[coverattach=1]It’s only a 90-minute drive from King, N.C. to Concord, N.C., so NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racers Angie McBride and Matt Smith expect a lot of fans to be cheering for them this weekend during the second Carolinas Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
“We have a hometown race for change,” said McBride, who will be riding the Nitro Fish/Carolina Speed Buell for fiancé Smith’s team when qualifying gets underway Friday afternoon. “My family and friends don’t have a chance to make it to many of the races because we race all over the country. It will be very, very good to have them at the track.
“I’m bringing my fan club with me so, hopefully, we can go to the winner’s circle.”
She’s also keeping a close watch on the area weather reports and looking for sun, not another dose of rain. The wet stuff canceled the final qualifying session in her last event – the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis – but not before she qualified 15th (7.063 seconds at 186.54 mph).
“We didn’t qualify well, but we had the third-quickest bike on race day (7.003 seconds),” added McBride.
“Obviously, we want to do better than we did in Indy (an opening-round loss to eventual race victor Hector Arana) and we don’t want it to rain. We want to be in the top three this weekend – number 3 in qualifying and eliminations. And qualifying is really critical. That’s our goal.”
Smith, riding the Don Schumacher Racing Nitro Fish Suzuki, begins the six-race Countdown to the Championship in fourth place, 50 points behind pacesetter Eddie Krawiec.
McBride, for the second consecutive race, will have L.E. Tonglet as a Matt Smith Racing teammate. Tonglet made his NHRA debut at Indy, riding one of Smith’s motorcycles. He qualified seventh and lost in the first round.
Dave Northrop back in Nitro Fish Dodge for Carolinas Nationals
Although he’s tested at zMAX Dragway, Dave Northrop is looking forward to making his first competitive runs Friday when the second NHRA Carolinas Nationals gets underway.
“That’s a cool place . . . second to none,” praised the driver from Perkasie, Pa. He will be driving Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish ISC Racers Tape/ISC Salesmaster Corp. Dodge while attempting to secure one of the 16 berths available for Sunday’s race. “I’m looking forward to the race.
“We also hope it doesn’t rain,” added Northrop. Rain, however, is something that has followed NHRA’s national events this season like a serious fan -- it has rained at 15 of the previous 18 races.
“We can’t afford to lose qualifying runs because we need to put laps on the car,” Northrop continued. “We are still working on getting the car to run quicker in the first 330 feet.”
Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia said engine builder David Nickens was working on the motor they had in the car two weeks ago at the U.S. Nationals. “That showed promise at Indy. Our speeds increased. We’ll see what happens if we can get all four qualifying runs.”
Kyle Koretsky is entered in his third Competition Eliminator national event. Kenny Koretsky’s youngest son continues to improve in one of NHRA’s toughest categories. He’s driving the Nitro Fish Chevy Cavalier in Super Modified.
Tony Pedregon, who has an associate sponsorship with Nitro Fish, leads the Funny Car field into the Countdown to the Championship’s six-race title showdown.
Schedule:
Pro Qualifying – Friday: 2:30 and 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Final Eliminations: Sunday, 11 a.m.
Television: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, all times ET
Saturday, two hours of qualifying coverage, 11:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, 11:30 a.m., NHRA Race Day; three hours of eliminations coverage, 7 p.m.
“We have a hometown race for change,” said McBride, who will be riding the Nitro Fish/Carolina Speed Buell for fiancé Smith’s team when qualifying gets underway Friday afternoon. “My family and friends don’t have a chance to make it to many of the races because we race all over the country. It will be very, very good to have them at the track.
“I’m bringing my fan club with me so, hopefully, we can go to the winner’s circle.”
She’s also keeping a close watch on the area weather reports and looking for sun, not another dose of rain. The wet stuff canceled the final qualifying session in her last event – the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis – but not before she qualified 15th (7.063 seconds at 186.54 mph).
“We didn’t qualify well, but we had the third-quickest bike on race day (7.003 seconds),” added McBride.
“Obviously, we want to do better than we did in Indy (an opening-round loss to eventual race victor Hector Arana) and we don’t want it to rain. We want to be in the top three this weekend – number 3 in qualifying and eliminations. And qualifying is really critical. That’s our goal.”
Smith, riding the Don Schumacher Racing Nitro Fish Suzuki, begins the six-race Countdown to the Championship in fourth place, 50 points behind pacesetter Eddie Krawiec.
McBride, for the second consecutive race, will have L.E. Tonglet as a Matt Smith Racing teammate. Tonglet made his NHRA debut at Indy, riding one of Smith’s motorcycles. He qualified seventh and lost in the first round.
Dave Northrop back in Nitro Fish Dodge for Carolinas Nationals
Although he’s tested at zMAX Dragway, Dave Northrop is looking forward to making his first competitive runs Friday when the second NHRA Carolinas Nationals gets underway.
“That’s a cool place . . . second to none,” praised the driver from Perkasie, Pa. He will be driving Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish ISC Racers Tape/ISC Salesmaster Corp. Dodge while attempting to secure one of the 16 berths available for Sunday’s race. “I’m looking forward to the race.
“We also hope it doesn’t rain,” added Northrop. Rain, however, is something that has followed NHRA’s national events this season like a serious fan -- it has rained at 15 of the previous 18 races.
“We can’t afford to lose qualifying runs because we need to put laps on the car,” Northrop continued. “We are still working on getting the car to run quicker in the first 330 feet.”
Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia said engine builder David Nickens was working on the motor they had in the car two weeks ago at the U.S. Nationals. “That showed promise at Indy. Our speeds increased. We’ll see what happens if we can get all four qualifying runs.”
Kyle Koretsky is entered in his third Competition Eliminator national event. Kenny Koretsky’s youngest son continues to improve in one of NHRA’s toughest categories. He’s driving the Nitro Fish Chevy Cavalier in Super Modified.
Tony Pedregon, who has an associate sponsorship with Nitro Fish, leads the Funny Car field into the Countdown to the Championship’s six-race title showdown.
Schedule:
Pro Qualifying – Friday: 2:30 and 6 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Final Eliminations: Sunday, 11 a.m.
Television: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, all times ET
Saturday, two hours of qualifying coverage, 11:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, 11:30 a.m., NHRA Race Day; three hours of eliminations coverage, 7 p.m.
