Simply put, it was a dominant weekend for Matt Smith.
Trading in his Suzuki for a Denso Buell, Smith wrapped up the weekend with a 7.097 to defeat Joey Gladstone’s competitive 7.163. Smith re-set the track speed record at 190.22 mph while riding to his 34th career win.
“As for the decision to run a Suzuki, we just don’t have all the parts and pieces we need to have a backup. Instead of taking a chance on hurting it, we brought out last year’s Buell. It’s the bike that won this race last year and it paid off. We qualified No. 1, won the race, and set both ends of track record. I can’t ask for much more than that. I hate to put it back up in the trailer, but I might just do that and save it for countdown if I need it.
“I really wish I’d have run Angie in the final but something happened to her bike in the semi’s. Her bike slowed up, but Denso took the win and that’s most important. Today, Joey ran a 7.15 and Eddie ran 7.14 so they were fast. They just missed the tune-up a little. The Suzuki’s will be better up here next year. I guarantee it.”
Smith topped the qualifying charts with a 7.090, the first sub 7.1-second run by a Pro Stock Motorcycle at Bandimere Speedway. He enjoyed a full six-hundredths cushion over the 2nd best qualifier, Angie Smith who is also his wife.
Smith had dominant wins against Marc Ingwersen, Angelle Sampey, and Gladstone, who was appearing in his second-straight final.
See the full recap by Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor:
See the Sunday photo gallery from the NHRA National Dragster staff:
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