Wed, 28 Apr 2010, 11:02 PM Mr. and Mrs. Smith

By Kelly Wade Photo copyright 2010 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Matt and Angie Smith

There isn't anything wrong with a little friendly competition between husband and wife, but newlyweds Matt and Angie Smith take it to a fairly intense level. Buell rider Matt, the 2007 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion backed this season by Al-Anabi Racing, and Angie, rider of the Karl Klement-owned Coffman Tank Trucks Buell, consider themselves teammates but are also competing against one another in all 17 events on the 2010 Full Throttle Series tour.

Three years ago, life seemed to be going pretty well for Matt; he put together a career season, winning four races in nine final rounds and scoring four starts from the No. 1 position, ultimately clinching his first world championship in the final round of the final event.

At the same time, though, life was tossing the rocketing rider a few curve balls. A dispute with then-teammate Chris Rivas caused an abrupt parting of ways after the third qualifying session at the NHRA Finals in Pomona, leaving Matt's second bike without a rider at the most pivotal event of his career. Matt had been working on teaming up in 2008 with Angie, a successful MIRock/Outlaw Pro Street rider with hearty experience aboard no-wheelie bar nitrous Suzukis, and circumstances were such (Matt had invited Angie to town to be his date at the NHRA awards ceremony) that she was available to take over the seat for the final qualifying session.

Though she hadn't made the field in NHRA competition since Gainesville in 2004, Angie spectacularly scored a start from the No. 13 position on raceday -- handily putting her up against No. 4 qualifier Matt in the first round. The prosperous pairing was a foretelling of a future that would grow to include their wedding in October of 2009, even if Angie didn't fully realize the path the two were on at the time.

Angie at the Finals '07.

"Matt and I met at the track in the early 2000s," said Angie. "We were big time rivals, and he'd always try to talk to me and be nice, but I didn't have too much to say to him because I always wanted to beat him."

The Southern spitfire was accustomed to cultivating a slight edge of defiance; raised at the circle track, her dream had been to become involved in racing, but her dad wouldn't hear of it. Against the wishes of her parents, Angie bought a motorcycle, learned how to ride, and took to the dragstrip. While racing Outlaw, she licensed in Pro Stock Motorcycle with the help of George Bryce, and after her 2004 debut in the class, she raced sporadically until 2008, when she and Matt became teammates and Angie competed in 13 events, finishing just outside of the top 10.

"That season was great," said Angie. "I went to back-to-back semifinals in Dallas and Memphis, and I took out Andrew Hines after a staging battle in Dallas. He red-lit, and it kind of knocked him out of contention for the championship. In a way, I was able to help Matt, even though he wasn't able to win the championship that year. He had a really good chance at it, and I felt good about that."

Angie was primed to continue aiding her teammate in the role of blocker and even more hungry simply to race, but funding would only allow her to compete in seven events in 2009. The North Carolina-based rider made the most of her shortened schedule and logged another set of semifinals finishes and qualified for every race. Meanwhile, Matt reset both ends of his career best times with a 6.865 pass in Houston and a 194.63 mph blast in Atlanta, raced to a start from the No. 1 position twice, recorded a final-round appearance, and finished in the top 10 for the fourth consecutive season. With no sign of slowing down in the near future, the newly married couple entered 2010 with two new programs and a very full collective calendar.

Matt Smith

As the newly appointed rider for Al-Anabi Racing, Matt was afforded the opportunity to reinstate his engine R&D program and continue the role of mentor to Angie, who secured a full time ride with Klement over the holidays, as well as add another couple of engine customers to the mix: 2009 rookie of the year contender Doug Horne and Lousiana rider Redell Harris. His role as mentor may be the most challenging, and Matt has been openly critical about Angie's riding, but it's a delicate balancing act when trying to impart knowledge to the person you are going home with at the end of the day.

"It's good and bad," said Angie. "There are times when he makes me so mad that I don't talk to him for hours, and there are times when he hurts my feelings. But in the end, it's good because it makes me a better rider. Matt knows that sometimes he has to make me mad. I put 100 percent into every run, but when I'm angry, I want to go out there and prove a point, and I'll put 150 percent into it.

"Matt is such a good rider. He notices things that the computer doesn't show, and he's trying to make me that rider, too. I'm not that rider yet, but he's teaching me to be more aware and give him feedback and be as thorough as possible. I want to be able to tell him everything about the run, and that has already started to come around. With me racing all 17 races this year, it's going to make me even better."

Matt understands his responsibility and the implications fully.

Angie Smith

"She does get mad sometimes," he agreed. "But when I don't criticize her, she seems to wander off the path a little bit, and she'll ask me why the bike isn't going fast. I just have to tell her that she isn't doing a good job riding, between tucking, shifting, and all the little things. Minute things add up to something big in the quarter mile, and that's what I've been critiquing her on and trying to help her ride better. I've been doing the same thing with Doug Horne, and I think they're both getting better at what they're doing.

"All of this is pretty fun, but it is a lot of pressure. Thankfully, my full-time guys here at the shop -- Robby East and Justin Beaver -- do an awesome job helping me get motors together and tear them apart. It's a big team effort, and having this much going on has kept my mind off of what everybody else is doing. Now I'm just focused on my bike, Angie's, and Doug's."

Angie and Doug struggled early this season with different ignition and fuel injection systems, but after Matt won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at his home track in Charlotte, he set up their two Buells to mimic his own, and in Houston, improvement was evident despite a string of bad luck that included a couple of blown motors for the boys and a fire on Angie's bike. According to the team, things are looking up on the dyno, and the trio are prepared to make things happen in St. Louis. Beyond that, Matt has a few goals in mind.

"I came into this season with the intention of winning at least one race, and I did that in the second race of the year," he said. "Winning the championship would be great, but I'd at least like to finish second or third this year. Eventually, I just want to crew chief and help somebody else win races and championships. That would be a great challenge, and that's why I have Angie and Doug both on board with me now. They're good riders, and I'd like to show that I'm for real, and that not only can I ride, but I can also tune a bike and help other people learn how to ride better."

Smith and team celebrate win.

The desire to help others extends beyond his inner circle; Matt and Al-Anabi Racing are in the process of building two ADRL bikes that they plan to debut later this year, with Matt riding one and an unnamed rider that Matt has been working with in Qatar for three years aboard the other.

"In 2011, the plan is to have him ride full time with ADRL, and I'll be full time with NHRA while also riding with him in ADRL," said Matt. "We have had so much support from (Sheikh Khalid Al Thani); he has done wonders for our sport. He loves drag racing, and he can only help our sport grow and become better."

Back on the homefront, Angie's focus is on growing her skillset under her husband's tutelage and enjoying his company.

"I would love to race for the next three or four years and finish in the top 10 every year, and of course I want to win a championship," said Angie. "I want Matt to win another championship, too. But we're taking baby steps right now, and that means that my goal this year is just to finish in the top 10.

"We're having a lot of fun together, and we spend a lot of time with each other. We're a team in every way, and we support each other. The only thing that hinders us is that sometimes we're so competitive that we get mad at each other, but at the end of the day, we get over it."

Matt countered, "The best part about riding together is bragging rights. Getting to come home and say, 'Well, I'm 2-1 against you now.' Both times I've run Angie in NHRA I've beat her, and she beat me when we raced AHDRA last year before we got married. We're always trying to out-do each other, but we're just having a good time racing, and it's a lot of fun."