There’s a gracious winner, and then there’s a sore loser. Then there’s what Matt Smith looked and sounded like after winning Pro Stock Motorcycle at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.
Smith added another Wally to the collection Sunday, his 44th career victory and second straight win of the season. But by the time he sat down in the Route 66 Raceway media center, it felt less like a celebration and more like damage control for a weekend that had turned sideways in the final round.
“It was a bad deal,” Smith admitted.
His wife, Angie Smith, rolled into eliminations with what many in the pits believed was the motorcycle to beat. She qualified No. 1, posted the quickest numbers through most of the weekend, and looked positioned to end a nearly four-year drought without a victory.
Instead, the final round never became a race.
Angie’s bike developed transmission issues in the semifinals and the team scrambled through a 20-minute turnaround to replace components before the final. The motorcycle left the pits appearing ready, but Smith could see signs of trouble before the run even started.
“For all the rumors out there probably starting, I’m not getting a divorce for one,” Smith joked. “She hurt her transmission in semi-finals. We got back it was broke. We rushed to get it out. We only had a 20-minute turnaround, so we got the tranny out, put another tranny in.”
“Everything was great when we left the pit. For some reason, when it went to go get in the water, I saw them struggling over there to get it into gear.”
When the tree activated, Angie never left.
Smith rode through for a 6.835-second pass at 185.41 mph, but there was no celebration at the top end. There was only the realization that the motorcycle he believed was supposed to win had gone silent.
“I feel so bad for her,” Smith said. “I mean, this was her race. She was low of every round until the final and it’s frustrating because I had the best bike last race and she had the best bike this race.”
The odd thing about Smith’s victory was that his comments never sounded like a racer defending his own win. They sounded more like a crew chief trying to explain why his driver lost.
That matters because Smith isn’t just Angie’s husband. He’s also deeply involved in the tuning and operation of the motorcycle.
And before firing his own bike for the final round, he was watching the lane beside him.
“That’s kind of why I didn’t start up because I saw them struggling with getting the bike in gear,” Smith said. “But once she fired and I saw her bike do the burnout, then we cranked up because I thought everything was fine.”
“If her bike wouldn’t have done the burnout or something was wrong, I wouldn’t go start up. They could have kicked both of us out because it wouldn’t have mattered at that time.”
That part landed heavier than any elapsed time.
Racers say they want to race. Most mean it until a trophy is sitting in the other lane. Smith was talking like somebody willing to risk his own chance because he wanted to settle things straight up.
“I wanted a fair race. I wanted a good race, just like we put on when we ran each other in 2Fast2Tasty,” Smith said. “She had the best bike this weekend, but it just wasn’t meant to be for some reason.”
There was another layer beneath all of it.
Smith Racing has spent years trying to close the gap with the motorcycles from Vance & Hines. For much of that stretch, Smith felt like his camp was playing catch-up while watching others dictate the pace.
Now the tables appear to be moving.
Smith defeated Jianna Evaristo, Gaige Herrera and Brayden Davis to reach the final. Herrera had never lost at Route 66 Raceway before Sunday.
And while Smith accepted the trophy, he made it clear where his attention already had shifted.
“We have two really good bikes,” Smith said. “We did a lot of work over the winter. I think it’s showing. We tested a bunch. We did a bunch of Dyno work. We found a little bit of power and it’s showing.”
“We’ve been on the negative side of the 2 to 300 for three years against Vance & Hines and the Suzukis. Right now we have the 2 or 300s. So I want them to feel what it feels like to go up there and have to race and know you don’t have the faster bike.”
For all the talk of momentum, points and championships, Smith sounded like a man leaving Chicago with unfinished business.
The Wally went home with him.
The race he wanted didn’t.
“She’s a strong woman,” Smith said. “She’s going to get one this year. She’s got too fast a bike not to get one this year. And we’ll be fine. The Smiths will be fine. Everybody’s fine.”
