Pep Boys NHRA Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway
Sep 15-18, 2022

NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle

Joey Gladstone jumped back into the points lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle, capping off a memorable day at the track where he grew up with a win in the final round against Angie Smith, who went red. Gladstone put together a strong run of 6.835 at 196.93 to cap off his day and pick up his third win this season, with all of them coming in the last four races for the category. After Matt Smith jumped into the points lead with his Indy win, Gladstone grabbed it back to open the Countdown to the Championship, knocking off Hector Arana Jr., Matt Smith in a pivotal second-round matchup and then Marc Ingwersen to reach the final round. His points lead now stands at 29 over M. Smith and Gladstone was sure to soak in the victory in what’s been a breakout season.

“This is the playoffs, so that win is big. Matt Smith has been a strong force, so to be able to get a good edge is awesome,” Gladstone said. “We’ll need it because he hauls butt. Everyone in this class is so tough, everybody is a contender, and any day you can beat one Smith is a good day – but two Smiths? That’s a big deal. I’m proud of my team and proud of my tuner. Today is my daughter, Olivia’s, birthday. It was a really special day, and how memorable is it to do this on her birthday.”

Smith reached her second final round this season thanks to victories against Ron Tornow, Eddie Krawiec and defending event winner Steve Johnson.

ROUND ONE

W – Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.821, 198.52
L – Hector Arana Jr, Buell, Foul – Red Light

W – Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.795, 198.44
L – Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light

W – Angie Smith, 6.796, 199.52
L – Ron Tornow, 6.982, 191.95

W – Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.836, 194.66
L – Chris Bostick, Buell, 6.911, 195.28

W – Marc Ingwersen, 6.893, 196.99
L – Scotty Pollacheck, 6.889, 197.36

W – Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.785, 198.32
L – Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.891, 195.65

W – Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.904, 199.23
L – Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.903, 194.16

W – Matt Smith, 6.761, 201.82
L – Ryan Oehler, 7.196, 178.24

QUARTERFINALS

W – Marc Ingwersen, 6.962, 194.72
L –  Angelle Sampey, 6.902, 197.19

W – Angie Smith, 6.841, 198.90
L – Eddie Krawiec, 6.815, 198.50

W – Steve Johnson, 6.867, 195.05
L – Jerry Savoie, 6.892, 194.13

W – Joey Gladstone, 6.815, 197.51
L – Matt Smith, 6.818, 199.61

SEMIFINALS

W – Angie Smith, .018, 6.849, 198.61
L – Steve Johnson, .013, 6.945, 194.69

W – Joey Gladstone, .041, 6.869, 196.90
L – Marc Ingwersen, .019, 6.927, 195.73

FINAL

W – Joey Gladstone, .012, 6.835, 196.93
RU – Angie Smith, Foul -.025, 6.867, 197.85

SATURDAY QUALIFYING

It was the Smith show again on Saturday in Pro Stock Motorcycle, with Matt Smith jumping past his wife, Angie, to take the No. 1 position with a run of 6.741 at 201.79 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. Angie finished second, giving the husband and wife duo the top two spots in the class for the second time this season. For Matt, who is the current points leader, it’s his third No. 1 spot this season and the 50th in his stellar career. He’ll open eliminations against Ryan Oehler, looking to build on his Indy victory and his points lead in the Countdown to the Championship, and win for the fourth time during the 2022 season.

“Angie had a great run yesterday. I just didn’t know if the conditions this morning would be good enough to overtake her, but they were and we did,” Smith said. “The MSR camp has picked up a bunch of bonus points. We just need to continue, put together a round at a time, and hopefully we can turn on four win lights and Angie can turn on three or four and we can meet in the final.

“There’s a lot of energy. Coming off the U.S. Nationals win, that’s huge. Come here and we’re No. 1 qualifier, she was No. 1 the first day and I was the second day. It’s just a lot of momentum for our team and this DENSO team is striving at the right time.”

Angie finished in the second spot in qualifying thanks to her 6.757 at 201.22 as she will try to win for the first time this season. Steve Johnson, the defending event champ, took the third spot with his 6.774 from Friday, and Angelle Sampey and Marc Ingwersen round out the top five in the class.

