PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Matt Smith (Ron Lewis photo)
The defending Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith powered his Nitro Fish Buell past Matt Guidera’s Mohegan Sun Buell, 7.060 at 187.76 to 7.140 at 185.03, to claim his first win of the 2008 season.
“It’s an awesome experience,” said Smith, who struggled at Gainesville in the season-opener for the two-wheel class. “We were embarrassed the way we raced at Gainesville. We went home and went to work and it showed (with the win Sunday).”
Angelle Sampey (Randy Anderson photo)
The first two races on the reunion tour of three-time NHRA POWERade champion Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Angelle Sampey and six-time champion tuner George Bryce have not gone as well as the team had hoped. But they feel pretty lucky that, despite lackluster performance, they have a strong position in the point standings. From there they can solve their mechanical issues and move forward to meet the high expectations surrounding them.
The G2 Motorsports flagship Buell driven by Chris Rivas was suffering through a weekend very similar to Sampey's, but the redlight went the other direction for Rivas, and the G2 team then focused their efforts on Sampey.
"Ken Johnson and Derrell Mullis came over and helped our crew guys Larry Cook and Curtis Jackson," said Angelle. "All four of them, along with George, were working on my motorcycle, checking everything, changing things and doing everything they could. So it was good to see my teammate Chris Rivas's G2 team working on my motorcycle. It shows that these two teams all work together and we're willing to help each other out as best we can."
"The Rush Racing team worked really hard, and Angelle drove really well," added Bryce. "It was a neat effort that we all put forth. We worked hard enough to go really fast, to go as slow as we did."
"I did a much better job of driving this weekend, and I was on my game with my reaction times and shiftpoints," agreed Sampey. "I had a few glitches here and there but really did a better job. I was more focused and did some practicing back at home between Gainesville and here. I was determined to do a better job and feel like I did.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle Point Standings
1. Matt Guidera, 212; 2. Matt Smith, 195; 3. Andrew Hines, 171; 4. Chip Ellis, 151; 5. Eddie Krawiec, 111; 6. Angelle Sampey, 105; 7. Angie McBride, 85; 8. (tie) Hector Arana, 84; Chris Rivas, 84; 10. Karen Stoffer, 67.
FINAL ROUNDS
| Top Fuel | Antron Brown, 4.605 seconds, 320.28 mph | def. Larry Dixon, 4.621 seconds, 309.06 mph |
| Funny Car | Del Worsham, Chevy Impala, 4.933, 316.60 | def. Ashley Force, Ford Mustang, 4.971, 302.62 |
| Pro Stock | Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.692, 207.37 | def. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 13.425, 64.01 |
| Pro Stock Motorcycle | Matt Smith, Buell, 7.060, 187.76 | def. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.140, 185.03 |
| Top Alcohol Dragster | Randy Eakins, 5.392, 263.67 | def. Duane Shields, 5.392, 273.50 |
| Top Alcohol Funny Car | Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 5.626, 256.41 | def. Mickey Ferro, Chevy Monte Carlo, 11.799, 62.46 |
| Super Stock | Pete Peery, Olds Calais, 9.990, 123.63 | def. Scotty Richardson, Chevy S-10, foul |
| Stock Eliminator | Bob Unkefer, Pontiac Trans Am, 11.402, 116.57 | def. Austin Ford, Shelby Mustang, 10.947, 120.97 |
| Super Comp | Shawn Langdon, Dragster, 8.881, 170.02 | def. Kurt Damron Jr., Dragster, 8.875, 175.21 |
| Super Gas | Jimmy Lewis, Chevy Corvette, 9.929, 147.88 | def. Wes Neely, Chevy Camaro, 9.975, 148.20 |
Randy Eakins (Linda Brock photo)
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| Mickey Ferro (Linda Brock photos) | Ain’t it the truth. (Linda Brock photo) |