Smith hopes testing will turn the trick for bikes at E-town

Seven races remain in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series regular season for Pro Stock Motorcycle including this weekend’s Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

After consecutive first-round losses and only one round win through the first three events of 2015 on his Victory Factory Racing Gunner, Matt Smith is sitting 11th place in the points standings.

“We need to win rounds,” said Smith, who has 17 career victories. “(Wife) Angie has two round wins and I’ve got one. We’ve got to win some rounds and get some points built up so we can get into the top 10. It’s starting to get down to crunch time and we are starting to put some pressure on ourselves. That’s why we’re testing a lot right now.

“After we left Atlanta we drove straight to Rockingham (Dragway) to test,” Smith said. “We’re trying to figure this out. I just don’t want to get too far behind. We’ve been working hard and trying to get everything right. We’re figuring out little things, but we need a tenth (of a second). That’s how far we’re off from where we need to be.”  (Slade Tyree photo) [6/4/2015]

Patience, Grasshopper…

If you’ve noticed that we’re running a little bit late the last few days getting 1320 notes and race reports up, it’s because our longtime production person, Clifford Tunnell, has left the Phlegm Building. We thank Cliff for all his work over the years and wish him well in his new job.

Our new crewman, Axel Gillespie, is getting used to the work load and our sometimes complicated procedures for producing four Internet magazines. He’s working hard on those ET’s, so please be patient as he gets up to speed.

As former L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda famously said (a bit more explicitly) many years ago, “This f’ing job ain’t that f’ing easy!” [6/4/2015]