By Briar Starr, NHRA Staff Writer
In this week’s The Wally Questions and Answers Series, Kickin’ The Tires caught up with current Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith. Smith is the driver of the Denso/Stockseth Racing Buell Bike for Matt Smith Racing and has competed in Pro Stock Motorcycles since 2004. Since making her debut at Gainesville in 2004, Smith achieved two No. 1 qualifiers and two career wins (2014 Epping against Matt Smith, 2020 Steve Johnson Las Vegas). The North Carolina native has gone on to earn three final-round appearances and obtained a career-best E.T. of 6.723 and a career-best mph speed of 203.06 mph.
Kickin’ The Tires:
You’ve competed in 206 Pro Stock Motorcycle races since making your debut back in Gainesville of 2004. Which season do you feel was your best and why?
Angie Smith:
“This season for sure,” Smith said about what her best season was. “I really felt like I had a handle on my bike and I’ve been riding really well. I think this one has been the best season to date.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
Ever since the Countdown was installed in 2007, you’ve made the Countdown five times. You have 24 races in the Countdown. What do you feel like was your best race in the Countdown that you thought you could’ve gone more rounds with?
Angie Smith:
“Last year, I went to a couple of semi-finals and I think when you miss a clutch call, tune-up call or not a great light, those are the races you wish you could go back and redo,” she said. “In the Countdown, you can’t have those mistakes, you have to be perfect. Now is the time to perform, you have to train to be perfect.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
At some point during a driver’s career, they have experience a scary moment. In your career, what’s a scary moment that you’ve experienced while competing and hope to never experience again?
Angie Smith:
“I lost all my brakes back in Norwalk 2013 and I went through the sand traps, and through the corn field, so I had to bail off my bike,” Smith said. “That’s one where I’ve lived it and done it, and don’t want to live it again.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
How do you brace yourself for impact when something like that happens?
Angie Smith:
“Things like happening (brakes failing or whatever it maybe) and racing are taking a risk anyway,” the 43-year-old said. “You have to make a lot of decisions quickly and when you train for things like that, I have been racing since I was 19 years old, and past experience kind of gets you ready for incidents like that.
I did get hurt a little bit and when I didn’t have any brakes, I knew I had to scrub off as much speed as I could before I jumped off. I think your conscious takes over and you have to make a decision quickly, and it’s just based on the preparations you did in the past.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
Most drivers have their “Welcome to NHRA moment.” For you, when did you have that moment and how did you take that learning moment to apply it later in your career?
Angie Smith:
“Just when I started going rounds and winning rounds, that was kind of my welcome moment and you’re here you want to do this,” Smith said. “You have to be the best you can to do this. There wasn’t one particular moment, it was just basically when I started going rounds.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
If your driving career was over tomorrow, but you had the option to stay in the sport whether it’s a crew chief, marketing, or specialist, what would your other career choice be if you weren’t racing Pro Stock Motorcycle?
Angie Smith:
“If I had a choice, I think I would do social media or management of a team,” the Winston-Salem, North Carolina native said. “I feel like I manage this team really well and we have more motorcycles at times. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that people don’t get to see on television and I do a lot of that stuff.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
Sometimes people get mistaken for other people and that happens in racing a lot. Have you ever been mistaken for someone and if so, who?
Angie Smith:
“I’ve been mistaken for Karen (Stoffer, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider), Angelle (Sampey, Pro Stock Motorcycle rider),” she said. “It’s just one of those things with a female on a bike, fans get us confused a lot. Both Angelle and I are very similar in names, so we get called both of that.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
If time travel was available and you could go back in time, which season would you like to relieve and why?
Angie Smith:
“I don’t know if I want to go back and relieve any of them,” Smith jokingly said. “Some of them (seasons) were pretty bad and some of them were okay. I would probably say this one. We had a couple of hiccups this year with part failures and I feel like I could’ve been higher up in the Countdown. However, things reset and it’s a new start.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
In 2021 at Sonoma, you were able to obtain your first No. 1 qualifier of your career. How special was that to you to get your first No. 1 qualifier after being involved in the sport since 2004?
Angie Smith:
“Sonoma is one of my favorite race tracks on the circuit and I qualified number one,” Smith said. “It’s a remarkable feeling. To be honest, I have never focused on No. 1 qualifiers because it feels like a target on your back. However, when you get one, you want more. Before then, race wins and round wins were important to me, but now No. 1 qualifiers are cool too.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
I am sure there are many achievements you would like to cross off the list before you retire, however, what would you like to cross off the list before you’re done with racing?
Angie Smith:
“The ultimate goal is to win the championship,” the two-time race winner said. “(Championships) are hard to come by, so that would be one of them. The other would be winning Indianapolis. Those are two things that drivers want to achieve.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
Favorite race you will always remember well after you retire?
Angie Smith:
“The coolest race that I will always remember is the COIVD year and I beat Steve Johnson (Las Vegas),” Smith said. “That moment was epic because it kind of gave momentum and it gave us stuff to talk about. Matt (Smith, Angie’s husband, and four-time champion) won the championship and I won the race. You can get any better than that.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
What’s been the weirdest thing that’s happened to you during a race or preparing for a race?
Angie Smith:
“It’s always a task getting to the track because there’s always dumb stuff that can happen to the truck,” she said. “I think getting to the track 70% of the time is quite the battle.”
Kickin’ The Tires:
If there was ever a movie made about your career, what would the title of your movie be called and who would play Angie Smith?
Angie Smith:
“I think I would actually like to play myself because nobody could play better than me,” the 43-year-old said. “I’m not really sure what the title would be, as my life has been really, really crazy and has pulled me in different directions.”
At the time of this writing, Smith has competed in 206 Pro Stock Motorcycle races, two race wins, one runner-up finish, 19 semi-final appearances, 54 quarter-final appearances, and 108 first-round appearances thus totaling a career win-loss record of 103-182. This season, Smith has a win-loss record of 13-10. She enters the Countdown to the Championship, seventh in the standings just 60 points back from first.
Fans of Angie Smith can “follow” her on Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, you can “like” her on Facebook.