Renowned NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Rider Angie Smith Is Back in Action Despite His Odds of Recovery
Smith returned to action in Las Vegas, still awaiting healing from a skin graft, eight fractured toes, and two surgeries on his arm.Veteran Angie Smith isn't letting a serious spill from her bike at the St. Louis race stop her.
Smith could attend the season-ending event in Pomona, California. NRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer
Angie Smith, 44, is accustomed to racing down the quarter-mile at nearly 204
mph, so she wasn't going to stay at home in King, North Carolina, and wait for
her eight broken toes and twice-operated arm to heal slowly.
She was also determined not to be a victim or martyr by staying home and watching the NHRA
Camping World Drag Racing Series make its penultimate appearance of the season
(the fifth of six Countdown to the Championship events) at the Strip Art Las
Vegas Motor Speedway. Her motorcycle collapsed on her. It pained her. She was
seen by a physician. She was also getting ready, both mentally and physically,
to race once more. That concluded things."Sympathy is not my thing. I
don't think I need or provide a lot of sympathy. I probably don't. I'm not
flimsy. Thus,
she was limited to one choice about her Halloween weekend activities. She was
going to get back on her Denso-sponsored Buell, pick up some Countdown points,
and guarantee herself a spot in the 16-bike field for the NHRA Nevada Nationals
eliminations this Sunday.Smith skipped qualifying on Friday but made her race
debut on Saturday afternoon at the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology
Raceway, which is close to St. Louis, following her horrific accident on
September 30. Smith put on her riding leathers and rode her motorcycle for a
12.232-second lap around the quarter-mile dragstrip in Las Vegas. She wasn't
healed yet, but she could walk with pressure on her heels inside two boot
casts. Smith was fifth in the Pro Stock Motorcycle rankings when she got hurt.
She dropped to sixth after being unable to complete the St. Louis race and
failing to begin or even show up for the Dallas event. She gained points and a
spot in the Nevada Nationals field on Saturday by coasting down the track.Smith
received permission to compete late on Friday morning from NHRA medical
director Dr. Phillip Surface. "I'm recovering really nicely. It's been
nine days since my skin graft, and everything is healing according to schedule.
Additionally, I received approval from my orthopedic and plastic surgeon, who
also happens to be a trauma orthopedic surgeon. Thus, three individuals cleared
me," Smith remarked. It wasn't an overt declaration."I can clearly
see my growth and everything that's happening, which undoubtedly surprised everyone.
I have some medical background, but I am aware of my limitations
Smith explained that part of the reason for her acceleration was that "I just followed the
doctor's instructions when I was supposed to stay in bed with my feet
elevated." Though I didn't attend, I really wanted to see Dallas. She was
urged to "stay home and rest and recuperate" by her spouse, six-time
and current Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith.