Bristol: Team Koretsky eliminations summary

Team Koretsky - KPK Motorsports: Kenny Koretsky -- Owner
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Pro Mod Valspar Refinish/Bucks County Kawasaki/KPK Motorsports Dodge Viper
Driver: Rickie Smith

NHRA Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol Dragway

Eliminations: Rickie Smith
Qualified No. 6: 6.290 seconds at 222.62 mph
Round #1: Smith (6.398/220.62) def. Chip King (6.549/216.72)
Round #2 (Semifinals): Smith (6.316/222.66) def. Shannon Jenkins (6.367/212.66)
Round #3 (Finals): Smith vs. Thomas Patterson (POSTPONED)

Smith to final round; Finals postponed

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Rickie Smith, from King, N.C., driver of the Valspar Refinish/Bucks County Kawasaki/KPK Motorsports Pro Mod Dodge Viper, squared off today against Chip King, from Roxboro, N.C., in the opening round of the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge at the NHRA Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in the Tri-Cities area (Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City) of northeast Tennessee.

King took a huge starting line advantage over Smith leaving .024 seconds in front. Smith relied on the power of his Valspar Refinish/Bucks County Kawasaki/KPK Motorsports Pro Mod Dodge Viper and overtook King on the top end of the track, winning by .127 seconds.

In the semifinals, Smith once again used his top end power to turn back Shannon Jenkins, from Tuscaloosa, Ala. So it was on to the finals against Thomas Patterson, the #1 qualifier, from Houston.

But the finals were not to be. Rains interrupted the final round several times and NHRA race officials decided to end this event. The AMS Staff Leasing Pro Mod Challenge final was to have featured Rickie Smith's nitrous-injected Valspar Refinish/Bucks County Kawasaki/KPK Motorsports Viper against Thomas Patterson's blown '63 Corvette. That final round has been postponed to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, Georgia, next weekend.

It's back-to-back weekends for the NHRA POWERade® Drag Racing Series. The next event for Rickie Smith and his Team Koretsky Pro Mod Dodge Viper will be the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals presented by Pontiac at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga., about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. The event is scheduled for May 2-5, with professional qualifying starting on Friday, May 3.

-tk-