Matt Smith Racing
IT’S WIN OR BUST AT NTK NHRA CAROLINA NATIONALS FOR DEFENDING PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE WORLD CHAMP MATT SMITH
CONCORD, NC – With four races remaining in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, Matt Smith 
is 61 points out of first in Pro Stock Motorcycle, leaving him right in the mix of the title hunt. But the defending world champion will be racing with an extreme sense of urgency at this weekend’s NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at state-of-the-art zMAX Dragway.
It’s a win-or-bust approach for Smith, the defending winner of the event on his Denso/Stockseth/Matt Smith Racing EBR. It puts extra pressure on the three-time world NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series champ heading into the race at his home track, but after falling just short in St. Louis, Smith wants to race with a sense of urgency in Charlotte.
“I looked at everything and I told our team that we have to win this race, and if we win this race we can win the championship,” Smith said. “If we don’t win this race, we’re going to battling for second and third. But I really think we can go win this race. We won it last year, we had a fast bike in St. Louis and we’re going to do better job in (Charlotte).”
Matt Smith Wins Mickey Thompson Pro Bike Battle in Sonoma
STOW, OH – Two-time Mello Yello Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Matt Smith has another reason to smile 
after winning the 2018 Mickey Thompson Pro Bike Battle.
Smith got the jump off the line and beat 2015 champion Eddie Krawiec, 6.793 to 6.764. Riding his Victory Gunner-bodied V-twin, the win was Smiths’ first in the specialty event, which has been held at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals since 2014.
“To pull this off against a major factory team is amazing,” Smith told NHRA.com. “I’m happy for my team and for all the people who support us. I’m out here racing without a sponsor, so this means everything to me. We’re going to put this $25,000 to good use. It will help us a lot. We have a great bike. We have a bike that can win this championship and hopefully I get the funding I need to finish it off.”
The first round of the Mickey Thompson Pro Bike Battle, a special race-within-a-race that features the eight top riders based on points earned throughout the season at NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle national events, was filled with upsets. Three of the four lower-seeded riders advanced from the first round, and Smith narrowly defeated last year’s Pro Bike Battle winner LE Tonglet in the semifinals.
DENSO Sponsors Angie and Matt Smith for 2018 NHRA Season Pro Stock Motorcycle couple races on DENSO spark plugs
LONG BEACH, CA – DENSO Products and Services Americas, Inc., an affiliate of leading global automotive supplier 
DENSO Corp., will serve as the primary sponsor for Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Angie Smith in the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. DENSO also will serve as an associate sponsor of racer Matt Smith, Angie’s teammate and husband.
Only one of a handful of women to ever compete in the class, Angie Smith will continue to ride her Matt Smith Racing Buell V-Twin powered by DENSO Iridium spark plugs. “I’ve had a lot of success on this bike and I’m excited to have the support of DENSO to take it to the Winner’s Circle this season,” Angie Smith said.
DENSO’s 2018 endorsement builds on its support for Matt Smith Racing, which started in 2017 when DENSO was Angie Smith’s lead sponsor for five weekend races. Riding on DENSO spark plugs, Angie and Matt Smith were both among the top 10 competitors in last year’s NHRA Countdown finals.
DENSO Sponsors NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Racer Angie Smith Smith aims for the winner’s circle on DENSO Iridium spark plugs
LONG BEACH, CA – DENSO Products and Services Americas, an affiliate of leading global automotive supplier 
DENSO Corp., has partnered with Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Angie Smith as her lead sponsor for four weekend contests of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The first event, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, takes place April 28-30 at Smith’s hometown racetrack, zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
After extensive off-season testing, Smith is racing on DENSO Iridium spark plugs for the entire 2017 season. A member of the Matt Smith Racing Team, she is within three points of breaking into the top 10 rankings for a shot at the championship.
“I started off the season with a lot of momentum and I’m getting great results on the track,” said Smith, who rides a Buell V-Twin at speeds of nearly 198 mph. “I am on a mission to get our DENSO Pro Stock Motorcycle into the winner’s circle this year!”
