Posted by: Matt and Angie Smith
Well guys and gals, we finally did it and, after the week I had prior to
Denver, man, did it feel good to win. Going from blowing a tire out coming home from Norwalk to avoiding a wreck on the highway, by having to go through the median at full speed and ripping the handlebars off the scooter in the hauler during the process, I seriously thought I would never make it to Denver.
Then when we got to Denver we struggled bad in qualifying. Last year we were here we had NO setup, nothing. I couldn’t get anyone to give me any info, so I had to resort to calling my dad, who was in North Carolina. He gave me advice on what to do over the phone and we ended up qualifying number one and winning the race, so I guess it worked out good.
We had a plan coming into Denver this year though. We had data and I was ready, however the bike just wasn’t. We actually didn’t even make a good pass until the fourth session, which put us in the third spot for Sunday, so things were looking up.
Sunday is always tough, especially at tracks were the rollout is different than normal. The rollout at Denver is short, so it makes it even easier for a bike to red light, so you want to be cautious, but it is so hard to be cautious because if you hesitate too long you will be late. It’s so hard!
Anyway, so we went in there first round and had Hector. He has been on a roll here lately and sometimes it is hard to break someone’s streak, but we did. Thank goodness. Then we had the teammates of Matt Guidera and Peggy Llewellyn second and third round. We managed to get by them, so here we were in the finals against Steve Johnson, who had been running well. I knew I had the better bike, but anything can happen in the finals, so I tried to double bulb him, but he beat me to it. I was .005 on the Tree, which is cutting it way too close, but we did it and held him off. It was awesome!
I feel like it has been forever, literally. We have been through so much and it feels great to win one. My little boy is traveling with me this summer, so to win one while he is here is pretty cool. I think he gets more excited than me. Heck, I know when I don’t run good he is always sure to let me know it, so I’m glad to win this one for him.
We are staying in Denver for the week to work on my new bike, so hopefully we can test it by Saturday. Unless it is unbelievable good, which it should be though, we will stick with the bike I have right now at Sonoma and try to make it two consecutive wins in back to back years.
See you all soon!