PRO NITROUS

Heading into the final PDRA event of the year, two-time defending NHRA Pro Mod champion Rickie Smith held a sizable points lead over Tommy Franklin, the lone Pro Nitrous competitor who could deny Smith his third major series title in three years. To win, though, Franklin needed to win the race and set a new ET record with his Pat Musi-powered '69 Camaro, while Smith would have to suffer an unlikely DNQ or at minimum, a rare first-round loss.

Remarkably, in Friday night's second qualifying session, Franklin ran an unprecedented 3.71-flat at 201.10 mph to secure the pole and establish the first leg of a new record. Then, during the third and final qualifying session on Saturday morning before eliminations began, Smith was bumped down the list of 16 qualifiers until sitting in the final qualified position, with plenty of capable cars behind him ready to oust him from the mix.

When his turn came to take the track, however, "Tricky Rickie" responded with a solid 3.76 at 199.29 mph that safely landed his own Musi-motored '69 Camaro in the seventh starting spot.

The unthinkable happened in round one of racing, though, when Pat Stoken strapped a .013 light on Smith, allowing his .029 holeshot to make the difference in a 3.77 win over Smith's quicker 3.74 effort.

Watching from the staging lanes, Franklin seized the opportunity and backed up his qualifying run within the required one percent for an official record with a 3.73 win over John Camp.

"There's not much to say; I cut my usual light, the same as I've been doing all year, and he (Stoken) took a chance and it paid off," a clearly discouraged Smith said later. "It's not over yet, though, it's just out of my hands now."

Jay Cox

Smith didn't have to wait long to learn his fate. In round two, Franklin left first on Jay Cox, but slowed to a 4.11 at 195.45 that was no match for Cox's 3.75 at 197.68 combo. "It just wasn't meant to be, I guess," said Franklin, who also finished second in the standings last year. "This class is getting so tough, so quick and fast. We almost had our first all-3.70s field here this weekend, the 16th-place car was a 3.80 with a two."