Smith puts Nitro Fish Suzuki in No. 9 in Reading qualifying

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 11 of 17 - Pro Stock Motorcycle
25th annual NHRA NATIONALS
Maple Grove Raceway
Mohnton, Pa.
Aug. 21-23, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

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.

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