[coverattach=1]As NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle contingent heads into the halfway mark of NHRA’s Countdown to 10 portion of the championship hunt, Matt Smith sees only one rider between him and first place.
Smith rode his Al-Anabi Racing V-Twin into the semifinals two weeks ago at Atlanta to slip into the runner-up position. He will try this weekend to cut into the 101-point advantage Hector Arana currently holds during the United Association Route 66 Nationals that begin Friday at Route 66 Raceway.
“I’m looking forward to racing at Joliet,” said Smith, the 2007 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion. “I was runner-up there in 2007. I’d definitely like to get the win on Sunday. We need to start chipping away at Hector’s lead.”
Smith shook off a first-round loss at the season opener, rebounding with a solid victory in the sport’s first Four-Wide Nationals two weeks later at Charlotte. He’s been a semifinalist twice and had one quarterfinal finish en route to accumulating 374 points.
“Right now, we have six races remaining before we move into the Countdown to the Championship (the finals six races of the season),” Smith added. “We know we must win as many rounds as we can if we want to accomplish our goal of getting that No. 1 spot. We’re going to give it our best shot.”
This is the first of two consecutive race weekends for the Smiths. They’ll move to Englishtown, N.J., June 11-13.
# # #
Race schedule: Qualifying: Friday, 3 and 6 p.m.; Saturday, noon and 3 p.m. Sunday eliminations: noon.
Television: ESPN2, all times ET
Saturday, qualifying highlights, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday, eliminations, 4-7 p.m.
Smith rode his Al-Anabi Racing V-Twin into the semifinals two weeks ago at Atlanta to slip into the runner-up position. He will try this weekend to cut into the 101-point advantage Hector Arana currently holds during the United Association Route 66 Nationals that begin Friday at Route 66 Raceway.
“I’m looking forward to racing at Joliet,” said Smith, the 2007 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion. “I was runner-up there in 2007. I’d definitely like to get the win on Sunday. We need to start chipping away at Hector’s lead.”
Smith shook off a first-round loss at the season opener, rebounding with a solid victory in the sport’s first Four-Wide Nationals two weeks later at Charlotte. He’s been a semifinalist twice and had one quarterfinal finish en route to accumulating 374 points.
“Right now, we have six races remaining before we move into the Countdown to the Championship (the finals six races of the season),” Smith added. “We know we must win as many rounds as we can if we want to accomplish our goal of getting that No. 1 spot. We’re going to give it our best shot.”
This is the first of two consecutive race weekends for the Smiths. They’ll move to Englishtown, N.J., June 11-13.
# # #
Race schedule: Qualifying: Friday, 3 and 6 p.m.; Saturday, noon and 3 p.m. Sunday eliminations: noon.
Television: ESPN2, all times ET
Saturday, qualifying highlights, 11 p.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday, eliminations, 4-7 p.m.
