“Tricky” Rickie Smith roasts the slicks in his nitrous-fed, Musi-powered Parkway Ford ’22 Mustang in the final Pro Modified qualifying session at the NHRA Carolina Nationals.
[Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #191, the 30 Under 30 Issue, in November / December of 2024.]
Smith, who hails from King, North Carolina, qualified third in the 25-car qualifying order on the strength of a 5.735-second pass at 254.14 MPH, which stood for top speed of the event. He suffered an upset first-round loss to rookie Travis “The Carolina Kid” Harvey, who went on to win the event in his NHRA Pro Mod debut. Earlier in the year, Smith entered Comp Eliminator at the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway because Pro Mod wasn’t contested. He qualified No. 1, setting the quickest E.T. in class history, and went on to win the event, proving an old dog can learn new tricks.
Photograph by Rick Belden
zMAX Dragway
Concord, North Carolina
Saturday, September 21st, 2024
This story was originally published on January 9, 2025. 
