Angie Smith bails out going 188 mph

Last Saturday, Angie Smith, a native of Winston-Salem, NC, arrived at the Summit Motorsports Park at Norwalk, Ohio, looking to put her Buell into the field, as in, qualifying for the race on Sunday. Together with her husband, Matt Smith, they race 320 bhp Buells in the Pro Stock Motorcycle category of NHRA.

As she prepared to make her qualifying run, Matt looked on as he was next in line to qualify his Buell. What happened next must have sent a chill up his spine.

Angie was attempting to go quicker this time around, and after running a 7.102 in hot conditions she had done just that. This was her best qualifying pass, however, her ride did not end there.

Take a look at the video below to see what happened next:



As she gently started to apply the brakes (Pro Bike's only use front brakes) she realized that she was not slowing down. Her brakes had failed and she was speeding down the shut down area at some 188 mph.
She tried to slow down by dragging her feet but that didn't help much. As she went through the sand trap and through a grassy area she could see the corn field ahead. It is at this time that she decided the best recourse was to bail from the bike before the corn field. Luckily she was unhurt.

Her husband Matt was pulled violently out of his pre-race concentration when the big screen showed Angie in trouble. He was ready to get on a scooter to get to Angie down the track, but his father held him back and after a little while news arrived that Angie was unhurt. Remarkably, Matt jumped on his Buell and made a great pass to get into the race as well. What a roller-coaster ride for both Angie and Matt.

Angie in her own words:
"I was coming out of the burn out and my front brakes was getting a little washy. When you're holding the front brake and doing your burnout, the lever comes in a little more and sometimes they do that when you're in hot [weatherwise] conditions so I didn't think anything about it.... I am okay. I'm just a little sore, but it was a wild ride. I thought I was in motocross."

Pro Stock Motorcycle riders are in afield of their own. For more information about the Smith's, Please click here.

Thanks for reading

Source: Competition Plus
Photo source: Dragbikelive