Sunday Eliminations 


Eric Latino (near lane) got the first-round win over Todd Tutterow, but lost to Troy Coughlin in the second round. Coughlin ran 5.898/249.30 to Latino’s 5.899/243.81.


Smith (far lane) clinched his second straight championship with a second round win over Richard Snavely’s '69 Camaro, which had set Top Speed of the event with a 253.09 charge in qualifying. Smith recorded a 5.886/243.15 that easily covered Snavely’s game 5.941/250.97 effort.

Smith went on to beat 2012 Pro Mod world champ Troy Coughlin in the semifinals with a 5.945/242.54 when Coughlin’s turbocharged Vette slowed to a 6.116 at 241.28. Coughlin, driver of the JEGS turbocharged Corvette, finishes second in the points for the second consecutive year. He picked up victories at Norwalk and the NHRA Carolina Nationals, giving him six career wins.

“I’m competitive and I feel I can drive these cars as good as anybody,” Smith, a native of King, NC, said after the race. “I handle it in bad situations. Like I told my crew chief, it isn’t all about cutting lights. You’ve got to know where you want to stage up there. You got to know when it shakes, when to pedal. That’s where I have won these two championships, being able to drive the car when the car isn’t acting right.”

2014 POINT STANDINGS
1. Rickie Smith, 753
2. Troy Coughlin, 634
3. Von Smith, 615
4. Mike Janis, 569
5. Danny Rowe, 530
6. Steve Matusek, 526
7. Kevin Fiscus, 486
8. Pete Farber, 483
9. Mike Castellana, 444
10.Mike Knowles, 385