NHRA News: Von Smith begins quest for NHRA Pro Mod championship (3/16/2004)

Von Smith begins quest for NHRA Pro Mod championship

Contributed by Mickey Schultz
3/16/2004

"Anybody can win this year."
– Von Smith

In the final four events of the 2003 season, Von Smith was the hottest driver competing in the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge. This weekend, as the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge opens its exhibition season at the Mac Tools Gatornationals, the 40-year-old Smith hopes his fast finish to 2003 will be a springboard to big things in 2004.

Smith, who assumed the driving duties of the Lipar Racing Ford Mustang GT at the '03 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, went to the final round in all four events he raced, winning the final two – the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas and the AC Delco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals.

The Oak Ridge, Tenn., driver's performance in those four races earned him an eighth-place finish in the final 2003 Pro Mod Cup point standings. This despite the fact that he didn't earn any points at the Dallas event. Smith entered the event as an alternate and AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge rules stipulate that a driver who competes from an alternate position does not earn championship points.

Nevertheless, Smith accumulated enough points and showed enough potential in 2003 to make him a front-runner for the 2004 Pro Mod Cup.

Smith cut his racing teeth in Top Alcohol Funny Cars, mostly in IHRA competition. Between 1995 and 2000, Smith won three TAFC championships and finished runner-up twice, setting numerous records along the way. In 2001, he moved to TAFC on the NHRA circuit.

Von Smith's Lipar Racing Ford Mustang GT.

Here, in one of the toughest classes on the NHRA circuits, he also made his mark. In 2001, he finished No. 5 nationally and second in Division 2, which comprises Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico. In 2002, he moved up a notch nationally, to fourth, and won the Division 2 championship.

Returning to IHRA in 2003, he ran six of the 12 events on the TAFC circuit and finished No. 7 in points before assuming the driving duties of the Lipar Racing-owned 2003 Ford Mustang GT Pro Mod for the final four races of the 2003 NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge.

The change in mid-season didn't seem to hurt Smith from a driving standpoint.

"I believe a good driver is capable of driving any type of car," Smith said. "The first time I tested the Pro Mod, I was all over the track. I learned quickly that you couldn't drive the Pro Mod as aggressively as you can a Funny Car. Also, it took some adjustment to get use to where you drive the two cars from. In the Funny Car, I sat in the center of the car, but the Pro Mod is a left-side drive. Other than that, I feel I adapted rather well. The challenge made it easier for me.

"I attribute a great of my success to Howard. I can get out of the car and tell him what the car is doing or not doing. It's uncanny. We can look at each other after a pass and go, yep that's the move I'd make too. Howard and I gel very well."

Smith, Moon, and crew will vie for both the NHRA AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge championship, along with the IHRA Pro Mod championship in 2004. The team's past performance says don't sell them short but Smith says there will be plenty of competition to go around.

"There's enough good drivers and teams out there," Smith said. "The addition of Scotty (Cannon) changes the whole persona of the class. You can't mention Pro Modified without mentioning Scotty. Scotty will win on will alone. I'm looking for an extremely competitive season.

"On the nitrous side, you will see Rickie Smith and Shannon Jenkins step up. The supercharged cars will win on numbers alone. Mitch Stott and Fred Hahn will be tough. Quain Stott, Thomas Patterson, the names go on and on. Anybody can win this year. We should be in the hunt, whether we win it or not. If fate or luck or destiny is on our side, then we can win the whole thing."

Moon agrees, "Our outlook is very positive," he said. "I see some big things for this class over the next year. I feel the performance of a lot of teams will pick up as soon as the season starts. We plan to be ready when the first green light blinks. Our plans call for us to content for both championships."

Regarding running for the two championships, Smith adds, "The burden is not on me. I'm the lucky guy who gets to drive this Lipar Racing Mustang. The burden is on everybody else, mainly the crew and sponsors. My work schedule allows me to get away when I need to and be where I need to be. The pressure is usually on everybody else."

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