Legendary Nitrous Racer Rickie Smith Unveils Twin Turbo Pro Mod Mustang

I’m not here to blast the NHRA for their rules in the Pro Mod class, they have people who make those decisions that understand things much better than I do. However, I have to believe there’s some kind of issue with parity in the class when a guy who has run nitrous for years and won a lot while on the juice suddenly makes the switch to a different power adder.

When that racer just happens to be three-time world champion Rickie Smith, it tends to make a lot of waves, and Smith isn’t exactly known for keeping his thoughts to himself. “I don’t even know how to express how disappointing it is,” Smith said in an interview with Competition Plus back in January. “I’ve done everything I can do talking to NHRA. I guess they think I’m a damn joke or something.”

Smith had made moves to switch power adders before but stuck with nitrous. However, it appears this time the blue bottle brigade has lost one of their biggest names to the boosted camp this time, as Smith has taken delivery of a brand new Jerry Bickel Mustang that will be powered by ProLine’s twin-turbo Pro Mod program.

The car is wearing the familiar Bahrain1 Racing colors, as that is the source of Rickie’s funding for the upcoming season, which will kick off in a few weeks at the 50th running of the Gatornationals. With ProLine’s legendary tuner Steve Petty handling the tuning, look for Smith to immediately be competitive in his new setup, assuming he can get the hang of wheeling a boosted hotrod. After years of running a nitrous car, it will be a big change, but Smith is a seasoned veteran so it should take him little more than a couple of test sessions to get a feel for his new office.

 

Rickie Smith Unveils New Bickel-Built NHRA Pro Mod ’67 Mustang