JOLIET, Ill.: With the first day of the 14th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in the books, NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith is safely in the show in 12th position with a 7.075 second ET at 185.89 mph. Although she knows she will race on Sunday, the North Carolina native, along with her tuner/team owner/husband Matt, will work on the Buell to improve her position on Saturday.
“Today was an OK day for us,” said Angie, who fell to eventual event winner LE Tonglet here last year in a close semi-final race. “In the first pass, we were running and I couldn’t shift from first (gear) to second (gear) and I had to kinda pedal it and get out of the gas and then get back in the gas, so I didn’t run really good.
“Second round was an alright run, we just made a bad tune-up call, so I think we’re going to be alright. I’m in the 12th position so, all in all, it’s an OK day. We’re in, so at least I’ll sleep tonight! Tomorrow we’ll regroup and make a solid run and be in the show so we can race on Sunday.”
Hector Arana III, son of former PSM champ Hector Arana Jr., took provisional P1 Friday with an ET of 6.950 seconds at 188.96 mph.
Fans of Angie Smith can find updates and photos of Matt Smith Racing at MattSmithRacing.com, Facebook.com/Matt.AngieSmith, and Twitter.com/AngieSmith77. Videos of Angie and Matt Smith Racing can be found at YouTube.com/MattSmithNHRA. For information regarding sponsorship opportunities with Matt Smith Racing, please e-mail [email protected].
Saturday’s two rounds of qualifying are set to run at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday. For ticket information, call Route 66 Raceway at 888-629-RACE or visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com.
“Today was an OK day for us,” said Angie, who fell to eventual event winner LE Tonglet here last year in a close semi-final race. “In the first pass, we were running and I couldn’t shift from first (gear) to second (gear) and I had to kinda pedal it and get out of the gas and then get back in the gas, so I didn’t run really good.
“Second round was an alright run, we just made a bad tune-up call, so I think we’re going to be alright. I’m in the 12th position so, all in all, it’s an OK day. We’re in, so at least I’ll sleep tonight! Tomorrow we’ll regroup and make a solid run and be in the show so we can race on Sunday.”
Hector Arana III, son of former PSM champ Hector Arana Jr., took provisional P1 Friday with an ET of 6.950 seconds at 188.96 mph.
Fans of Angie Smith can find updates and photos of Matt Smith Racing at MattSmithRacing.com, Facebook.com/Matt.AngieSmith, and Twitter.com/AngieSmith77. Videos of Angie and Matt Smith Racing can be found at YouTube.com/MattSmithNHRA. For information regarding sponsorship opportunities with Matt Smith Racing, please e-mail [email protected].
Saturday’s two rounds of qualifying are set to run at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday. For ticket information, call Route 66 Raceway at 888-629-RACE or visit them on the Web at Route66Raceway.com.
