Don Schumacher confirmed today that Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt
Smith will join Don Schumacher Racing to ride a DSR TL-1000 Suzuki
sponsored by Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear and XXX Racing Fuels in the 2009
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Schumacher also confirmed that
he has released riders Chip Ellis and Craig Treble, who rode to two
national event victories under the DSR banner in 2008.
The DSR Hayabusa engine development program, a joint effort entered
into between DSR and Suzuki in 2008, continues, with introduction of
the new engine slated for the 2009 season. A second motorcycle may be
entered in the PSM class during the season as a test vehicle, while
longtime DSR motorcycle tuner Steve Tartaglia will be the crew chief.
Smith, 36, of King, N.C., is the 2007 Pro Stock Motorcycle champion,
claiming four wins in nine national rounds that year. He came close to
claiming his second straight PSM crown in 2008 after leading the
standings for the last six of seven events in the NHRA Countdown to the
Championship playoffs. A mechanical problem in the final event of the
season dropped him to a third-place finish for the year. He is the son
of NHRA Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith, has 10 career national-event wins
in 20 final rounds, and was low qualifier 14 times since joining the
class on a limited basis in 2003. He became a full-time competitor in
the class in 2005.