Angie Smith announces plans to race a Buell V-Twin in Pro Stock Motorcycle in 2017
KING, NC – Popular Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith has announced plans to compete on a Matt Smith Racing Buell V-Twin in 2017 and beyond. One of only 16 women in the NHRA’s 65-year history to have won a drag race at the professional level, Smith is the wife of two-time world champion Matt Smith, who will continue to serve as her crew chief and compete himself.
“I’m back on a Buell and super excited about 2017,” Angie Smith said. “I’ve had a lot of success racing Buells in the past and we’ve been able to keep at the forefront of the technology with those bikes through the various customers we help so I expect we’ll be strong right from the start.”
Smith beat her husband Matt for the title of the NHRA national event in Epping, N.H., in 2014, a personal highlight for the 37-year-old, who began her professional career in 2004. Overall, Smith has competed in 125 national events, qualifying for the playoffs in 2014. She has raced seven full seasons.
Victory Motorcycles returns to partner with Matt Smith Racing for 2017
MEDINA, MN – Victory Motorcycles will return to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2017, as the company 
will again partner with two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith and his successful Matt Smith Racing team.
Victory Motorcycles, a division of Polaris Industries Inc., represents the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major corporation in nearly 60 years, and is rapidly making impressive gains in the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace.
Victory joined the NHRA in 2015 with Smith and has been running a two-motorcycle team for the last two years, with Smith’s wife Angie also racing a Victory Gunner.
“It means a lot to me that Victory is coming back,” Matt Smith said. “We’ve been developing a new motor for the last several months, and we’re doing new bodywork for the 2017 season. We should be even better next year.”
VICTORY! Matt Smith earns first victory for Victory Motorcycles
POMONA, CA – The celebration began before Matt Smith and his Victory Motorcycles Gunner crossed the finish line.
Smith earned his first victory of the season and the first for Victory Motorcycles when Angelle Sampey went red in the final round of the Auto Club NHRA Finals on Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Smith knew the victory was in the bag, so he pulled in the clutch and pumped his first in the air as he went down the track.
“You don’t realize how much you miss being in victory lane until you get back to victory lane,” a smiling Smith said. “To get a victory for Victory – I like that saying. Hopefully we can do it more next year. I know we are going to have some teammates with Victory next year, and I’m just glad we got to do it first.”
Smith and his Matt Smith Racing team brought the Victory Motorcycles brand into the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2015, and he went to two final rounds last year and two semifinal appearances this season before finally breaking through with a victory for Victory.
Victory’s Angie Smith ready to swing for the fences in Pomona eliminations
POMONA, CA – The 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season has not been what Victory Motorcycle racer 
Angie Smith wanted – at least not for the first 14 of 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle races.
But Smith is closing the year with a bit of a flourish, performing at her best in the final two races. Following her first round win of 2016 two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Smith snared the No. 16 spot for the 52nd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona and is prepped to do more damage Sunday when eliminations begin.
Angie Smith talks with Pro Stock team owner Richard Freeman prior to her qualifying run in Pomona.
“I feel like our bike is performing way better than it has all year, so I’m good with it,” Smith said. “We just spent the first 14 races of the year not looking as good as we should. Now we are looking better and better, and sadly it’s the end of the year. But at least that give us momentum through the off-season and into next year.”
Matt Smith ready to pull off some surprises in Pomona with his Victory Gunner
POMONA, CA – Matt Smith starts the 52nd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona 
from the bottom half of the field, but the two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion believes he has a top-of-the-field Victory Gunner prepped for final eliminations.
Battling some demons in the final race of the season, Smith qualified No. 10 with a pass of 6.889 seconds at 193.93 mph. But he’s ready to pull off some surprises Sunday with a Gunner that is among the fastest bikes here.
“I feel good,” Smith said. “Honestly, if we had run the Q4 run out, I think we could have run a 6.86 or 6.87 and that would have been third or fourth best of the round.
With confidence soaring, Victory racer Angie Smith ready for season-finale
POMONA, CA – The confidence level of Victory Motorcycle racer Angie Smith is at its highest of the season as she 
prepares to race in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season-finale, the 52nd annual Auto Club NHRA Finals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
A test at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago confirmed to Smith and her Matt Smith Racing team that changes made were for the better. Smith’s Victory Gunner performed better than it had all season, and she matched her season-best by qualifying No. 11.
Then, during eliminations, Smith snared her first elimination win of the season.
