Matt Smith picked up some tuning tips on Saturday’s final qualifying run and they helped him advance to Sunday’s quarterfinals in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals at zMax Dragway.
Smith’s Al-Anabi Racing Pro Stock V-Twin ran well on Saturday’s last qualifying attempt and started eliminations from the No. 9 position. He knocked out Hector Arana in the opening round with a 6.994-second, 188.33 mph effort before running up against LE Tonglet, and the categories hottest driver, who went on to win his second consecutive race.
They left the starting line at virtually the same time and Smith registered his quickest time of the weekend, 6.948 at 189.39, in a narrow loss. Tonglet’s winning time was 6.944.
“We made a few changes and it picked up the bike’s performance,” Smith said. “We had Steve Nichols helping this weekend and it made a difference on the run against LE.”