R. B. Smith’s ‘name and fame’ have became even more widespread throughout this
area and the nation with the powerful heads-up doorslammers records and titles
that he has achieved for the 2006 racing season.
Early in the season R.
B. and his Mighty Mouse, a 2001 Chevrolet Camaro with a new PAR Racing 706 c.i.
big block with three stages of nitrous oxide backed by a Powerglide transmission
with Coan converter, took the runner-up position in the prestigious Power Jam
Big Dog Shootout at Piedmont Dragway between Burlington and Greensboro, NC.
Smith covered the eighth mile in 4.51 seconds at 159 miles per hour even
though this was one of the first runs with this new engine.
Mighty Mouse
took Smith to the Winners Circle at Roxboro Motorsports Dragway in Timberlake,
NC when competing in a benefit race for a fellow racer who had been seriously
injured in a racing accident earlier in the season. R. B. made the one-eighth
mile trip in 4.48 seconds at 162 miles per hour to become the winner of the
Lorenza Springfield Benefit Race.
R. B. Smith’s ‘name and fame’ have became even more widespread throughout this
area and the nation with the powerful heads-up doorslammers records and titles
that he has achieved for the 2006 racing season.
Early in the season R.
B. and his Mighty Mouse, a 2001 Chevrolet Camaro with a new PAR Racing 706 c.i.
big block with three stages of nitrous oxide backed by a Powerglide transmission
with Coan converter, took the runner-up position in the prestigious Power Jam
Big Dog Shootout at Piedmont Dragway between Burlington and Greensboro, NC.
Smith covered the eighth mile in 4.51 seconds at 159 miles per hour even
though this was one of the first runs with this new engine.
Mighty Mouse
took Smith to the Winners Circle at Roxboro Motorsports Dragway in Timberlake,
NC when competing in a benefit race for a fellow racer who had been seriously
injured in a racing accident earlier in the season. R. B. made the one-eighth
mile trip in 4.48 seconds at 162 miles per hour to become the winner of the
Lorenza Springfield Benefit Race.
Just a few weeks before time to enter
the competition for the PowerGlide ProMods Doorslammer Nationals at the Outer
Banks Speedway in Creswell, North Carolina, R. B. had an accident. Smith was
running in the twelfth points race of the PowerGlide ProMods season at Coastal
Plains Dragway in Jacksonville, N. C. when one of the axles broke under Mighty
Mouse and sent him into the guardrail crippling the car beyond any chance of
finishing the season.
Mike Graham, owner of Virginia Speed in Skipwith,
Virginia had recently completed building a new 1963 Corvette for Garland
“Scooter” McFalls and his wife Tiffany.
When Scooter and Tiffany heard
about Mighty Mouses accident they offered to have Graham take their engine out
of the new 'Vette and put R. B.’s engine in it for him to compete in the
Nationals. Mike had only one week to take out McFalls engine and change the set
up of the chassis to take R. B. engine which was a different size and to get
everything ready to race.
Smith qualified eleventh in the twenty five car
Doorslammer Nationals field with a 4.391. The event had to be postponed until
the next week because of rain. Although there was a tremendous change in the
weather from one week until the next the cars were allowed only one shake down
round before eliminations began.
After completing two rounds of
competition R. B. came up against Dewayne Silance, the points champ for the
regular Powerglide Promod Doorslammers season. Smith took the win with a 4.3609
at 166.11 and a .008 margin of victory over Silance’s 4.3428 at 163.07 miles per
hour.
In the semi-finals round in addition to Smith collecting the bounty
money that was on Steve Bray, last years champion of the first annual Nationals,
he also set a track record for Outer Banks Dragway of 172.51 miles per
hour.
R. B. took the title of 2006 Powerglide Promods Doorslammer
Nationals Champ after the final round against Kevin Fortney.
Smith said,
“I want to thank Scooter and Tiffany for having so much faith in me that they
would loan me their new car so that I might compete in this race. Thanks also to
all of my loyal sponsors and my pit crew Graham Lee Day, Darrell Williams, David
Wiles and Mike Graham. I could not have done this without them.”
