Matt Smith knew he had to take down one of the top teams in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and his rivals Vance and Hines were the primary targets entering the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals. And, if his plan worked, he'd do so at his home racetrack, zMAX Dragway.

Following four rounds of qualifying, Smith put his DENSO Buell motorcycle at the top of the field for the fifth time this season and the first since the Sonoma Nationals in July. With a low bike count and earning the No. 1 qualifier, Smith had a bye run in the first round, faced his wife Angie in the quarterfinals, and won against Jianna Evaristo in the semis before facing Richard Gadson in the finals. 

In the finals, Smith cut his best light of the day with a reaction time of 0.036 after Gadson fouled too soon and ultimately secured his first win since Sonoma. With the victory, he takes over the championship points lead over Gaige Herrera. 

"Race day, we had a bye in the first round because we were the number one qualifier, and we spun 83, I think, first round, and I think that was low of the day, but I just couldn't come to life for some reason," Smith said." I was 50-some in the first round, then I was .90-something against Angie, then I was .60-something against Geno [Scali], but I stepped it up against Richard. I went 36, and it was good enough, and we went 84 again.

"But all in all, when I went down the track, I was just trying to stay good and tough against Richard. And when I went through the lights, I didn't see my win light, and I was like, I didn't know if I won or not, and I kept trying to see who would win, and I saw the camera was focused on me, and that's when I knew I won. So all in all, it's never a good feeling when you can't see the win light because you don't know. You thought you had a good deal, but you don't ever know. But all in all, what a weekend. What a day."

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship is currently in the middle of a three-race stretch with St. Louis being the next stop on the tour's schedule next weekend. Even though he faces pressure each week like most riders, Smith feels he's ready to keep the momentum going and wants to continue to win more races down the stretch during the playoff portion of the season. 

"I like being under pressure," he added. "It doesn't matter what you do in the regular season. You always have to be good the last six races, and I've always been pretty good at the last six races. That's how I won these championships, and that's how we're going to continue to race. You got to put your best foot forward. 

"A lot of times, you test a lot of stuff during the regular season, but we stepped up when we needed to at Sonoma and won our sponsor's race. We stepped up here and won our home track race, and we're going to go to St. Louis and try to step up there a little bit more, and we got some new stuff coming. Hopefully, we get it done before St. Louis, but if not, we'll get it done before Dallas. But everything's looking promising. If we can find a little more power, I think we'll be really good."