Pro Stock Motorcycle
standout Chris Rivas was summarily fired by team owner Rickie Smith following
the third qualifying session here at the Auto Club Finals.
Smith referred to Rivas
as “not a team player” as one reason for his dismissal, but there appears to be
more to this than a simple disagreement between rider and team
owner.
Paired with Rickie’s son Matt, relations
between the two riders had become strained in recent weeks, and appear to go
back at least to an incident in Dallas, when Rivas left the track after failing
to qualify.
Adding spice to the story is that Angie
McBride of Winston-Salem, North Carolina made test runs on the motorcycle during
the IHRA World Finals at Rockingham Dragway three weeks ago.
However, after that test
session the local rider failed to take her riding leathers home despite knowing
that the race rig was slated for a three week West Coast jaunt to close out the
season. When we
asked her why her leathers were already on hand when she appeared at the track
this morning, she said, “My leathers were in the trailer.
I actually tested
Chris’s bike two weeks ago at the IHRA race because Steve Earwood (Rockingham
Dragway owner) and IHRA requested two bikes go down the track,
side-by-side. So, Matt
(Smith) needed some things tested, so I got to ride the bike.
I went to the 1,000 foot
mark and shut off every pass. My leathers were in the trailer, and I went home on Sunday and they
left on Monday to go to Las Vegas, so my leathers were in the trailer because we
had gone racing the previous weekend.”