Pro Mod icon ‘ Tricky ’ Rickie Smith tries his hand at Top Fuel thanks to Scott Palmer By Kayla Zadel

The inception of the idea started last winter , prior to the World Series of Pro Mod , when Smith was helping Scott Palmer with the suspension on his ‘ 63 Corvette Pro Mod . As strange as that sounds , Palmer wanted to pull the front wheels up at the WSOPM to get some great photos .

“ I started helping Scott last winter when we got invited to go to the [ World Series of Pro Mod ] $ 100,000-to-win race ,” Smith shared . “ We ’ ve become friends , and then he asked me if I wanted to make a hit in the Top Fuel car . I thought , man , yeah , that ’ d be awesome because I ’ ve done a lot of stuff , drove a lot of cars , but I ’ ve never done that .”

Reciprocating the favor , Palmer offered Smith a chance to make a pass in one of his Top Fuel dragsters . Palmer is often referred to as the “ People ’ s Champion ” for a good reason . When he ’ s not making waves in the NHRA Camping World Series behind the wheel of his Top Fuel dragster , Palmer is renowned for his captivating drag racing entertainment , including the popular

Scott Palmer ’ s Nitro Side Show .

“ I felt like I wasted a week of Rickie ’ s life over the winter with him helping me ,” Palmer said . “ But in casual conversation , we ’ re talking , and he was like , ‘ Man , it ’ d be cool to see what that feels like in one of them nitro cars .’ I said , ‘ Well , you Pro Stock guys , y ’ all don ’ t even like nitro cars .’ He said , ‘ Let me tell you something , anybody who had the chance to stab the gas on one of them cars , they would jump at the chance no matter what they say about nitro cars . Everybody would like to see what that feels like .’ I said , ‘ Does that mean you would like to see what that feels like ?’”

The two developed a fast friendship and leaned on one another for their expertise in the world of drag racing . Then , Palmer began to put a plan in place for Smith to drive the dragster .

Palmer was confident that Smith would handle the 11,000 horsepower of the Top Fuel dragster with ease . “ He ’ s Rickie Smith ; nothing ’ s going to rattle him . I tell everyone there ’ s no way he ’ s going to hit the gas one time . He ’ s gonna get addicted ,” Palmer added . “ He ’ s a real racer . He ’ s the realest racer , probably , with a license right now . He is as hardcore as they come .”

The plan was for Smith to launch the dragster and drive it to about 300-400 feet . Palmer prepared Smith with the staging procedure prior to the run , and “ Tricky Rickie ” even took some

time to sit in the car and familiarize himself with the cockpit .

With a career marked by numerous victories , Smith is regarded as one of the most successful NHRA Pro Mod drivers . His test run in Palmer ’ s Top Fuel dragster brought a fresh wave of excitement as spectators watched him notch a 3.365-second eighth-mile elapsed time at a speed of 197.65 mph .

“ Like I said , that ’ s badass ,” Smith said at the top end right after making his pass . “ For everything to work in those things , sometimes the clutch doesn ’ t release right , and you can ’ t get it in and out of gear . Everything went smooth as hell .

“ If it had been daylight , I probably would ’ ve carried it to the eighth mile , but it was getting dark ,” continued Smith . “ What happened was I knew the car was trying to go a little left out there , but we didn ’ t get my chin strap tight enough , and when that clutch started coming in about 300 feet , it got my head against the roll cage . They said if it ever got your head against the roll cage , it ’ s like a paint shaker . Everything started doing that , and I couldn ’ t tell for sure – I knew I was going a little left , and I said , ‘ That ’ s it . That ’ s enough .’ But if I hadn ’ t got that head back against that roll cage , I probably would ’ ve run it right onto the eighth . That was awesome .”

After watching Smith take off in his machine , Palmer praised the legend ’ s preparedness and focus . “ Rickie did unbelievable . He ’ s a very serious racer . He wasn ’ t going to mess up . He also did his homework . He ’ s like a kid in school – he studies stuff . When we got here this weekend , he had been watching videos of us from a match race we did at Mo-Kan .”

“ I told ‘ em , I said I ’ m comfortable now . I ’ ll get in that [ car ] tomorrow and run it right to the finish line ,” said Smith . “ The intimidation ’ s over . I think I could do it .”

Not only did Palmer help make the pass a possibility for Smith , but he and Alex Laughlin offered a similar opportunity to adrenaline junkie Travis Pastrana while Laughlin was working with Palmer to fulfill his sponsorships .

“ Rickie did an unbelievable job ,” said Palmer . “ It ’ s one of the most impressive first runs I believe I ’ ve ever seen .” DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB SZELAG AND TARA BOWKER

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