22nd annual NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
October 28-30, 2022
NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
Hector Arana Jr. has now won eight straight rounds and picked up his second straight Pro Stock Motorcycle victory, knocking off points leader Matt Smith on a holeshot in the final round on his GETTRX Buell. Arana went 6.866 at 196.42 in the final round, using a .009 reaction time to hold off Smith and his run of 6.862 at 198.47. It hands Arana his 17th career win and his third in Las Vegas, and the standout did it after qualifying No. 15. He knocked off Angelle Sampey, Eddie Krawiec and Angie Smith to reach the final round, ending his day with three holeshot victories and plenty of momentum to take into the off-season.
“It was a fight just to get here,” Arana Jr. said. “Dallas was supposed to be our last race. Honestly, we weren’t prepared. We had to go home and rebuild engines after Dallas. I struggled a little in qualifying, but we had a back-up plan for race day. I did win a couple of races on holeshots, but you’ve got to have the pace to get there, and we had that. I have a lot of confidence right now. I can’t wait to go to Pomona and keep going. We found our groove pretty quickly. Now, our mission is to get the funding we need to come back next year.”
Smith reached the final round for the 71st time in his career and the sixth time in 2022 thanks to round wins against Katie Justice, Chip Ellis, and Jerry Savoie. Smith also built his points lead and now has a 104-point advantage over Joey Gladstone heading to the finale.
In the Legends Nitro Funny Cars presented by Red Line Oil category, Bobby Cottrell defeated Billy Morris in the final round with his run of 4.742 at 238.55.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its 2022 season with the 57th Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona on Nov. 10-13.
ELIMINATIONS
ROUND ONE
W – Chip Ellis, 6.915, 195.28
L – Marc Ingwersen, 7.793, 124.11
W – Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.892, 195.03
L – Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 7.250, 158.82
W – Angie Smith, 6.907, 195.82
L – Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.990, 191.21
W – Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.918, 194.52
L – Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.987, 192.91
W – Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.881, 195.59
L – Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.974, 189.87
W – Ryan Oehler, 6.971, 192.74
L – Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.928, 192.88
W – Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.905, 195.85
L – Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light
W – Matt Smith, Buell, 6.872, 197.77
L – Katie Justice, Suzuki, 7.032, 190.92
QUARTERFINALS
W – Angie Smith, 6.910, 195.19
L – Joey Gladstone, 6.928, 194.02
W – Hector Arana Jr, 6.884, 195.99
L – Eddie Krawiec, 6.904, 194.77
W – Jerry Savoie, 6.908, 194.69
L – Ryan Oehler, 7.060, 190.43
W – Matt Smith, 6.870, 198.73
L – Chip Ellis, 6.931, 194.69;
SEMIFINALS
W – Hector Arana Jr, 6.908, 196.22
L – Angie Smith, 6.900, 195.17
W – Matt Smith, 6.867, 198.15
L – Jerry Savoie, 6.912, 194.44
FINAL
W – Hector Arana Jr, 6.866, 196.42
RU – Matt Smith, 6.862, 198.47
POINTS STANDINGS
01 Matt Smith 2484
02 Joey Gladstone 2380
03 Jerry Savoie 2348
04 Angie Smith 2336
05 Steve Johnson 2297
06 Eddie Krawiec 2291
07 Angelle Sampey 2259
08 Marc Ingwersen 2204
09 Ryan Oehler 2180
10 Karen Stoffer 2172
SATURDAY
Matt Smith made another strong statement on Saturday in Pro Stock Motorcycle, improving from Friday’s provisional No. 1 and taking the top qualifier – while also breaking both ends of the track record – by going 6.785 at 202.27 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell. It gives the points leader his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the year and 52nd in his career, and he’ll open raceday against Katie Justice. His points lead now stands at 64 over Joey Gladstone and Smith, who is aiming for a sixth world title, knows he can stretch that even more if he has a favorable day on Sunday.
“We were quickest in Q2, Q3, and Q4. I’ve got a shot at a sixth title, but we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Smith said. “If I just do my job, I know we’ll be just fine. (But) we all know how quickly things can change here. There are still a lot of really good bikes out here. There are seven or eight good bikes out here that can win the race. We got lucky and went to No. 1, but that doesn’t mean too much tomorrow. We still need to turn on four win lights.”
Angelle Sampey took the second spot after her run of 6.807 at 198.64 on Friday, while Angie Smith improved to third thanks to her 6.816 at 200.77.
1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.785, 202.27
2. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.807, 198.64
3. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.816, 200.77
4. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.819, 196.73
5. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.829, 198.00
6. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.836, 197.48
7. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.846, 197.02
8. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.847, 196.39
9. Chip Ellis, EBR, 6.849, 197.68
10. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.890, 194.49
11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.902, 195.82
12. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.908, 193.49
13. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.929, 194.86
14. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.929, 194.86
15. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.937, 196.87
16. Katie Sullivan, Suzuki, 6.957, 193.5
Did Not Qualify:
17. Freddie Camarena, 6.973, 193.96
18. Kelly Clontz, 6.999, 193.57
19. Michael Phillips, 7.166, 189.10
20. Rick Newport, 11.553, 142.34
FRIDAY
Matt Smith continued his strong championship march, going to the No. 1 spot on his Denso Auto Parts Buell with a pass of 6.797 at 201.04. If it holds, it will give the points leader his fifth No. 1 spot in 2022 and 52nd in his career. More importantly, it puts Smith, who held a 51-point lead over Joey Gladstone entering the weekend, in position to continue his playoff momentum as he seeks a sixth world championship. He’s won twice in Las Vegas and a third victory would put him in an ideal position to clinch a world title in Pomona.
“This is a good start. We messed up in Q1 and blew the tire off it but we de-tuned it for Q2 and went to the top,” Smith said. “I’ve said this all along but to win a championship you’ve got to have no parts failures and not let anything stupid happen. It’s tough out here right now. Steve Johnson has a good bike. Jerry Savoie has a good bike, my wife (Angie) has a good bike and Joey definitely has a good bike.”
Angelle Sampey is currently second after going 6.807 at 198.64, with Steve Johnson in third after his pass of 6.832 at 195.19.
1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.797, 201.04
2. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 6.807, 198.64
3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.832, 195.19
4. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.844, 196.27
5. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.846, 199.02
6. Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.846, 197.02
7. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.855, 195.56
8. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.860, 194.97
9. Chip Ellis, EBR, 6.868, 196.67
10. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.915, 194.83
11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.929, 194.86
12. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.968, 191.87
13. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.989, 191.48
14. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki, 6.996, 193.13
15. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.998, 196.59
16. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.999, 193.46
Not Qualified:
17. Chris Bostick, 7.054, 194.07
18. Katie Sullivan, 7.067, 191.73
19. Rick Newport, broke
20. Michael Phillips, broke
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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.
