Reading: Matt Smith Saturday notes

SMITH PUTS NITRO FISH SUZUKI IN NO. 9 IN READING QUALIFYING

MOHNTON, Pa. (Aug. 22, 2009) - Matt Smith used only one solid qualifying pass to place himself and the Nitro Fish Suzuki Pro Stock Motorcycle in No. 9 during qualifying for the 25th annual NHRA NATIONAL at Maple Grove Raceway, outside of Reading, Pa.

Only two rounds of qualifying for the pro classes were completed because of rain delays, and Smith had to recover from a bad run in the first one on Friday, when a tire issue surfaced. He recorded a time of 15.859 seconds in 79.69 mph in that try.

He came back for the second pass today and produced a 7.076/187.05, the fourth quickest pass of that round, providing him, crew chief Steve Tartaglia and the Nitro Fish crew a boost of confidence.

"In the first pass it looks like the tire bit us," he said. "It was a brand-new tire and we put a couple of burnouts on it and that was it. It really threw us a curve. For the pass today all we did was change the tire, that was it. We left everything else alone.

"And we knew it was going to be a little soft (in the tune-up), but we wanted to go down the track and we did.

"We're very happy with it. We were within three hundredths (of a second) of being low of the round. I think we're going to be good for Sunday and we're going to try to put one in the win column." Smith, the defending event champion, is still seeking his first win of the season.

Smith faces Shawn Gann in the first round of Sunday's eliminations.

-credit: dsr