NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Winner Steve Johnson Rankles Female Racers

Steve Johnson, the Pro Stock Motorcycle winner at zMAX Dragway in Sunday’s Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Concord, N.C., said earlier in the week that in his class, “our rivalries are real.”

They became deeper in the past few days. He proudly said that since his victory a week ago at Houston, “I’ve been stirring up some crap” in online interviews. And he continued during pre-race ceremonies Sunday, getting himself in some more trouble with his female competitors even before racing began.

First, he annoyed Angie Smith, whose husband Johnson takes every opportunity to aggravate. Johnson still is rankled by five-time champion Matt Smith’s categorization last year of some racers as “professionals” and some as “hobbyists.” Johnson said in a mid-week interview that Matt Smith “doesn’t do anything” to win, that his success comes from his crew. Furthermore, Johnson said he’s glad Matt Smith voices his opinions, even though “they may be always wrong—and Angie sleeps with him at night. But I got the Houston trophy!”

Angie Smith told him, “You shouldn’t talk smack about the girls, because it’s always about equal opportunity. So you know what? We’re going to load you up.”