Team Disappointed by Second Round Loss
Richmond, VA - May
30, 2004 - After taking the pole position in
qualifying and a successful first round win over defending
champion Mitch Stott, Von Smith found himself opposing
Steve Vick in his Nitrous assisted '68 Camaro during the
second round of eliminations. Vick took the win over Smith
using a controversial staging procedure which the nitrous
assisted competitors have been known to use against their
supercharged counterparts. This procedure begins by
the nitrous car letting the supercharged car sit in the
stage beams at high engine speed for as long as possible
to overheat the clutch of the supercharged competitor and
drastically alter the setup. As so often happens,
Smith's Mustang quickly smoked the tires and Vick went on
to a 6.47 second advancement to the next round.
The team next prepares
for the first international race of the season with a trip
to Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada June 11 - 13.
Track Records Fall in Final Qualifying Round
Richmond, VA - May
29, 2004 - The final Pro Modified qualifying round
held at dusk on the cool Saturday night saw several
contenders improving their elapsed times into the 6.20's
zone. Number two qualifier Harold Martin maintained
his status with a great 6.234 pass. Four other
competitors improved their performance bettering Smith's
6.26 pass and bumping him to the #6 position prior to his
final run. Then it happened... under favorable
conditions and a capacity crowd, the last Pro Modified
qualifying pair featured Shannon Jenkins alongside Von
Smith who was staged in the right lane. As the green
lights lit the darkened track both drivers launched with
Jenkins finding himself into early tireshake. A wisp
of tire smoke around the sixty foot mark cleared up and
set the tone for the numbers about to appear on the finish
line boards... 6.179 - 230.80 miles per
hour... a new Virginia Motorsports Park Pro Modified
record.
Final eliminations
begin at 11:00am (EST) and will pair Von Smith with number
16 qualifier and reigning 2003 IHRA Pro Modified Champion
Mitch Stott.
Von Smith
Sets The Bar In First Round Qualifying