1. Matt Smith, EBR, 6.741, 201.79
2. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.757, 201.22
3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.774, 198.61
4. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.782, 201.07
5. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.785, 198.50
6. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.795, 197.31
7. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.797, 198.44
8. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.798, 199.14
9. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.806, 199.97
10. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.815, 198.15
11. Chris Bostick, Buell, 6.839, 197.25
12. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.848, 199.55
13. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.870, 194.86
14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.910, 194.74
15. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.919, 193.16
16. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 7.006, 190.78
Did Not Qualify:
17. Gaige Herrera, 7.225, 183.39

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

Starting the Countdown to the Championship from the seventh spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Angie Smith opened the playoffs on a strong note, going to No. 1 with a run of 6.757 at 201.22 on her Denso Auto Parts Suzuki. If it holds, Smith would gain her second No. 1 position this year and the third in her career. She’s also after her first victory of the 2022 season and getting it this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway to open the Countdown to the Championship would certainly count as perfect timing.

“To end up at No. 1, we’re pretty happy. It’s all about momentum and if you start on a high you can just go up from there,” Smith said. “I feel like we’re in a good spot, it’s just a matter of putting it all together. I have to treat this like it’s any other race. In the past, I’ve let racing in the Countdown get to me. There’s a lot of fast bikes and it’s one of the tightest fields we’ve ever had, but I have to be calm and focused. I think I’m more comfortable on the bike than I’ve ever been and I’m on the best bike I’ve ever had.”

Angie’s husband, Matt, who is also the points leader, grabbed the second spot on the strength of his 6.768 at 201.55. He’s coming off an impressive performance in Indy, where he got the win and jumped into the points lead. Defending event winner Steve Johnson is third with a pass of 6.774 at 198.06, while Angelle Sampey, who was the No. 1 qualifier last year in Reading, and Marc Ingwersen round out the top five.

1. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.757, 201.22
2. Matt Smith, EBR, 6.768, 201.55
3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.774, 198.06
4. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.782, 201.07
5. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.785, 198.50
6. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.800, 196.50
7. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.806, 199.97
8. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.812, 198.23
9. Chris Bostick, Buell, 6.839, 197.25
10. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.849, 197.97
11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.855, 197.16
12. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.870, 194.86
13. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.910, 194.74
14. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.919, 193.16
15. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 7.006, 190.78
16. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 11.850, 67.27
Not Qualified:
17. Eddie Krawiec, 14.668, 55.12

Top Fuel Motorcycle

Top Fuel Motorcycle returned to NHRA for another exhibition showcase at Maple Grove Raceway with Larry McBride and Dave Vantine.

Run 1 
David Vantine / .173 / 1.062 / 2.698 / 3.953 / 196.22 / 5.059 / 6.036 / 220.08
Larry McBride / .092 / 1.150 / 2.773 / 4.014 / 196.16 / 5.124 / 6.112 / 223.14

Run 2 
Larry McBride / .068 / 1.064 / 2.642 / 3.840 / 207.98 / 4.857 / 5.791 / 220.66
David Vantine / .115 / 1.051 / 2.640 / 3.867 / 201.64 / 4.918 / 5.859 / 228.00

Run 3 
Larry McBride / .093 / 1.058 / 2.633 / 3.844 / 206.01 / 4.871 / 5.799 / 225.56
David Vantine / .106 / 1.060 / 2.669 / 3.913 / 198.88 / 4.976 / 5.876 / 249.76

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ABOUT NHRA
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, SAM Tech.edu Factory Stock Showdown and Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Series. Twice a year, NHRA hosts a ‘race-within-a-race,’ during the JEGS Allstars and Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle specialty competitions. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. With over 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing-related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

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Camping World Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Lincolnshire, IL, (together with its subsidiaries) is America’s largest retailer of RVs and related products and services. Our vision is to build a long-term legacy business that makes RVing fun and easy, and our Camping World and Good Sam brands have been serving RV consumers since 1966. We strive to build long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders by combining a unique and comprehensive assortment of RV products and services with a national network of RV dealerships, service centers and customer support centers along with the industry’s most extensive online presence and a highly trained and knowledgeable team of associates serving our customers, the RV lifestyle, and the communities in which we operate. We also believe that our Good Sam organization and family of programs and services uniquely enables us to connect with our customers as stewards of the RV enthusiast community and the RV lifestyle. With over 185 locations in 40 states, Camping World, and sister company Gander RV, have grown to become prime destinations for everything RV. For more information, visit www.CampingWorld.com.