Courtesy of the NHRA

BAYTOWN, Texas – With visions of a fourth world championship in the talent-heavy E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service season, the 2018 season couldn’t have started any better for longtime standout Rickie Smith.

Rickie Smith. NHRA photo

The three-time world champion won the season-opening event in Gainesville, taking the early-season points lead in his nitrous-powered Bahrain 1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro. But with 11 races remaining and the class deeper than ever heading to Royal Purple Raceway as part of this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals, Smith knows there can’t be any let-up in his approach.

“The biggest thing in Gainesville was we made four good runs in a row (during eliminations),” said Smith, who has 12 career E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service wins. “We’ve been struggling with the automatic and we haven’t figured out how to be consistent. But we got lucky and ran our own pace in Gainesville. We don’t want to go to Houston and not qualify. That can happen real quick if you struggle on a couple of runs. You would hate to go and not qualify, so we’ve got to qualify decent and get ready to race on Sunday.”

Rickie Smith. NHRA photo

The race, which is presented by Tige Boats, is the second of 12 events during the 2018 E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service season and will be shown on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) and Fox Sports 2 (FS2). Steve Matusek is the defending Houston race winner.

Smith missed a handful of early-season races a year ago, eliminating any chance he had for a world title. He finished with a win in eight races on the season and a ninth-place point finish, but seems intent on improving on that in 2018. Even with decades of success and championships in multiple categories, Smith remains motivated for more wins and titles, in part because of the incredible competition he’s currently facing off with in the class.

“I’ve been saying it my whole life, but when you hate to lose as bad as I do, it makes you work harder,” Smith said. “This is what I love to do. The older I get, the harder it is to get yourself pumped up, but the big thing for me is just staying focused and doing my job. I like to be a robot in the car and there’s so many other things going on, that’s where I try to strive. I try to know what’s happening and really try to keep my focus right.”

It’s imperative in a loaded class that has 29 entrees this weekend at Royal Purple Raceway. The list includes 2017 race winners Mike Castellana and Stevie “Fast” Jackson, who each won two races and finished second and third, respectively, also Shane Molinari, and Sidnei Frigo. As well as other standouts like former NHRA Pro Mod world champion Khalid AlBalooshi, Todd Tutterow, class newcomer Chad Green, Jim Whiteley and two-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, who makes her class debut this weekend.

That level of competition brings out the best in Smith, who also gets a tremendous thrill in trying to tackle the massive challenge of driving a Pro Mod car that traveled the quarter-mile in 5.794 seconds at 249.76 mph in his final-round win over Mike Janis in Gainesville.

“This Pro Mod thing, it’s just a bad to the bone class,” Smith said. “These are mean-handling cars. They’re on the verge of what may look like nice runs and they are, but one little move out of the groove and you can be in trouble. They are definitely a challenge.”

Featuring the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer race cars, the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service offers something for every kind of hot-rodding enthusiast. The class is highlighted by historic muscle cars, like ’67 Mustangs, ’68 Firebirds and ’69 Camaros, as well as a variety of late model American muscle cars. With more than 3,000 horsepower, the suspended door pro mod cars travel the quarter-mile in less than six seconds at speeds exceeding 250 mph.

E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service qualifying begins Friday, April 20 with two qualifying session at 3:15 and 5:30 p.m., continuing with the final two qualifying session on Saturday, April 21 at 12:45 and 3:30 p.m. Round one of eliminations takes place on Sunday, April 22 at 12:15 p.m.

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call (281) 383-7223 or visit www.RaceRPR.com. Kids 12 and under are free in general admission areas with a paid adult. To honor the Salute to First Responders, military and first responders can save 20 percent on general admission tickets at the gate. For more information about the NHRA visit www.NHRA.com.

NHRA SPRINGNATIONALS

WHAT: 31st annual NHRA SpringNationals, the fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Drivers in three categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock – earn points leading to 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championships.  Competition also will be featured in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series and the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service.

WHERE: Royal Purple Raceway, Baytown, Texas. From Interstate 10 take the State Hwy. 99 (Grand Parkway) exit, which is exit 799. Take a right on State Hwy. 99 and go to the first exit (2 miles) which is FM 565. Take a right on FM 565 and Royal Purple Raceway will be on your right. For additional information about directions please visit www.racerpr.com.

WHEN: Friday through Sunday, April 20-22

SCHEDULE: 
FRIDAY, April 20 – LUCAS OIL SERIES qualifying 
NHRA J&A SERVICE PRO MOD SERIES qualifying at 4 and 6 p.m.
MELLO YELLO SERIES qualifying at 4:30 and 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, April 21 – LUCAS OIL SERIES eliminations 
NHRA J&A SERVICE PRO MOD SERIES qualifying at 3 p.m. Round 1 of eliminations at 5:30 p.m.
MELLO YELLO SERIES qualifying at 1:30 and 4 p.m.

SUNDAY, April 22 – Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m. 
MELLO YELLO SERIES eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

TELEVISION: 
Friday, April 20, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of qualifying at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
Saturday, April 21, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise two hours of live qualifying at 1 p.m. (ET).
Saturday, April 22, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise three hours of live finals coverage at 2 p.m. (ET).

2017 EVENT WINNERS:   
Leah Pritchett, Top Fuel; Ron Capps, Funny Car; Bo Butner, Pro Stock.

MOST WINS: 
John Force, 7, FC; Warren Johnson, 6, PS; Ron Capps, 5, FC; Jeg Coughlin, 4, PS; Tony Pedregon, 4, FC; Greg Anderson, 3, PS; Kenny Bernstein, 3, TF; Larry Dixon, 3, TF; Mike Edwards, 3, PS; Bob Glidden, 3, PS; Cruz Pedregon, 3, FC.

TRACK RECORDS: 
Top Fuel – 3.722 seconds by Clay Millican, April ‘17; 330.07 mph by Spencer Massey, April ’15.
 Funny Car – 3.851 seconds by Courtney Force, April ‘17; 331.77 mph by Force, April ’17.
 Pro Stock – 6.499 seconds by Jeg Coughlin, April ’17; 212.66 mph by Mike Edwards, April ’13.

NATIONAL RECORDS: 
Top Fuel – 3.628 sec. by Clay Millican, Feb. ’18, Pomona, Calif.; 336.57 mph by Tony Schumacher, Feb. ‘18, Phoenix
Funny Car – 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. ’17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif.
Pro Stock – 6.455 sec. by Jason Line, March ’15, Charlotte, N.C.;  215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14, Englishtown N.J.  

TICKETS: 
For tickets call (281) 383-RACE (7223). Tickets also available online at www.racerpr.com