NHRA 2024 Carolina Nationals – Pro Stock Motorcycle
Matt Smith Wins the NHRA 2024 Carolina Nationals
Matt Smith nabs 40th career win, moves into PSM points lead
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith took a big step towards a possible seventh world championship, picking up his second win of the year on his Denso Auto Parts Buell when rookie Richard Gadson went red in the final round. Smith rolled to a run of 6.846 at 199.35, scooping up his 40th career win and moving into the points lead for the first time this year in the process.
To get to the final round, Smith defeated his wife, Angie, and Matt Smith Racing teammate Jianna Evaristo, clinching the home track win when Gadson left the starting line a touch too soon. He now leads defending world champion Gaige Herrera by 25 points, finishing off a hugely-rewarding weekend that saw Smith also qualify No. 1. He’s now laser-focused on trying to become the first rider in NHRA history to win seven Pro Stock Motorcycle championships.
“I was just trying to stay good and tough against Richard and when I went through the lights, I didn’t see my win light and I didn’t know if I won or not,” Smith said. “It’s never a good feeling when you can’t see a win light because you thought you had a good deal, but you don’t ever know. But all in all, what a weekend, what a day.
“I like being under pressure. It doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season. You always have to be good the last six races, and I’ve always been pretty good last six races, and that’s how I won my championships, and that’s how we’re going to continue to race.”
Gadson reached his second straight final round after defeating Ron Tornow, Chase Van Sant and Herrera. He remains third in points, 27 back of Smith.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Sept. 27-29 with the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis.
ELIMINATIONS – ROUND 1
W – Angie Smith / 0.035 / 6.907 / 197.88
L – Geno Scali / -0.001 / 6.968 / 193.93
Angie Smith wins 70% of her Rd. 1 races when she has lane choice. Geno Scali is 79 – 69 in Rd. 1 in his career. This is the first time Smith and Scali have faced each other in eliminations. Scali is a tick too quick on the tree and turns on the red light to give Smith the win.
W – John Hall / 0.02 / 6.971 / 194.86
L – Kelly Clontz / 0.101 / 6.969 / 192.82
John Hall beat Clontz in Rd. 1 at Richmond this year. Kelly Clontz is making her 72nd start. Hall is 1 – 0 against Clontz in prior events. Hall with a great light and the power to hold on for the hole shot win.
W – Chase Van Sant / 0.031 / 6.90 / 195.68
L – Marc Ingwersen / 0.018 / 6.922 / 194.02
This is the 1st time this year Marc Ingwersen has qualified in the top half of the field at back-to-back races. This is just the 3rd time this year Chase Van Sant has started from the bottom half of the field. Ingwersen is 2 – 1 against Van Sant in prior events. Ingwersen with a great light and the lead until in the light when VanSant chased him down for the win. Chase Van Sant’s MOV: 0.0092 seconds (approximately 3 feet).
W – Hector Arana Jr / 0.028 / 6.899 / 196.9
L – Chris Bostick / 0.068 / 6.947 / 193.6
Hector Arana Jr. wins 79.7% of his Rd. 1 races when he has lane choice. Chris Bostick is making his 62nd start. Arana Jr is 2 – 0 against Bostick in prior events. Arana Jr. with a great light and never trailed for the win. He makes the quickest pass of race day.
W – Jianna Evaristo / 0.047 / 6.96 / 194.10
L – Steve Johnson / 0.066 / 7.002 / 190.86
In her last 7 races Jianna Evaristo is 6 – 1 in Rd. 1. Steve Johnson is 4 – 3 against Evaristo in Rd. 1 races. Johnson is 5 – 4 against Evaristo in prior events. Evaristo with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. she will give up lane choice to Arana Jr. in next round.
