Matt Smith has proven he’s one of the best riders in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class as evident by his 2007 and 2013 world championships.

On Jan. 22, his Matt Smith Racing program received a key boost when he signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with Victory Motorcycles.

Matt Smith has proven he’s one of the best riders in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class as evident by his 2007 and 2013 world championships.

On Jan. 22, his Matt Smith Racing program received a key boost when he signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with Victory Motorcycles.

“This is huge to me,” said Smith, who has been competing in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class since 2003. “This is probably the biggest deal I’ve ever got in my life, not just one year, but I’ve never had a two-year deal ever, my whole career that I’ve been racing Pro Stock Motorcycles.”

Victory Motorcycles’ parent company is Polaris Industries. Victory Motorcycles was founded in 1997. Victory's motorcycles are designed to compete directly with Harley-Davidson and similar American-style motorcycle brands, with V-twin engines. Polaris is headquartered in Medina, Minn.

According to Smith, the two-year deal is to sponsor his Pro Stock Motorcycle and the one ridden by his wife, Angie Smith.

“We are going to be a factory team, and they are building bodies,” Smith said. “I flew back up (to Polaris headquarters, on Jan. 9), with NHRA, they were there and we went over the bike and made sure everything was fine for them to approve everything. I’m supposed to get my first body (for the bike) (Jan. 22). Then, we are going to take it to the wind tunnel Jan. 30 (in Mooresville,N.C.) and then we will go to Bradenton (Fla.) Feb. 15-16-17 and test it. Once we test it, we will do the final submission to NHRA and once that’s done I will take all the measurements and everything will have to be just like that.”

Smith said his team has worked out an agreement with Victory Motorcycles that MSR is going to help develop a new motor, probably midway through the 2015 season that will be used in 2016.

“Right now, we are going to run an S&S motor and we are just building body works on all the bikes for them,” Smith said. “The plan is to run one of Victory’s motors by 2016.”

Matt finished fourth in the point standings last season and Angie was ninth.

Smith’s first interaction with officials from Victory Motorcycles was Oct. 30-Nov. 2 at the NHRA national event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Smith said officials from Victory also met with riders from two other NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle teams in Vegas as well.

“I sat down with them 1-on-1 and talked with them,” Smith said. “A week and a half later, they flew back out to Pomona unexpectedly and came to see me and said they wanted me to represent their brand. Obviously they liked what they saw at Vegas and the way our program worked. From that point on we started working together to get this thing rolling. A key step was S&S had been talking to Victory and Polaris about them wanting to get involved with NHRA.”

Matt said Kandy Magazine will remain onboard Angie’s motorcycle as a major associate sponsor, and Matt said he also will likely have a major associate sponsor on his motorcycle.

Matt and Angie are the factory team for Victory Motorcycles and they will not have any teammates. Last season, in addition to Matt and Angie, John Hall and Scotty Pollacheck competed under the MSR umbrella.

“We are not going to lease motors to anybody,” Matt said. “I’m working a deal out now with Scotty Pollacheck and he and Bill Windham are buying a bike and two (Buell) motors. I look at it like this; we will be kind of like Vance & Hines. Vance & Hines doesn’t lease motors to anybody, but they do sell the Suzuki motors to everybody. That’s kind of what we are going to do, we are going to sell stuff, and we are making everybody who buys motors sign a contract that they can’t take them anywhere but our place for the next two years.”  

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