CLERMONT, Ind. – Last year, NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith missed the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals by a mere .04 seconds. The North Carolina native has no plans to miss the biggest race of the year in 2011.
“We’ve turned the corner,” she said. “The bike didn’t run on Sunday (at Brainerd) and the tire just went away at 60 foot, so it didn’t run to the other end. But I am pumped up for Indy, I can’t wait!”
Smith will have a lot of data to work with this weekend as Michael Ray is coming in to race a third Matt Smith Racing Buell. Matt, the 2007 PSM champ and a former winner at this event, is not only racing a bike, but tuning three as well as racing a Pro Mod in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.
“So not only is Matt doing double duty with the bike and the (Pro Mod), he’s tuning my bike, tuning Michael Ray’s bike, driving the car, his dad is driving a car…so it’s going to be really, really crazy. But it’s going to be really fun, too.”
Even with 27 bikes on the entry list and five qualifying sessions on the horizon, Angie sees Indy as an opportunity to not only race on drag racing’s biggest stage, but as a chance to do what NHRA racers do best—interact with the fans. “I love Indy. It’s a long, long race; it’s four days long instead of three days so we’re there for an increased amount of time but I’m so ready. There’s always a ton of fans at Indy and I love it! Friday we make our first and only run so we’ll see how we stack up against everybody.”
Spectator gates at the Big Go open Friday morning at 7 a.m. EDT with the sole Pro Stock/Pro Stock Motorcycle session kicking off at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, PS/PSM sessions are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., with the last two qualifying rounds of the weekend set to run Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eliminations will start Monday at 11 a.m. For more information on the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals or for tickets, visit NHRA.com.
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].
“We’ve turned the corner,” she said. “The bike didn’t run on Sunday (at Brainerd) and the tire just went away at 60 foot, so it didn’t run to the other end. But I am pumped up for Indy, I can’t wait!”
Smith will have a lot of data to work with this weekend as Michael Ray is coming in to race a third Matt Smith Racing Buell. Matt, the 2007 PSM champ and a former winner at this event, is not only racing a bike, but tuning three as well as racing a Pro Mod in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series.
“So not only is Matt doing double duty with the bike and the (Pro Mod), he’s tuning my bike, tuning Michael Ray’s bike, driving the car, his dad is driving a car…so it’s going to be really, really crazy. But it’s going to be really fun, too.”
Even with 27 bikes on the entry list and five qualifying sessions on the horizon, Angie sees Indy as an opportunity to not only race on drag racing’s biggest stage, but as a chance to do what NHRA racers do best—interact with the fans. “I love Indy. It’s a long, long race; it’s four days long instead of three days so we’re there for an increased amount of time but I’m so ready. There’s always a ton of fans at Indy and I love it! Friday we make our first and only run so we’ll see how we stack up against everybody.”
Spectator gates at the Big Go open Friday morning at 7 a.m. EDT with the sole Pro Stock/Pro Stock Motorcycle session kicking off at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, PS/PSM sessions are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., with the last two qualifying rounds of the weekend set to run Sunday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eliminations will start Monday at 11 a.m. For more information on the Mac Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals or for tickets, visit NHRA.com.
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].
