Matt Smith Finishes Day 1 at Joliet 8th

Pro Stock Motorcycle Matt Smith Route 66 Raceway JOLIET, Ill., Fri, Jul 08, 2011 Matt Smith Finishes Day 1 at Joliet 8th.jpgMatt Smith.jpgWith Day 1 of NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying in the books at Route 66 Raceway, former event runner-up Matt Smith finished the day eighth with an ET of 7.030 seconds at 186.67 mph. The 2007 class champion felt the change in weather prior to Q2 Friday at the 14th Annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals may have played a part in his slower speed in the second round.

“We have a pretty good run on the first run, ran a (7.030 sec. ET),” said Smith, who fell in the finals here against Andrew Hines in 2007. “We just missed the tune up on the first hit and thought we’d get it right on the second one. But the weather changed too much, I think, and we overdid it and went the wrong way. “We ran about the same ET (7038 sec.), but we should’ve been faster. We should’ve run a 6.97, 6.98 (ET) that time. All in all, we’ll take the data and see what the weather does tomorrow and try to do better tomorrow.” Smith is looking for some redemption here after bowing out in the first round of eliminations last year, falling to two-time U.S. Nationals champion Steve Johnson. Hector Arana III, son of former PSM champ Hector Arana Jr., took provisional P1 Friday with an ET of 6.950 seconds at 188.96 mph. Saturday’s two rounds of qualifying are set to run at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Eliminations start at 11 a.m. Sunday. For ticket information, call Route 66 Raceway at 888-629-RACE or visit them on the Web at http://www.Route66Raceway.com. About Matt Smith: Matt is the 2007 NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle champion and a multi-event class winner. The native of King, N.C., has won some of the most prestigious races in the series, including the U.S. Nationals and the inaugural 4-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., his home track. Smith made his NHRA PSM debut in 2003, racing in three events and earning his way to the semi-finals in Atlanta. He went to his first final in 2004 and won his first race (Englishtown, N.J.) two season later. In his championship run in ‘07, Matt won four races in nine finals and earned the title on the last pass of the year, edging out Andrew Hines and claiming the title by a mere six points. Matt set his career highs in ET (6.861 secs) and speed (194.63 mph) in 2010, where he finished the season in the top five for the fourth consecutive year. He is the team owner and tuner for his wife, Angie, and is the son of legendary racer/tuner Rickie Smith. Matt is also the brother-in-law of NASCAR/F1/IndyCar driver Scott Speed. In his spare time, Matt enjoys scuba diving, paintball, jet skiing, coaching his son, Tristan’s, soccer team, and building motorcycle engines. Fans of Matt Smith can find updates and photos of Matt Smith Racing at http://www.MattSmithRacing.com, www.Facebook.com/MattSmithRacing, and http://www.Twitter.com/MattSmithRacing. Videos of Matt and Matt Smith Racing can be found at YouTube.com/MattSmithNHRA. For information regarding sponsorship opportunities with Matt Smith Racing, please e-mail MattSmithRacing@yahoo.com. About HighSide Media Founded in 2007, HighSide Media has represented some of the top drivers, teams, facilities, sponsors, and sanctions in American motorsports. HighSide Media provides public and media relations for racers at every level with tailor-made programs for every budget. Pass YOUR Competition on the HighSide. For more information on HighSide Media, its programs, and its clients, visit http://www.HighSideMedia.com. You can also follow HSM at Twitter.com/HighSideMedia and on its official page on Facebook.