W – Richard Gadson / 0.024 / 6.846 / 197.94
L – Ron Tornow / 0.020 / 7.182 / 193.4
Richard Gadson has won 2 rounds or more at 6 of the 10 races this year. Ron Tornow is making his 33rd start. This is the first time Gadson and Tornow have faced each other in eliminations. Tornow with a grat light, but Gadson had the lead as they go by the Christmas tree and never trailed from there on for the win. Gadson with the quickest pas of race day for the win and lane choice over Van Sant in the next round.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.025 / 6.852 / 197.83
L – Marcus Hylton / 0.027 / 7.189 / 184.25
Gaige Herrera is 25- 0 in Rd. 1 over the last 2 years. Marcus Hylton is making his 3rd start overall and his 1st this year. This is the first time Herrera and Hylton have faced each other in eliminations. Herrera with a couple ticks on the tree and never trailed for the win. Herrera with the second quickest pass of race day. He will have lane choice over Hall in the next round.
W – Matt Smith / 0.052 / 6.833 / 199.02
L – BYE
Coming into this race Matt Smith has qualified #1 56 times and won the race 16 times (28.7%). Smith launched hard and kept it hooked up and makes the quickest pass of race day. He will have lane choice over his wife in the next round.
ELIMINATIONS – ROUND 2
W – Jianna Evaristo / 0.01 / 6.996 / 194.83
L – Hector Arana Jr / 0.017
Arana Jr is 6 – 0 against Evaristo in prior events. Evaristo with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. Arana Jr.’s bike broke right at the hit.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.021 / 6.874 / 196.73
L – John Hall / -0.05 / 6.989 / 195.56
Herrera is 5 – 1 against Hall in prior events. Hall goes re to give Herrera the win.
W – Richard Gadson / 0.028 / 6.887 / 197.39
L – Chase Van Sant / 0.002 / 6.942 / 194.91
Van Sant is 2 – 1 against Gadson in prior events. Van Sant with a near perfect light, but Gadson chased him down by half track and takes the win. He gives up lane choice to Herrera in the semifinal.
W – Matt Smith / 0.097 / 6.863 / 198.29
L – Angie Smith / 0.128 / 6.893 / 198.55
Matt Smith is 19 – 6 against A. Smith in prior events. Matt with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. Matt with the quickest pass of the round and will have lane choice over Evaristo in the semifinal.
ELIMINATIONS – SEMI-FINAL
W – Richard Gadson / 0.025 / 6.89 / 196.36
L – Gaige Herrera / 0.005 / 8.746 / 100.4
Herrera is 2 – 0 against Gadson in prior events. Herrera with a great light, but Gadson with the lead by 330 feet and never trailed from there on for the win. He is advancing to his third final round.
W – Matt Smith / 0.069 / 6.903 / 196.85
L – Jianna Evaristo 0.017 / 7.046 / 192.58
Smith is 4 – 3 against Evaristo in prior events. Evaristo with the starting line advantage, but Smith has the lead by 330 feet and never trailed from there on for the win. He will give up lane choice to Gadson in the final. He is advanced to his fourth final this season and 79th of his career.
ELIMINATIONS – FINAL
W – Matt Smith / 0.036 / 6.846 / 199.35
RU – Richard Gadson / -0.013 / 6.875 / 197.31
Smith is 2 – 1 against Gadson in prior events and this is the first time they have faced each other in a final round. Gadson goes red to give Smith the win. He wins his second Wally this season and the 40th of his career.
QUALIFYING – SATURDAY
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, six-time world champion Matt Smith enjoyed another strong day at zMAX Dragway, lowering his No. 1 qualifying time to a 6.799 at 199.67 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. It was quicker than Friday’s run and Smith, who claimed his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the 2024 campaign, was the only rider to dip into the 6.70s through the first days of the event. He gained points on leader and defending world champion Gaige Herrera and Smith feels good about his chances heading into raceday as he seeks his second win of the year.
“We knew the weather was a little bit better, but the track was a little bit worse, so we took a tooth off [the rear sprocket] this morning to see if we control the tire. It stuck and we went 6.79 so we thought we were on the right path but got back in that right lane that has thrown us for a loop,” Smith said. “Lane choice is going to be big for me tomorrow and I will stay in the left lane as long as I can or have to figure out how to go down that right lane if I lose (lane) choice tomorrow.
“Having a bye (in round one) is always good because we can go up and try stuff and it’s good that (Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson) have each other on the other side of the ladder.”
Herrera stayed close behind, qualifying second with a 6.812 at 198.47 and his teammate, Richard Gadson, qualified third after a run of 6.830 at 199.26.
