Rickie Smith continues his successful return to the cockpit by racing to the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing, presented by Real Pro Mod Association, is the eighth of 12 events on the 2017 schedule.

Smith, who sat out four races due to back surgery won the event in Englishtown and raced to a 5.821-second pass at 248.80 mph in his ’15 IDG Chevy Camaro. Due to persistent showers in the area the category had only one qualifying session during the day.

"We're running good,” said Smith. “I feel like my knowledge over the years just pays off when you have to make a one-run call on average. I'm not perfect every time. But I think that's the reason I'm No. 1 qualifier right now I made a better call on the racetrack."

Shane Molinari qualified second with a pass of 5.831 at 257.28 in his ’68 Firebird and points leader Mike Castellana qualified third at 5.841 at 246.98 in his ’17 Camaro.

NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Series qualifying continues Saturday at approximately noon with the first round of eliminations slated for 4:30 p.m.

Friday's results after the first one of two rounds of qualifying for the 11th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the eighth of 12 events in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.   Qualifying will continue Saturday for Saturday's first round of eliminations.

Pro Modified -- 1. Rickie Smith, Chevy Camaro, 5.821, 248.80; 2. Shane Molinari, Pontiac Firebird, 5.831, 257.28; 3. Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.841, 246.98; 4. Shannon Jenkins, Ford Mustang, 5.843, 246.93; 5. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.846, 244.03; 6. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 5.860, 240.42; 7. Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 5.867, 253.85; 8. Sidnei Frigo, Corvette, 5.873, 252.61; 9. Michael Biehle, Mustang, 5.884, 250.32; 10. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, 5.895, 247.61; 11. Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.895, 247.16; 12. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 6.015, 239.31; 13. Danny Rowe, Corvette, 6.016, 241.54; 14. Mike Knowles, Mustang, 6.041, 240.12; 15. Chuck Little, Corvette, 6.058, 241.50; 16. Mike Janis, Camaro, 6.066, 240.59.  Not Qualified: 17. Eric Latino, 6.115, 243.63; 18. Clint Satterfield, 6.145, 245.32; 19. Jim Whiteley, 6.162, 193.29; 20. Dan Stevenson, 6.818, 159.95; 21. Harry Hruska, 7.035, 175.75; 22. Steve Matusek, 8.825, 124.16; 23. Steven Whiteley, 9.136, 99.73; 24. Bob Rahaim, 10.916, 95.15; 25. Chip King, 11.878, 83.35; 26. Ruben Tetsoshvili, 20.973, 28.42.