[coverattach=1]BROWNSBURG, Ind. (June 24, 2009) - Matt Smith is back at the Don Schumacher Racing shops in Brownsburg, Ind., this week helping prepare the Nitro Fish Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle he rides as well as the new Hayabusa Suzuki the team will debut at an upcoming event.
He's getting ready for this weekend's NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, where he holds the PSM elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds he set in 2007, the year he won his PSM world championship.
"I'm looking forward to going to Norwalk," said Smith, who is second in the point standings after six of 17 national events for the class in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He's just 76 points short of the lead. "It's a very nice facility and one of the nicest tracks on the circuit. The Bader Family has done an awesome job and I'm glad NHRA has chosen to go there.
"We've made improvements with the Suzuki we currently race," he added. "We finally got it running well at Englishtown (last event) and I've been working on bettering myself. As a rider, I just have to do my job on the starting line. So, all in all, I think we'll be in good shape.
"The biggest thing we're doing here at the shop is working on the new chassis and body for the Hayabusa Suzuki," said Smith, who joined DSR this season, switching from a Buell to a Suzuki. "We have all the new carbon-fiber body work in for that, so we're mounting it all up. We're hoping to debut it maybe on the West Coast Swing and run it in a race.
"When we do run it, we will use the same Suzuki engine we're using right now."
As for a chance to break his existing track record at Norwalk, "Yes, I think we can break that," he said. "It looks like it's going to be pretty decent weather this weekend. And if it's not real humid we should be able to do it.
"If we don't break it, Angie (fellow rider and fiancee McBride) might be able to do it. She'll be riding the bike that set that record.
"That was her birthday present in Englishtown," Smith explained. "That Sunday was her birthday and she didn't want anything but a chance to be able to ride in the next race. I said, All right, you can ride the Matt Smith Racing Buell that set the track record in Norwalk. So, she will."
MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta and Englishtown, and two quarterfinals
* Is 76 points behind leader Eddie Krawiec
* Holds Norwalk elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds, set in 2007
* Qualified No. 5 in 2008 Norwalk, lost second round to Hector Arana
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has since been eclipsed
* Was No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville 2009
* Won 2007 PSM championship, winning four races in nine final rounds
* Was No. 1 seed in 2008 NHRA PSM playoffs, earning 20-point bonus
* No. 3 in 2008 PSM point standings
* Came close to claiming his second straight PSM crown in 2008 after leading the standings for the last six of seven events in the playoffs. A mechanical problem in the final event of the season dropped him to third
* Collected a career-high seven No. 1 qualifiers in 2008
* Debuted in the PSM class in Gainesville, Fla., in 2004
* Is the son of NHRA Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith
* Has 10 career national-event wins in 21 final rounds, and was low qualifier 15 times since joining the class on a limited basis in 2003
* Became a full-time competitor in the class in 2005
* Career round win-loss record is 114-70 in 87 national events
* Career-best elapsed time: 6.865 seconds (Houston 2009)
* Career-best speed: 194.63 mph (Atlanta 2009)
* Lives in King, N.C. - single - engaged to fellow PSM rider Angie McBride
* Born Nov. 11, 1972
* Son Tristan (9/12/96)
SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, June 26 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 27 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 12:10 p.m. and 2:05 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 28 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 27, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday June 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day at noon. (ET).
Sunday, June 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 26, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical) (Analog feed)
Saturday, June 27, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, June 28, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical.
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
He's getting ready for this weekend's NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, where he holds the PSM elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds he set in 2007, the year he won his PSM world championship.
"I'm looking forward to going to Norwalk," said Smith, who is second in the point standings after six of 17 national events for the class in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He's just 76 points short of the lead. "It's a very nice facility and one of the nicest tracks on the circuit. The Bader Family has done an awesome job and I'm glad NHRA has chosen to go there.
"We've made improvements with the Suzuki we currently race," he added. "We finally got it running well at Englishtown (last event) and I've been working on bettering myself. As a rider, I just have to do my job on the starting line. So, all in all, I think we'll be in good shape.
"The biggest thing we're doing here at the shop is working on the new chassis and body for the Hayabusa Suzuki," said Smith, who joined DSR this season, switching from a Buell to a Suzuki. "We have all the new carbon-fiber body work in for that, so we're mounting it all up. We're hoping to debut it maybe on the West Coast Swing and run it in a race.
"When we do run it, we will use the same Suzuki engine we're using right now."
As for a chance to break his existing track record at Norwalk, "Yes, I think we can break that," he said. "It looks like it's going to be pretty decent weather this weekend. And if it's not real humid we should be able to do it.
"If we don't break it, Angie (fellow rider and fiancee McBride) might be able to do it. She'll be riding the bike that set that record.
"That was her birthday present in Englishtown," Smith explained. "That Sunday was her birthday and she didn't want anything but a chance to be able to ride in the next race. I said, All right, you can ride the Matt Smith Racing Buell that set the track record in Norwalk. So, she will."
MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 2 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta and Englishtown, and two quarterfinals
* Is 76 points behind leader Eddie Krawiec
* Holds Norwalk elapsed-time track record of 6.965 seconds, set in 2007
* Qualified No. 5 in 2008 Norwalk, lost second round to Hector Arana
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has since been eclipsed
* Was No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville 2009
* Won 2007 PSM championship, winning four races in nine final rounds
* Was No. 1 seed in 2008 NHRA PSM playoffs, earning 20-point bonus
* No. 3 in 2008 PSM point standings
* Came close to claiming his second straight PSM crown in 2008 after leading the standings for the last six of seven events in the playoffs. A mechanical problem in the final event of the season dropped him to third
* Collected a career-high seven No. 1 qualifiers in 2008
* Debuted in the PSM class in Gainesville, Fla., in 2004
* Is the son of NHRA Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith
* Has 10 career national-event wins in 21 final rounds, and was low qualifier 15 times since joining the class on a limited basis in 2003
* Became a full-time competitor in the class in 2005
* Career round win-loss record is 114-70 in 87 national events
* Career-best elapsed time: 6.865 seconds (Houston 2009)
* Career-best speed: 194.63 mph (Atlanta 2009)
* Lives in King, N.C. - single - engaged to fellow PSM rider Angie McBride
* Born Nov. 11, 1972
* Son Tristan (9/12/96)
SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, June 26 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, June 27 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 12:10 p.m. and 2:05 p.m.
SUNDAY, June 28 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, June 27, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying highlights at 8 p.m. (ET).
Sunday June 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will air NHRA Race Day at noon. (ET).
Sunday, June 28, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise three hours of eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE:
Friday, June 26, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical) (Analog feed)
Saturday, June 27, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, June 28, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET), AMC 15 / Transponder 3K (11760 MHz, vertical.
Video news release contains race action highlights each day and winners’ interviews on Sunday.
