Matt Smith enjoyed an incredible day in Pro Stock Motorcycle, taking the No. 1 qualifier and his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the season with a pair of standout runs. He picked up the bonus victory over his wife, Angie, going 6.802 at 199.05 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, knocking off points leader Gaige Herrera earlier in the day.
Smith lowered the boom in Thunder Valley on that run against Herrera, improving on his No. 1 position by going 6.759 at 200.05. Both are track records and it was also the first 200-mph run at Bristol Dragway in Pro Stock Motorcycle history. He’ll get the opportunity to sweep the weekend, taking on Ryan Oehler to open eliminations.
“I didn’t think .75 was possible,” M. Smith said. “Last night’s pass when I went to the centerline, I knew we could have gone .77, I thought we could go .76, but this morning we just got all of it. We went 1.04 60-foot and the scoreboard popped up. That was pretty much a perfect pass for us. Then we come back for Q4 and we’re low of the round again. All in all, I think we have a good deal for tomorrow.
“Hats off to my whole team. I’m the privileged one that gets to ride the thing and all these guys working on it are the ones making it really good. We’ve got a really good program.”
Richard Gadson’s 6.825 at 197.74 gave him the second spot in qualifying, while Chase Van Sant qualified third with a 6.827 at 10636. Gaige Herrera is currently qualified fourth. He is undefeated in 2024 and a win on Sunday would tie the defending world champion with Bob Glidden for the most consecutive wins (9) and round wins (35) in NHRA history.
Eliminations for the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday at Bristol Dragway.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.759, 200.05 vs. 14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.973, 476.86; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.825, 197.74 vs. 13. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.938, 195.25; 3. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.827, 196.62 vs. 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.936, 192.33; 4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.830, 197.77 vs. 11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.932, 198.96; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.854, 198.03 vs. 10. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.915, 195.25; 6. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.865, 198.32 vs. 9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.896, 195.76; 7. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.879, 197.57 vs. 8. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.895, 196.50.
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