So much for a learning curve.

Will Smith and Dave Hirata teamed up and powered the Hirata Motorsports Top Alcohol Dragster to a solid performance at last weekend’s JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

Smith won first round on over Gary Cooper on a holeshot before having his race day end when he lost to world champion Joey Severance in round two. This was Smith’s competitive debut in the TAD class in an NHRA national event.

Smith clocked a 5.331-second time at 274.44 mph to edge Cooper’s quicker 5.326-second elapsed time. The difference was Smith’s .057 reaction time to Cooper’s .073 reaction time. Smith qualified with a 5.33-second pass at 280.37, the top speed of the event.

“That run felt great. I could tell when the ‘chutes hit that it was my best pass to date,” Smith said of his qualifying pass in a press release. “I knew the 5.33 may not hold for the No. 1 spot, but it was a great pass that kept us solidly qualified in a tough field.”

Although Smith was upended in round two, he was upbeat about the overall outing.

“We fought some issues with the motor a couple of times throughout the weekend, but we were able to figure it out on race day and we made two good runs back to back,” Smith said. “We won first round on a holeshot. Second round we got outran, but when you run the world champ, No. 1 qualifier, you always have your work cut out for you. It was, all in all, a great weekend.”

Hirata concurred with Smith.

“Driver did awesome, saved us first round, obviously,” said Dave Hirata, car owner and tuner. “I never had any doubt in that portion. We have some new parts, and we’re trying to get them sorted out. We showed great progress from our first race to qualify where we did and go a couple of rounds. Overall, we’re happy. Just got to fix hurting parts, and we’ll be just fine. Now we’re concentrating on perfecting our tune up to have a go at the last round.”

Hirata and Smith share a bond that is likely a key to their immediate and long-term success.

“When Dave pulls me forward, he puts his hand out in front of me,” Smith said. “Every round he writes a message on his hand. Some of them I can’t repeat here, but he’ll always have something that helps me relax and focus. We’re there to win and to have fun doing it.”

This season Smith is running a limited schedule. His next event will be the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Smith acknowledged competing last weekend was a bucket-list event for him.

“It was a very, very humbling experience,” Smith said. “It’s been my lifelong dream to enter a national event, let alone qualify for it. That’s been my goal since I was a little kid. To accomplish that (last) weekend, win first round on a holeshot, I mean, you couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. It was also very humbling; after each round I was getting text messages and calls from people. Even after we lost second round, Larry Dixon sent me a text message and congratulated me. It’s cool to have friends of that caliber that reach out and congratulate you, because they understand the hard work it takes to get here.”

When Smith was behind the wheel, he said he felt at home.

“I am so calm in that car. It feels like this is why God put me here,” he said. “I think my driving showed. I never got left on in eliminations. I had good lights all weekend. I can’t believe I did what I’ve worked towards for so long. This has been a dream since I was two years old. There were times I thought, I know I can do this, but will I ever get there? And now I’ve done it. I qualified at my first ever national. Even after I lost second round, I got out of the car and was smiling. It was awesome.”

In addition to driving, Smith handles marketing for the team and bottom end on the dragster.

“I probably go through four shirts a day,” Smith laughed. “We hurt some parts, and we worked our tails off, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a great crew, everybody gets along, and we have fun.”

Will Smith Motorsports and Hirata Motorsports also were gracious to their sponsors partners for allowing them to race. The list consists of Lucas Oil, Protect the Harvest, NGK Spark Plugs, Schepel Motors, Hirata’s Lowell Body Shop, Hirata’s Lowell Automotive, Hirata’s Hammer’d Customs, R&R Connecting Rods, and Strange Engineering.