After scorching temperatures at Gateway Motorsports Park last weekend, cooler weather for the Dodge NHRA Nationals this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway will be a welcome relief for NHRA competitors, and so will the higher speeds that accompany the cooler weather.
Victory Motorcycles racer Angie Smith is one of those racers who appreciates the break in temperatures and the increase in speed.
“I love Reading,” Smith said. “It’s a great place to go. It’s a great racetrack, it’s a fast racetrack, and I just always look forward to going up there. The season is almost over, and it’s that racetrack where you are like, ‘Wow, it’s the halfway point of the Countdown.’ “
The Countdown to the Championship consists of six races, and Reading marks the third race of the title-determining segment of the season. What will be a nine-month odyssey for racers will come down to three events after Reading.
“It’s just a beautiful track,” Smith said. “It’s a usually a little cooler there as opposed to all of this hot weather. I’ll be glad to get there. We left straight from St. Louis heading there, and we will see what happens.
“We’ll be fine and I think we’ll do better there. We won’t be tuning hot weather, we’ll be tuning cold weather, which is easier to tune.”
Smith is part of the two-Gunner Matt Smith Racing team, and husband/teammate Matt Smith is battling for the title as part of the Countdown. Though Angie will do all she can to help her husband, she of course wants to win rounds and win races.
Angie and her Gunner took some positive steps at St. Louis, where a season-long issue was finally diagnosed and fixed. Now, Smith wants to keep getting quicker.
“We always want Matthew to get in the winner’s circle because he is in the Countdown,” Smith said. “But that doesn’t take anything away from me. I want to win some rounds, too.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:15 and 4:15 p.m., Friday, and 11:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., Saturday. Eliminations start at 1 p.m., Sunday. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast qualifying action live from 6 to 7 p.m., Friday. Eliminations will air live from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday. (All times listed in ET).
