MORRISON — Matt Smith was crowned the Mile-High Nationals’ pro stock motorcycle champion Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. Smith had the best time in the championship round at 7.326 seconds, with runner-up Steve Johnson timed at 7.340.
It was Smith’s second consecutive win at Bandimere Speedway.
“It’s a beautiful facility,” he said. “It’s hard to breathe up here and it was hot. We performed and we had a good bike, and I am glad to be coming out here with a win again.”
Smith moved up to second place in the point standings.
Troxel out early.
Colorado native Melanie Troxel took an early exit in the first round of the funny car eliminations to Gary Densham. Heading into the weekend, Troxel was sitting at No. 14 in the standings and hoping to move a step closer toward her goal of making the playoffs. The top 10 drivers qualify.
Troxel was clocked in 4.321 seconds. Densham’s time was 4.301. Densham lost in the second round against Jack Beckman.
Sidelined quickly.
Pro stock driver and Lakewood resident Vieri Gaines sits at No. 8 in the series standings after getting knocked out of the first round by Greg Anderson. Gaines’ time was 7.075, Anderson’s 7.020.
Secondary move.
Beckman, who finished runner-up in the funny car division, moved into the top 10 in the point standings.
Beckman competed against Tim Wilkerson in the championship round and had a time of 4.661. Wilkerson won with a 4.398 effort. Racing at Bandimere was reduced to 1,000 feet, but Beckman said it did not change the competition all that much.
Yvette Lanier, The Denver Post
