Six-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith continued to enjoy success at Sonoma Raceway in specialty races, winning the GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout for a second straight year on Saturday as part of this weekend’s Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge.
Smith picked up the victory when Richard Gadson went red in the final round, claiming the $25,000 prize and winning the Callout in back-to-back years. He’s won a bonus race in Sonoma four times on his Denso/Matt Smith Racing Buell and continued to have the magic touch at the facility on Saturday.
Smith went 6.783-seconds at 199.76 mph against Gadson, who went red by .001, as the multi-time champion enjoyed another magical Saturday in Sonoma. Smith opened the Callout with a victory against Chase Van Sant and then beat teammate John Hall in the semifinals, setting up the marquee matchup with Gadson in the championship round.
“This is awesome. I love this track. I came here as a kid and watched my dad [Rickie] win in a Pro Stock car. It’s a long tow from North Carolina but it’s worth it. This is also Denso’s home race,” Smith said.
“The track was really good but we had a headwind. We’ve had a headwind all weekend. If we could get a tail wind, you might see our 205 mph record get hit. When we ran the semis, I made the decision to choose John, that way we were sure to have a Denso/MSR bike in the final. It was just a strategy call and it worked. It was also a way to make sure they [Vance & Hines] didn’t put both of their bikes in the final.”
Despite the loss in the final round, Gadson did get to enjoy qualifying No. 1 for the first time in his career, as Friday’s run of 6.702 at 200.77 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki held up.
He’ll take that top spot into raceday – as well as a first-round matchup against Brad Hawkes – as he looks to win for the second time this season.
“I’m glad we were able to hold on to No. 1,” Gadson said. “This is my first yellow hat and it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. That was a big run. We didn’t qualify No. 1 by a little bit. It was quite a bit.
“As for the [GETTRX Callout final], we’re running for a lot of money so I made the decision to let it all hang out. Going red by a thousandth of a second is just part of the deal. You’ve got to know how to shake it off.”
Smith qualified second with a 6.740 at 200.26 and John Hall is third with a 6.759 at 197.28.
Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
Saturday’s GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout final results from the 37th annual Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout — Matt Smith, Buell, 6.783, 198.35 def. Richard
Gadson, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light.
SONOMA, Calif. — Final GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout round-by-round results from
the 37th annual Denso Sonoma Nationals presented by PowerEdge at Sonoma Raceway.
GETTRX NHRA PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALL OUT:
ROUND ONE — John Hall, 6.713, 201.52 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.795, 197.80; Richard Gadson, Suzuki,6.720, 192.08 def. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.729, 197.19; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.707, 202.55 def. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.791, 197.45; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.727, 199.91 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki,Broke – No Show;
SEMIFINALS — R. Gadson, 6.749, 199.76 def. G. Herrera, 6.769, 199.14; M. Smith, 6.764, 200.83 def.
J. Hall, 7.689, 124.14;
FINAL — M. Smith, 6.783, 198.35 def. R. Gadson, Foul – Red Light.
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