Suzuki rider Smith exits in Brainerd first round

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 10 of 17 - Pro Stock Motorcycle
28th annual NHRA NATIONALS
Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway
Aug. 14-16, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Judy Stropus, 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438;
jstropus@earthlink.net

SMITH EXITS IN BRAINERD FIRST ROUND

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 16, 2009) - After a long rain delay today at the 28th
annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway, racing
finally took place under partly cloudy skies and cooler temperatures, and
Matt Smith was facing Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader and Harley-Davidson
rider Eddie Krawiec in the opening round.

Riding the Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki, Smith nailed him at the starting
lights, recording a .069 reaction time (.000 is perfect) to Krawiec's .123.
But a repeat of the hiccup Smith experienced at the hit of the throttle
during the final round of qualifying slowed him to an 8.091-second elapsed
time at 126.20 mph to Krawiec's winning 7.048/189.28.

"The same thing happened," said a disappointed Smith. "I left on him by six
hundredths of a second, but the bike just didn't perform. We need to test,
test and test. We're not going to get better unless we test. Hopefully we'll
get this sorted out, because if we don't we're going to look bad again in
Reading, and we don't need to keep doing that.

"I played with him a little bit," added Smith. "I blinked the light and I
put both of them on and rolled out when he staged. I was trying to get in
his head because I knew I wanted to do that and I did what I was supposed to
do."

Smith holds on to third place in the point standings, and had clinched a
berth in the Countdown to 1 playoffs during qualifying on Saturday.

Next up is the 25th annual NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading,
Pa., Aug. 14-16.

UNOFFICIAL PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE POINT STANDINGS, after 10 of 17 events:
1. Eddie Krawiec, 911
2. Andrew Hines, 803
3. Matt Smith, 688
4. Hector Arana, 644 (winner today)
5. Craig Treble, 641
6. Douglas Horne, 632
7. Matt Guidera, 531
8. Shawn Gann, 442
9. Steve Johnson, 425
10. Karen Stoffer, 423
11. Michael Phillips, 403
12. Junior Pippin, 355 (runner-up today)

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