NHRA Norwalk Pro Mod Report

Rickie Smith won his second straight race in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Series, took over the points lead, and shared a special moment with his son and Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor Matt Smith at the seventh annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the sixth of 10 races in 2013 for NHRA’s popular 250-mph doorslammer touring series.

Rickie Smith stayed red-hot in his nitrous-injected IDG Chevy Camaro, beating Mike Castellana and his nitrous-injected Al-Anabi Racing Camaro in the final with a time of 6.103 seconds at 240.77 mph. Castellana finished with a 6.159 at 238.60.

Wily veteran racer Rickie Smith won at NHRA Norwalk for the 2nd year in a row.

Rickie Smith then shared the winner’s circle with his son Matt, as he won for the first time in 34 races in Pro Stock Motorcycle. It also marked the first time they have ever won an event together.

“It’s been a heck of a day and we worked pretty frantic the entire time,” said Rickie Smith, who was also the No. 1 qualifier. “I figured both of us may shake in the final and these cars are a handful, but once I got to around 1,000 feet I felt pretty good. When I didn’t see him, I wasn’t going to lift.

“I’m fortunate to have been blessed during my career. It’s hard to pull these wins off at the same time, and it’s just a major accomplishment to do this with my son.”

The second straight victory also sent Smith into the points lead as he jumped defending world champion Troy Coughlin, who lost in the first round in his JEGS.com Chevy Corvette.

Troy Coughlin was a surprise 1st round loser and with that surrendered the series overall points lead/

The King, N.C. native’s road to victory started with a 6.010 at 239.40 in a first-round win against Chris Juliano. He followed that up by going 5.924 at 243.85 against Danny Rowe and advanced to the final round by powering past Von Smith with a 5.933 at 242.80.

Canada’s Eric Latino entered his 2nd career NHRA nationals & bounced back from his crash in the Spring

The next NHRA Pro Mod Series race takes place on Aug. 28-Sept. 2 at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Photos by Steve Embling and Brennan Shortall