1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.799, 199.67
2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.812, 198.58
3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.830, 199.26
4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.834, 198.17
5. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.850, 199.55
6. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.878, 197.25
7. John Hall, Beull, 6.881, 196.79
15. Marcus Hylton, 7.168, 184.55
8. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.882, 198.15
9. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.889, 196.76
10. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.893, 197.02
11. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.898, 197.13
12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.917, 195.05
13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.930, 195.82
14. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.936, 195.76
QUALIFYING – FRIDAY
Racing close to home, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith enjoyed a strong Friday on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, grabbing the No. 1 spot on Friday thanks to a run of 6.803 at 198.47. The six-time world champion is after his fifth top spot of 2024 and is right in the thick of the points chase, sitting less than 20 points out of first. Smith ran into bike troubles in the semifinals at the playoff opener but returned in impressive fashion on Friday in Charlotte.
“We’ve just got to do our job and collect points,” Smith said. “We gained some points on Gaige (Herrera) today and those bonus points are huge and we’re gaining ground, but we’re in a dogfight. They’ve had the dominant bike all year long, and I still think they have the better bike than what we have right now, so we have to turn on win lights. That’s our goal right now.
“If we win this race. we’ll probably leave here as the point leaders. We’ve just got to keep going, keep digging and turn on some win lights on Sunday.”
Defending world champion and points leader Herrera is right behind after going 6.812 at 198.47 and his teammate, Richard Gadson, is third after a 6.836 at 197.80.
1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.803, 198.47
2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.812, 198.47
3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.836, 197.80
4. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.850, 198.20
5. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.878, 196.24
6. John Hall, Beull, 6.881, 195.87
7. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.882, 197.71
8. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.893, 196.04
9. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.910, 195.36
10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.917, 190.94
11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.921, 196.13
12. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.936, 194.63
13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki,6.948, 194.91
14. Marcus Hylton, 7.168, 184.55
15. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 9.296, 95.11
ABOUT NHRA
The National Hot Rod Association, the largest auto racing organization in the world, has come a long way since Wally Parks founded it in 1951.
Though it has grown into a global sports-entertainment business, NHRA has not lost sight of Parks’ original goal: to provide competitors a place to race. But now those places are deluxe supertracks in major U.S. markets, and the racing runs the gamut from 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters to 5-horsepower Jr. Dragsters. Drag racing’s journey through the decades has been sometimes swift, sometimes rocky, but always exciting and always worth the trip.
In the 1950s, top performance marks were 140 mph in 9 seconds. Today, they’re more than 330 mph in less than 3.7 seconds. Back then, winners earned little more than a trophy and bragging rights. Today’s racers compete for trophies and bragging rights as well as a share of more than $3 million in prize money.
In 2024, NHRA joined forces with Mission Foods to present the world’s fastest motorsports attraction as the flagship sponsor of the national touring series, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Under the leadership of President Glen Cromwell, NHRA raced forward in 2020 with a number of key initiatives, including a multiyear partnership with FOX Sports to televise NHRA events from the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, and the Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. FOX Sports networks aired more than 500 hours of programming throughout the year, highlighted by 22 race-day shows, including eight on FOX’s national network, in addition to primetime Friday night qualifying shows, and fans are in for more of the same this year.
NHRA has extremely loyal fans that are committed to the sport they love, and it’s easy to see why. They continue to have the best access to the behind-the-scenes action of racing. NHRA’s open-pits policy allows fans to get an up-close-and personal view of how teams rebuild engines. Drivers are often found in their pit areas, signing autographs and chatting with fans, who have the rare opportunity to get behind the wheel themselves in a variety of racing simulators in the Nitro Alley Fan Zone. Those are just a few reasons NHRA fans continue to be some of the most loyal in any sport.
For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
About Mission Foods
Great food is a great motivator. It brings everyone to the table and inspires us to explore all kinds of delicious destinations. At Mission®, it drives us to seek the freshest ingredients, simple recipes, diverse flavors and wholesome products that help us discover all the places our tortillas can go. There are better-for-you destinations like with our high protein, low carb, or gluten-free tortillas. Of course, tacos and nachos are favorite stops. We are always up for those. www.missionfoods.com
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