For a short time on Saturday afternoon, NHRA world champion Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Smith was the 2024
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season champ.
Until he wasn’t.
Smith was part of the parade of #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge parade of champions and acknowledged the crowd.
Upon further review, however, Gaige Herrera – not Smith – was the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season champion. Herrera and Smith each collected 12 points each during the 13 #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge races throughout the season concluding in Indy.
Herrera was the determined the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season winner based on the fact he had three wins in the Challenge to Smith’s two.
Not surprisingly, Smith was frustrated with NHRA’s final decision on the matter for many reasons.
While Smith was at the #2Fast2Tasty Autograph session at the Mission Foods display Saturday morning at Lucas Oil Raceway, he was sent the following text from Mike Rice, NHRA’s Senior Director of Competition.
It read:
“Herrera leading and not in the challenge at Indy. If Matt Smith wins first round, he holds the tie breaker and would be champ.”
Smith proceeded to defeat Jianna Evaristo, his teammate at Matt Smith Racing in the first round, and then lost to John Hall, who also is his teammate in the finals of the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on a redlight start.
The loss to Hall didn’t bother Smith – until it did – when his #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season crown was taken away.
“At the autograph signing (Saturday, Aug. 31), this is what I was given from NHRA, saying all I had to do was win the first round and I won the deal,” Smith said to CompetitionPlus.com about the text. “So, in essence, (when I got to the point) that I won the first round. I had John Hall, my teammate (in the second round), and I was like, I’d been .030 and .030 on the tree. I’m like, all right, I’ve already won the whole challenge thing, so if I lose to John, it’s no big deal. It’s in our camp.
“But I need to try to see if I can better my reaction time, so I changed my whole clutch thing to make it react quicker and use the pass (for that) because I knew the air was worse and I knew I wasn’t going to improve. And that’s what I did. And they crown me champion.”
On live streaming on NHRA.TV, Smith was awarded the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season title and interviewed at the top end of the track.
He then participated in the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge parade of champions in front of the fans.
“They did all the stuff, and then they came and took it away. And I said, ‘If I’d have known that I wouldn’t have changed my bike like that,’” Smith said. “So basically, all I asked him to do was, ‘It’s y’all’s mistake. It’s not Gaige’s. It’s not mine.’”
“All I ask you to do is… We’re tied in points. Q5 (Sunday), run me and Gaige heads up for the trophy. There’s no points. There’s no money involved. It’s just a trophy. Run us heads up.” And they said ‘No.’ That’s all I asked him to do. They just said they’re just not going to do that. I don’t know why. That’s the question that needs to be answered.”
NHRA provided the following statement to CompetitionPlus.com about the issue.
“There was a miscommunication between the NHRA staff and the Pro Stock Motorcycle teams on the tiebreakers for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge season title. Our officials spoke with both parties post race and Gaige was correctly awarded the overall Challenge title based on the tiebreaker.”
Smith’s biggest problem is because he was provided faulty information, he changed his setup to race Hall.
“I wouldn’t have changed my bike to go over and do what it did,” Hall said. “I would have done that (Sunday), but I figured (Sunday) was going to be the better day of qualifying because the air is supposed to be better. So, I figured when I saw that it was worse conditions (Saturday when he was racing Hall), I’m like, all right, I’ll just do it now. And like I said, I had it in my mind, I’ve already won the championship (#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season title).”
Unfortunately, Smith has had a history of having championships taken away at the U.S. Nationals.
In 2005, Smith thought he won the U.S. Nationals when he defeated Steve Johnson in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final round.
Then, it was determined by NHRA that there was a glitch in the timing system that gave the victory to Smith.
Less than 24 hours later, after careful examination of the race video it was determined Johnson – not Smith – was the U.S. Nationals winner.
“That’s my whole point and I’ve asked him, I said, ‘Look, you need to clarify this on the internet. You need to tell people, because the people on the internet saw this, the fans saw this, so clarify this.’ And they’ve done nothing, NHRA’s done nothing. So, it’s frustrating, because Cycle Drag made a post about me winning and then they said, ‘What do y’all think of this?’ And after 200 some comments of, “Oh, Matt’s just crying,” blah blah this, blah, blah that, there’s nothing on NHRA, so obviously, Matt’s just coming up with a story. So, it’s like, I don’t know why NHRA won’t go and say, ‘Hey, we made a mistake.’ I thought they would’ve. But they won’t publicize it.
“Put a release out and just justify it. ‘Hey, we made a mistake.’ And I even told them, I said, “Look, tell everybody you made a mistake. We’ve talked to both teams. One team was getting false information, the other team was (getting) false information, so to make this right, they’re dead even in points. We’re going to let them run it out on Q5 heads up to run for the trophy and make a big shindig about it. Get some ink over it. Instead, they’re trying to sweep it under the rug. It’s just frustrating. False information was given to me, and it cost me the championship.”
Smith, who has won six PSM world championships, tying him with the late Dave Schultz and Andrew Hines for most in the class, loves winning any type of championship.
“I mean, losing a race is one thing, but to lose a season championship, whatever type of season championship, is frustrating,” Smith said. “That’s what I told (NHRA). I said, ‘I don’t have this trophy. This is one trophy that I don’t have in my arsenal. I did what I was told I need to do to win this trophy, and I did that and now you take it back away.”
