POMONA, Calif.: Despite celebrating a birthday on 11-11-11, former NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith wasn’t No. 1 Friday at the Auto Club NHRA World Finals here. The 2007 winner of this event saw his run go south immediately at the starting line with the same ailment his teammate Michael Ray suffered from in Q2. Fortunately, his 6.896 second run Friday has kept him in the fifth position.
“We pulled all the data out and it looks like we have a two-step switch on mine and Michael’s bike going bad,” said Smith, a two-time top qualifier for the World Finals. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On (wife and teammate) Angie (Smith’s) bike, it’s been perfect. She’s never had this problem.
“We started developing this problem at Indy and it only pops up every now and then. It bit us this time, but we’re going to fix it. We’ll put some new switches on and hopefully that will solve our problem.”
Smith, the 2007 class champion, is currently third in PSM points and is looking to leave Pomona in the same position, with Hector Arana Jr. and former champion Eddie Krawiec racing for the season title.
Former PSM champion Andrew Hines is currently atop the leaderboard after running a 6.820 ET Friday. If Saturday’s qualifying is rained out, Matt would face Chip Ellis in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.
The Smiths Pose for Charity: Angie and Matt are featured in Tony Pedregon's NHRA Full Throttle Series Real Families calendar to benefit children's cancer research. For more information, click HERE.
Matt Smith Racing is entered in the Auto Club NHRA World Finals this weekend in Pomona. Saturday will see the final two rounds, expected for 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies begin at 9:45 a.m. with first round of eliminations running at 11. For tickets, click HERE.
“We pulled all the data out and it looks like we have a two-step switch on mine and Michael’s bike going bad,” said Smith, a two-time top qualifier for the World Finals. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On (wife and teammate) Angie (Smith’s) bike, it’s been perfect. She’s never had this problem.
“We started developing this problem at Indy and it only pops up every now and then. It bit us this time, but we’re going to fix it. We’ll put some new switches on and hopefully that will solve our problem.”
Smith, the 2007 class champion, is currently third in PSM points and is looking to leave Pomona in the same position, with Hector Arana Jr. and former champion Eddie Krawiec racing for the season title.
Former PSM champion Andrew Hines is currently atop the leaderboard after running a 6.820 ET Friday. If Saturday’s qualifying is rained out, Matt would face Chip Ellis in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.
The Smiths Pose for Charity: Angie and Matt are featured in Tony Pedregon's NHRA Full Throttle Series Real Families calendar to benefit children's cancer research. For more information, click HERE.
Matt Smith Racing is entered in the Auto Club NHRA World Finals this weekend in Pomona. Saturday will see the final two rounds, expected for 11 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies begin at 9:45 a.m. with first round of eliminations running at 11. For tickets, click HERE.
