Matt Smith Planning a (Nitro) Fishing Trip at zMAX Sunday

NHRA O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals zMAX Dragway CONCORD, N.C. Sat, Sep 17, 2011 Matt Smith Planning a (Nitro) Fishing Trip at zMAX Sunday 106_1.jpgThanks to the 6.871 second pass he made in Q1 on Friday here, former NHRA Full Throttle Series Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith qualified second for tomorrow's O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals eliminations. Smith, the winner of the inaugural 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway last year, will face defending class champion LE Tonglet. The North Carolina native said he is planning a fishing expedition in E1 Sunday, a reference to Tonglet's sponsor, Nitro Fish.

“Our weekend’s been pretty good,” said Smith, who is also tuning the Matt Smith Racing Buells of his wife, Angie, and Texan PSM rider Michael Ray. “We hurt our motor first round, our good motor, so we put a back up in. It’s running pretty good. We’re fighting the tuneup a little bit, so we’re gonna check out some stuff and try to go fishin’ tomorrow and snag us a fish. We’ll see what happens.” Both Angie and Ray will race Sunday with Angie facing U.S. Nationals class winner Hector Arana III and Ray looking to advance against Hector Arana. Eddie Krawiec maintained his No. 1 status with his 6.833 second pass at 196.70 mph. Matt is riding a special fan-sponsored bike this weekend. MSR supporters paid $20 to have their names written on the Buell and were invited to a special pit party Thursday at the track. Eliminations are expected to begin Sunday at Noon EDT with pre-race ceremonies scheduled for 11 a.m. Spectator gates open at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. For more information on this weekend’s event or for tickets, click http://www.nhra.com Fans of Matt Smith can find updates and photos of Matt Smith Racing at MattSmithRacing.com, Facebook.com/MattSmithRacing, and 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 HighSideMedia.com. You can also follow HSM at Twitter.com/HighSideMedia and on its official page on Facebook.