fellow Pro Stock Motorcycle racer, Angie), we all work together. It is just one of those  deals where you tweak, tweak and tweak and you go faster and faster.”