Following two of 17 Pro Stock Motorcycle national events of the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Matt Smith has already demonstrated the strength of his conviction to earn his second world championship in the class, this time as a rider for Don Schumacher Racing.
The 2007 PSM champion and rider of the Nitro Fish Suzuki in his first season with DSR took over the points lead in this highly-competitive category at the last event in Houston, and set a national elapsed-time record to earn an additional 20 bonus points.
He’s notched runner-up and semifinal finishes in the first two races, but his first victory of the season is what he’s looking for this weekend at the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
“Our approach for Atlanta is the same as it was for the first two races,” said Smith. “We’re going to win. I want to get Don Schumacher a win and get a win under our belts for our team. That’s our main goal right now.
“We have a fast bike. If all the little parts and everything stay together we should be fine,” he added, alluding to the mechanical problem in the semifinals in Houston that denied him a chance to make it into his second season final round.
“It’s like anything in racing. You can buy the best of everything and sometimes there is a failure. That bit us a couple of times this year, but hopefully we’ll get that all out of the way and we’ll get us some wins here before long. We’ll better our chance of winning a championship if we can win some races.
“We showed everybody we had the power by setting the national record, so we’ll try to bring it home for Don Schumacher, Nitro Fish and Suzuki in Atlanta.
“Atlanta Dragway is a good track. The shutdown area is a little rough and a little short, but we should run high 6.90s there. It’s not a fast, fast track, but we’ll take it and try to win us a race.”
Smith’s best result at Atlanta Dragway is a runner-up finish against Karen Stoffer in 2007.
MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 1 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season opening Gainesville, Fla., event, and a semifinal finish in Houston
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston of 6.865 seconds
* Was No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville
* Qualified No. 3 at 2008 Atlanta event, lost second round to Angelle Sampey
* 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 108-66 in 83 national events
* Career-best elapsed time: 6.865 seconds (Houston 2009)
* Career-best seed: 194.04 mph (Houston 2006)
* Lives in King, N.C. - single - engaged to fellow PSM rider Angie McBride
* Born Nov. 11, 1972
* Son Tristan (9/12/96)
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