[coverattach=1]INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2009) - Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki rider Matt Smith is ready to fight it out for top honors in the 19th annual Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at this weekend's 55th annual U.S. Nationals at Raceway Park at Indianapolis.
Seeded fourth in the standings for this bonus event held on Saturday, Sept. 5, Smith will face Karen Stoffer in the opening round. At the same time, he'll be aiming to qualify high in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field for Monday's eliminations, as he goes for his second U.S. Nationals event victory.
Smith is the 2006 U.S. Nationals champion and two-time runner-up (2005 and 2007), but has not won the Ringers Gloves Battle in his three appearances from 2006-2008.
"I've been in the semifinals every year that I've been in it, but I just can't seem to get into the final," he said. “I've won a lot of races, I've won the U.S. Nationals, and, of course, I would like to win it again this weekend. But, I really want to win the Ringers Gloves Battle. It would be great to take home that trophy from this prestigious event. (Crew chief) Steve Tartaglia wants to win it too.
“The first step we have to take this weekend is to try to make a good pass Friday night in qualifying and try to win the Battle on Saturday. Then we can focus on racing on Monday.
"I've been to the U.S. Nationals finals three times," added Smith, who also was low qualifier twice, in 2006 and 2008. "We 'won' the race in 2005 and then it got taken away from us the next day (when a finish-line camera showed that Steve Johnson crossed the stripe inches ahead). That was pretty wild. I've had very good success in Indy and we're looking to continue that.
"We really want to do well for Don Schumacher," said Smith, who is still seeking a victory in his first season riding a Suzuki for DSR. "It's the DSR team's home race and we want to do well, along with all the other DSR teams. We're going to do the best we can."
Testing for the Pro Stock Motorcycles at Raceway Park last week went well for Smith and the Nitro Fish team, where he was listed as second quickest of the day. "We went a 7.01 (-second elapsed time) and we shut off early. That wasn't even a full pass. We probably would have gone a 6.99 on that run. So, we're happy with our testing. If we had been making full passes we would have been the quickest bike.
"We're looking forward to the U.S. Nationals and the Ringers Gloves Battle. We finally got all the little bugs worked out on the Suzuki and hopefully it's going to show."
The total race day purse for the 19th annual Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle is $61,000. The winner will earn a $25,000 bonus from Ringers Gloves. Any rider who can win the Battle and the U.S. Nationals will earn a $10,000 'Double-Up' bonus from the NHRA.
The Battle runner-up will earn $10,000. The two semifinalists will earn $6,000 each, while the four first-round finishers will earn $3,500 apiece.
Riders accumulated points for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at 17 NHRA national events between last year's U.S. Nationals through last weekend's NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. A $1,000 bonus was awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each of those races.
MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, Englishtown and Sonoma, and five quarterfinals
* Led the standings through two of the first three events
* Clinched a spot in the 2009 Countdown to 1 playoffs in Brainerd, Minn.
* Is two points out of third place
* U.S. Nationals winner in 2006; runner-up in 2005, 2007
* No. 1 qualifier at U.S. Nationals in 2006 and 2008
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has since been eclipsed
* One No. 1 qualifier in 2009 (Gainesville)
* 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 119-75 in 92 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, Sept. 4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 5 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 5:45 p.m.
RINGERS GLOVES PRO BIKE BATTLE at 1:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 6 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
MONDAY, Sept. 7 - Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise a special one hour NHRA Race Day from the U.S. Nationals at noon (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Monday, Sept. 7, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Seeded fourth in the standings for this bonus event held on Saturday, Sept. 5, Smith will face Karen Stoffer in the opening round. At the same time, he'll be aiming to qualify high in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field for Monday's eliminations, as he goes for his second U.S. Nationals event victory.
Smith is the 2006 U.S. Nationals champion and two-time runner-up (2005 and 2007), but has not won the Ringers Gloves Battle in his three appearances from 2006-2008.
"I've been in the semifinals every year that I've been in it, but I just can't seem to get into the final," he said. “I've won a lot of races, I've won the U.S. Nationals, and, of course, I would like to win it again this weekend. But, I really want to win the Ringers Gloves Battle. It would be great to take home that trophy from this prestigious event. (Crew chief) Steve Tartaglia wants to win it too.
“The first step we have to take this weekend is to try to make a good pass Friday night in qualifying and try to win the Battle on Saturday. Then we can focus on racing on Monday.
"I've been to the U.S. Nationals finals three times," added Smith, who also was low qualifier twice, in 2006 and 2008. "We 'won' the race in 2005 and then it got taken away from us the next day (when a finish-line camera showed that Steve Johnson crossed the stripe inches ahead). That was pretty wild. I've had very good success in Indy and we're looking to continue that.
"We really want to do well for Don Schumacher," said Smith, who is still seeking a victory in his first season riding a Suzuki for DSR. "It's the DSR team's home race and we want to do well, along with all the other DSR teams. We're going to do the best we can."
Testing for the Pro Stock Motorcycles at Raceway Park last week went well for Smith and the Nitro Fish team, where he was listed as second quickest of the day. "We went a 7.01 (-second elapsed time) and we shut off early. That wasn't even a full pass. We probably would have gone a 6.99 on that run. So, we're happy with our testing. If we had been making full passes we would have been the quickest bike.
"We're looking forward to the U.S. Nationals and the Ringers Gloves Battle. We finally got all the little bugs worked out on the Suzuki and hopefully it's going to show."
The total race day purse for the 19th annual Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle is $61,000. The winner will earn a $25,000 bonus from Ringers Gloves. Any rider who can win the Battle and the U.S. Nationals will earn a $10,000 'Double-Up' bonus from the NHRA.
The Battle runner-up will earn $10,000. The two semifinalists will earn $6,000 each, while the four first-round finishers will earn $3,500 apiece.
Riders accumulated points for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at 17 NHRA national events between last year's U.S. Nationals through last weekend's NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. A $1,000 bonus was awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each of those races.
MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta, Englishtown and Sonoma, and five quarterfinals
* Led the standings through two of the first three events
* Clinched a spot in the 2009 Countdown to 1 playoffs in Brainerd, Minn.
* Is two points out of third place
* U.S. Nationals winner in 2006; runner-up in 2005, 2007
* No. 1 qualifier at U.S. Nationals in 2006 and 2008
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has since been eclipsed
* One No. 1 qualifier in 2009 (Gainesville)
* 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 119-75 in 92 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, Sept. 4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 5 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 5:45 p.m.
RINGERS GLOVES PRO BIKE BATTLE at 1:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 6 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
MONDAY, Sept. 7 - Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute magazine show at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise a special one hour NHRA Race Day from the U.S. Nationals at noon (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage at 1 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
Monday, Sept. 7, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz, horizontal)
