Legendary multi-time NHRA Pro Mod champ Rickie Smith picked up yet another victory in the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+ on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Parks, defeating Kris Thorne in the final round as part of this weekend’s PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.
It was the six of 10 races during the 2024 season and the final race in the regular season in the category. This weekend’s event was also powered by DPFXFIT by GESi.
Smith went 5.702-seconds at 253.37 in his nitrous-powered Ford Mustang, taking down Thorne’s 5.714 at 252.43 with the quickest run of the weekend. It is Smith’s first victory since Brainerd in 2022 and gives the multi-time champ his 18th career NHRA Pro Mod win.
“I never thought I’d win another race at 70 years old,” Smith said. “I’m just so proud of the people who are behind me. I wouldn’t have even made it the last three years without them. It’s awesome. I don’t even know what to say. I’m usually crying and overly excited, but I don’t even know if it’s hit me. Out of all the races I’ve won, I don’t know how I pulled this one off. We weren’t even qualified until the last run.”
To reach the final round, Smith defeated Lyle Barnett, J.R. Gray and Jason Scruggs, taking down Thorne with an impressive run.
Thorne moved into the points lead by advancing to his third final round this season and the 11th in his career, taking down Khalid AlBalooshi, Justin Bond and Kevin Rivenbark.
The Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+ opens its four-race Road to the Championship playoffs at the prestigious 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
This story was originally published on June 24, 2024. 
