Suzuki rider Smith set for Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at U.S. Nats

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
2009 NHRA FULL THROTTLE DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 12 of 17 - Pro Stock Motorcycle
55th annual U.S. Nationals
Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Sept. 4-7, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

SUZUKI RIDER SMITH SET FOR RINGERS GLOVES PRO BIKE BATTLE AT U.S. NATIONALS

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2009) - Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki rider Matt
Smith is ready to fight it out for top honors in the 19th annual Ringers
Gloves Pro Bike Battle at this weekend's 55th annual U.S. Nationals at
Raceway Park at Indianapolis.

Seeded fourth in the standings for this bonus event held on Saturday, Sept.
5, Smith will face Karen Stoffer in the opening round. At the same time,
he'll be aiming to qualify high in the Pro Stock Motorcycle field for
Monday's eliminations, as he goes for his second U.S. Nationals event
victory.

Smith is the 2006 U.S. Nationals champion and two-time runner-up (2005 and
2007), but has not won the Ringers Gloves Battle in his three appearances
from 2006-2008.

"I've been in the semifinals every year that I've been in it, but I just
can't seem to get into the final," he said. 蛆've won a lot of races, I've
won the U.S. Nationals, and, of course, I would like to win it again this
weekend. But, I really want to win the Ringers Gloves Battle. It would be
great to take home that trophy from this prestigious event. (Crew chief)
Steve Tartaglia wants to win it too.

袍he first step we have to take this weekend is to try to make a good pass
Friday night in qualifying and try to win the Battle on Saturday. Then we
can focus on racing on Monday.

"I've been to the U.S. Nationals finals three times," added Smith, who also
was low qualifier twice, in 2006 and 2008. "We 'won' the race in 2005 and
then it got taken away from us the next day (when a finish-line camera
showed that Steve Johnson crossed the stripe inches ahead). That was pretty
wild. I've had very good success in Indy and we're looking to continue that.

"We really want to do well for Don Schumacher," said Smith, who is still
seeking a victory in his first season riding a Suzuki for DSR. "It's the DSR
team's home race and we want to do well, along with all the other DSR teams.
We're going to do the best we can."

Testing for the Pro Stock Motorcycles at Raceway Park last week went well
for Smith and the Nitro Fish team, where he was listed as second quickest of
the day. "We went a 7.01 (-second elapsed time) and we shut off early. That
wasn't even a full pass. We probably would have gone a 6.99 on that run. So,
we're happy with our testing. If we had been making full passes we would
have been the quickest bike.

"We're looking forward to the U.S. Nationals and the Ringers Gloves Battle.
We finally got all the little bugs worked out on the Suzuki and hopefully
it's going to show."

The total race day purse for the 19th annual Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle
is $61,000. The winner will earn a $25,000 bonus from Ringers Gloves. Any
rider who can win the Battle and the U.S. Nationals will earn a $10,000
'Double-Up' bonus from the NHRA.

The Battle runner-up will earn $10,000. The two semifinalists will earn
$6,000 each, while the four first-round finishers will earn $3,500 apiece.

Riders accumulated points for the Ringers Gloves Pro Bike Battle at 17 NHRA
national events between last year's U.S. Nationals through last weekend's
NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa. A $1,000 bonus was
awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each of those races.

MATT SMITH QUICK FACTS:
* No. 4 in PSM 2009 point standings, following runner-up finish in season
opening Gainesville, Fla., event, semifinal finishes in Houston, Atlanta,
Englishtown and Sonoma, and five quarterfinals
* Led the standings through two of the first three events
* Clinched a spot in the 2009 Countdown to 1 playoffs in Brainerd, Minn.
* Is two points out of third place
* U.S. Nationals winner in 2006; runner-up in 2005, 2007
* No. 1 qualifier at U.S. Nationals in 2006 and 2008
* Set national elapsed-time record in Houston 2009 of 6.865 seconds. It has
since been eclipsed
* One No. 1 qualifier in 2009 (Gainesville)
* Won 2007 PSM championship, winning four races in nine final rounds
* Was No. 1 seed in 2008 NHRA PSM playoffs, earning 20-point bonus
* No. 3 in 2008 PSM point standings
* Came close to claiming his second straight PSM crown in 2008 after leading
the standings for the last six of seven events in the playoffs. A mechanical
problem in the final event of the season dropped him to third
* Collected a career-high seven No. 1 qualifiers in 2008
* Debuted in the PSM class in Gainesville, Fla., in 2004
* Is the son of NHRA Pro Stock racer Rickie Smith
* Has 10 career national-event wins in 21 final rounds, and was low
qualifier 15 times since joining the class on a limited basis in 2003
* Became a full-time competitor in the class in 2005
* Career round win-loss record is 119-75 in 92 national events
* Career-best elapsed time: 6.865 seconds (Houston 2009)
* Career-best speed: 194.63 mph (Atlanta 2009)
* Lives in King, N.C. - single - engaged to fellow PSM rider Angie McBride
* Born Nov. 11, 1972
* Son Tristan (9/12/96)

SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, Sept. 4 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 5:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, Sept. 5 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at Noon and 5:45 p.m.
RINGERS GLOVES PRO BIKE BATTLE at 1:15 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:40 p.m.
SUNDAY, Sept. 6 - PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30
p.m.
MONDAY, Sept. 7 - Pre-race ceremonies, 9:30 a.m. FINAL ELIMINATIONS at 11
a.m.

TELEVISION:
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise NHRA Race Day, a 30-minute magazine
show at 11 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours and 30 minutes of
qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Sept. 6, ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at
5 p.m. (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise a special one hour NHRA Race Day
from the U.S. Nationals at noon (ET).
Monday, Sept. 7, ESPN2 HD will televise five hours of eliminations coverage
at 1 p.m. (ET).

SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Sept. 4, 9:30 - 10 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz,
horizontal)
Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820
MHz, horizontal)
Sunday, Sept. 6, 7:30 - 8 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz,
horizontal)
Monday, Sept. 7, 6:30 - 7 p.m. (ET) - AMC 15 / Transponder 6K (11820 MHz,
horizontal)

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