Veteran racer Rickie Smith pushes past Pro Mods at NHRA St. Louis….
Rickie Smith finished up an impressive weekend by winning at the AAA Midwest Nationals event held at World Wide Technology Raceway. It wa his first victory of the season in E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service action and came when he beat points leader Stevie “Fast” Jackson in the final round.
The series was presented by the Real Pro Mod Association (RPM) in St. Louis and marked the 10th of 12 races in 2019.
Smith, a three-time world champion in the class, was on top in his nitrous-powered Bahrain1 Racing Camaro all weekend, qualifying No. 1 for the second straight race and going 5.768-seconds at 252.19 mph to beat Jackson in the final round. It also is Smith’s class-best 15th career victory.

Driving his nitrous injected Camaro – Rickie Smith earned his 15th career win in NHRA’s E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod series – last weekend.
“It’s pretty awesome, at my age, to be fighting like this with these young cats,” Smith said. “I saw Stevie run a 5.77 and thought there’s no way I can run that, and then I run 5.76. Then he runs a 5.74 and I run a 5.72, so it was pretty exciting this weekend. I’ve got three awesome kids and wife that stand behind me.”
Smith, who qualified No. 1 with a 5.724 at 252.43, beat Alex Laughlin, Michael Biehle and Mike Castellana, who beat Smith in the Indy finals, to reach the championship round.
Jackson, also racing a Bahrain1 Racing team car, was the defending event winner and qualified second this weekend, advanced to his fifth final round in 2019 and 12th in his career thanks to wins against Carl Stevens Jr., defending world champ Mike Janis and Todd Tutterow. He also stretched his commanding points lead to 156 points heading into the final two events of the 2019 season.

Steve “Fast” Jackson increased his already significant points lead with a runner-up placing at St. Louis.
The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service continues at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte (Oct. 11-13th) and then conclude it’s 2019 season during the NHRA Dodge Nationals at Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 3).
Posted by NHRA Communications
Photos by Bruce Biegler