Family Keeps Smith Focused in Pro Nitrous

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Performing in adverse conditions has seemed to bring the best out in Pro Nitrous driver Rickie Smith.None of those adverse conditions, however, had anything to do with track temperature or car set-up.Even while dealing with his father’s illness, Smith managed to win two ADRL races in Texas in late July, dedicating both victories to his father who traveled with him through many of his racing triumphs in the 70s and 80s.Less than two weeks later, Smith raced while overcoming the sudden passing of his father, who died the day before the Hardee’s Independence Drags were completed in St. Louis.Smith somehow kept it all together, picking up yet another emotional win.Like he did in Houston, Smith looked to his father for motivation and inspiration, getting a hole-shot win in the finals against Jim Halsey, going a 3.89 to continue his incredible run.In an emotional scene in the winner’s circle, Smith (pictured) was gracious for the support from his family.“It’s been tough because my dad has always supported me,” Smith said. “I’m just so thankful to win these. To win those at Houston and this one, it’s been all about family.” Smith cut a .035 light to win by .007 of a second against Halsey in the finals, showing razor-sharp focus despite all that was going on in his life away from the track.His resolve was apparent in his consistency on that Friday as well. His ‘68 Camaro never went slower than a 3.94, and he went 3.91 to beat Dan Stevenson in the semifinals.“It’s pretty incredible, in this day and age, to make all these runs,” Smith said. “That’s pretty tough. We’ve won a lot of races, but to do it when these cars are going this fast, it’s fooling me. The car is working really good.”Smith still believed that a day later when he couldn’t make it four straight wins after a stunning first-round upset at the hands of Doug Reisterer, who went 3.96 in the win at Gateway International Raceway.Smith took the blame for his surprising first-round exit and made no excuses with what happened. “It’s nobody’s fault but my own,” Smith said. “I kept going left in the left-hand lane and everybody in the right-hand lane kept going right.“I made some adjustments for the car to go right, but I wasn’t expecting to go that hard right. I just made the wrong adjustments.”It prevented him from two straight double-win weekends, but it hardly put a damper on what the last three wins have meant.To add to it, Smith remains in a comfortable lead atop PN thanks to his recent hot streak, all of which was made even more memorable considering the circumstances.“We’re running real good,” Smith said. “I think we’ve made 17 of 20 runs in a row. We’ll be fine.”Smith’s 500-plus point lead gives him plenty of security heading into the two races in September, but he also doesn’t want to lose that consistency heading into the LenMar Motorsports World Finals VI in October.After a litany of engine troubles early in the year, those difficulties seem to be behind Smith, who is focused in on the final three races.“If we do our deal, we’ll be leading heading into Dallas. With the way we started this year, I’m happy with that,” Smith said. “We knew what wrong earlier this year, it was just getting it fixed.”(Photos by ADRL/Richards)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ADRLNews/~4/dpqKUW4NgBI

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