In Pro Stock Motorcycle Sunday at zMAX Dragway in the final quad at the 15th annual American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals, Matt Smith had the last laugh of the weekend, getting his first victory of the season on his Denso Auto Parts Buell with a run of 6.736 at 202.91 to hold off the likes of Gaige Herrera, Richard Gadson and Steve Johnson.
Herrera was the No. 1 qualifier and Gadson won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, but it was the veteran and six-time world champion who prevailed in the end at his home track.
He left the starting line first with a strong .014 reaction time and then had the quickest run in the quad, holding off Gadson’s 6.738 and Herrera’s 6.747 to win for the 42nd time in his career. Smith ran well on Saturday and that carried over to eliminations, where the longtime standout was on his game over all three rounds.
“This has been a long weekend. We had a lot of gremlins in our pits,” Smith said. “This morning, we cranked my bike up and it started squeaking. We have another engine called ‘Old Faithful,’ so we put in a new engine and it went smoothly after that.
“Hats off to my team. I can’t say enough about my crew guys. Everyone helps but it’s a lot of work to run four bikes with three mechanics. I do the fuel maps and clutches and I also get to ride, but it’s a lot of work. I’m on the positive side now. I had 41 wins and 41 runner-up finishes. Now, I’m 42 and 41 so at least I’m on the positive side now.”
Gadson finished as the runner-up, while Smith moved into the points lead over Herrera.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 15-18 with the 25th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.
ROUND ONE — Steve Johnson, Suzuki Hayabusa, 6.798, 196.90 and Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.866, 197.51 def. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.890, 195.45 and Jerry Savoie, broke; Matt Smith, Buell 1190RX, 6.752, 202.18 and Chase Van Sant, Suzuki TL, 6.799, 199.08 def. Angie Smith, 1190RX, 6.791, 198.79 and Chris Bostick, Hayabusa, 6.847, 194.30; Kelly Clontz, TL, 6.891, 197.45 and Richard Gadson, Hayabusa, 9.393, 89.97 def. Jianna Evaristo, 1190RX, broke and Gaige Herrera, Hayabusa, 6.728, 201.70 and Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.825, 199.49 def. John Hall, Beull 1190RX, 6.797, 200.02; SEMIFINALS — M. Smith, 6.737, 203.16 and Gadson, 6.762, 200.62 def. Van Sant, 6.815, 197.91 and Clontz, 6.810, 196.87; Herrera, 6.762, 200.17 and Johnson, 6.806, 196.19 def. Ingwersen, 6.884, 195.59 and Arana Jr, 6.997, 162.08; FINAL — M. Smith, 6.736, 202.91 def. Gadson, 6.738, 201.37, Herrera, 6.747, 201.13 and Johnson, 6.799, 196.62.
Points
1. Matt Smith, 232; 2. Gaige Herrera, 217; 3. Richard Gadson, 158; 4. Chase Van Sant, 126; 5. Angie Smith, 112; 6. Kelly Clontz, 105; 7. (tie) Marc Ingwersen, 88; 8. Steve Johnson, 95; 9. Jianna Evaristo, 86; 10. John Hall, 85.
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