Nitro Fish News . . .
Matt Smith quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle opener at Gainesville
Matt Smith, the 2007 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, concluded his pre-season testing on a positive note a few days ago with this comment: “Testing went well and I think when all is said and done, we are ready to go racing.”
Smith added an exclamation point to prove it during Friday’s opening qualifying rounds of the 44th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. Smith’s Buell-powered motorcycle claimed the provisional No. 1 position with a quarter-mile blast of 6.804 seconds at 197.28 mph.
“It feels good,” Smith said of his positive start. “We worked hard all winter and made a big gain at the end of last year in the last two races. We thought we were going in the right direction . . . and proved it in testing.
“We are proud of the way we are running. Our bike was the quickest and fastest down the backstretch on both runs.
“I think we are going to be a strong team all year long. It’s going to be a fun year and I think the class is very, very equal. It will be like Pro Stock car, where you will live and die by the starting line.”
His wife Angie was 12th with a time of 6.918 at 188.86 while Hector Arana was second with a 6.817 at 195.22 mph.
“We also have another teammate, John Hall, who is close behind,” continued Smith. “He is fifth and ran 6.842 at 193.24.
"We are looking forward to getting back on the track Saturday.”
The Smiths have an associate sponsorship with Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish Gear.
“We are happy to have Kenny back on board,” Smith said. “We will be wearing and selling Nitro Fish apparel at all of our races.”
This is the first of 15 Mello Yello Series races for the two-wheel contingent.
# # #
LE Tonglet’s Nitro Fish/Tonglet Racing Suzuki was not as fortunate as the Smiths.
After posting the 14th quickest time in the first round, 6.958 seconds at 187 mph, Tonglet’s hope of improving his competitive effort was slowed – and his day ruined – when the motor expired on the next run.
“The motor just let go,” he recalled. “That was not the way we intended to start. No one expected that to happen. We are going to change motors and do all we can to run better tomorrow.”
He has two more attempts to get into the top 16.
# # #
Tony Pedregon’s Pedregon Racing Camry Funny Car, with associate sponsorship from Nitro Fish Gear, got off to a strong start with a 4.162-second burst at 274.83 mph that placed him
From: Joe Sherk
More...
Matt Smith quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle opener at Gainesville
Matt Smith, the 2007 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, concluded his pre-season testing on a positive note a few days ago with this comment: “Testing went well and I think when all is said and done, we are ready to go racing.”
Smith added an exclamation point to prove it during Friday’s opening qualifying rounds of the 44th annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. Smith’s Buell-powered motorcycle claimed the provisional No. 1 position with a quarter-mile blast of 6.804 seconds at 197.28 mph.
“It feels good,” Smith said of his positive start. “We worked hard all winter and made a big gain at the end of last year in the last two races. We thought we were going in the right direction . . . and proved it in testing.
“We are proud of the way we are running. Our bike was the quickest and fastest down the backstretch on both runs.
“I think we are going to be a strong team all year long. It’s going to be a fun year and I think the class is very, very equal. It will be like Pro Stock car, where you will live and die by the starting line.”
His wife Angie was 12th with a time of 6.918 at 188.86 while Hector Arana was second with a 6.817 at 195.22 mph.
“We also have another teammate, John Hall, who is close behind,” continued Smith. “He is fifth and ran 6.842 at 193.24.
"We are looking forward to getting back on the track Saturday.”
The Smiths have an associate sponsorship with Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish Gear.
“We are happy to have Kenny back on board,” Smith said. “We will be wearing and selling Nitro Fish apparel at all of our races.”
This is the first of 15 Mello Yello Series races for the two-wheel contingent.
# # #
LE Tonglet’s Nitro Fish/Tonglet Racing Suzuki was not as fortunate as the Smiths.
After posting the 14th quickest time in the first round, 6.958 seconds at 187 mph, Tonglet’s hope of improving his competitive effort was slowed – and his day ruined – when the motor expired on the next run.
“The motor just let go,” he recalled. “That was not the way we intended to start. No one expected that to happen. We are going to change motors and do all we can to run better tomorrow.”
He has two more attempts to get into the top 16.
# # #
Tony Pedregon’s Pedregon Racing Camry Funny Car, with associate sponsorship from Nitro Fish Gear, got off to a strong start with a 4.162-second burst at 274.83 mph that placed him
From: Joe Sherk
More...
