Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith rolled to his second straight victory, defeating his wife Angie Smith in the final round on Sunday to close out the 26th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway.
Smith continued his hot streak on defeating his wife Angie when her bike broke on the starting line. Matt cruised to the win with a run of 6.835 at 185.41 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, as the six-time world champion won his second straight race.
To win for the 44th time in his career, Smith defeated Jianna Evaristo, Gaige Herrera, who was previously undefeated at Route 66 Raceway, and Brayden Davis to reach the final round. An exciting side-by-side race was he planned against his wife in the championship round, but her bike went silent when the light turned green, giving Matt the win and sending him to second in points.
“I wanted a fair race. I wanted a good race, just like when we ran each other for the 2Fast2Tasty Challenge,” Smith said. “She had the best bike this weekend, but it just wasn’t meant to be for some reason. She’ll get it in Maryland. I feel confident that we will get things under control for her bike and get it back because everybody here knows that she had the best bike.”
Angie, who qualified No. 1, was denied her first win in nearly four years. She advanced to her 12th career final round after knocking off Chase Van Sant and reigning world champion Richard Gadson, who stayed in the points lead.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action May 29-31 with the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS at Maryland International Raceway in Mechanicsville, Md.
