Rockingham Von Smith; showing sharp teeth

ROCKINGHAM, NC - Defending IHRA.com Pro Funny Car champion Von Smith was showing plenty of sharp teeth during the running of the IHRA's Holley Spring Nationals at Rockingham Dragway, the second race on the 2000 schedule. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee "hot shoe" struggled a bit in the first round of qualifying, but rebounded with an effort of 6.015/234.21 to secure seventh spot.

Smith lined his 2000 Pontiac Firebird up against the legendary Bunny Burkett in round one of the eliminations, and took the win when Burkett left early and activated the foul light. On his side of the tree, Smith wasted a great .505 light, but ran it out the back door to post a solid lap of 5.899/239.53.

In the second round, Smith rolled to the line with second year competitor Rob Atchison. Both cars left the line virtually together, but Smith's horsepower ultimately made the difference, as he took the win over the young Canadian, 5.945/236.96 to 6.118/227.15.

In the semi-finals, the NitroFish machine was still on the hunt, blasting to another strong run of 5.885/239.74 to take out Billy Gibson's '95 Camaro and advance to the final. In the big dance, Smith faced Pennsylvanian Scott Weney, and although he ran the better number, he couldn't make up Weney's .045 starting line advantage.

The next event on the IHRA tour will take place June 2-4, at Grand Bend Motorplex for the Mopar Parts Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol.