He was 25 when he reached motocross racing’s “retirement” age, but far removed from kicking back in an overstuffed chair.

Von Smith then doubled the number of wheels he used for racing and slipped seamlessly into drag racing.  He began with muscle cars and segued into a variety of racing categories – Top Sportsman, Alcohol Funny Car and Pro Modified. 

Now, 20 years later – and without any knee surgeries that precipitated his earlier decision to bid farewell to motocross racing – Smith and Howard Moon, Al-Anabi Racing team crew chief and tuner, are preparing for the 2009 National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) season.  The goal, of course, is to present team owner Sheik Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani of Doha, Qatar, with multiple race victories and, ultimately, the championship trophy.

They are joined by rising star K.A. Balooshi of Dubai, who will be at the controls of an Al-Anabi Racing Pro Mod Nitrous 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.   He was 25 when he reached motocross racing’s “retirement” age, but far removed from kicking back in an overstuffed chair.

Von Smith then doubled the number of wheels he used for racing and slipped seamlessly into drag racing.  He began with muscle cars and segued into a variety of racing categories – Top Sportsman, Alcohol Funny Car and Pro Modified. 

Now, 20 years later – and without any knee surgeries that precipitated his earlier decision to bid farewell to motocross racing – Smith and Howard Moon, Al-Anabi Racing team crew chief and tuner, are preparing for the 2009 National Guard American Drag Racing League (ADRL) season.  The goal, of course, is to present team owner Sheik Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani of Doha, Qatar, with multiple race victories and, ultimately, the championship trophy.

They are joined by rising star K.A. Balooshi of Dubai, who will be at the controls of an Al-Anabi Racing Pro Mod Nitrous 1968 Chevrolet Camaro.   

Smith and Moon are from Oak Ridge, Tenn.  Their motorsports collaborations led to three International Hot Rod Association Alcohol Funny Car world championships (1996, 1998-99) and top five finishes in the National Hot Rod Association’s Alcohol Funny Car category in 2001-02.

Moon switched to Pro Modifieds the next year and called upon Smith again later in the season.  “We went to four races and went to the finals four times,” Smith noted of his first foray into Pro Mod racing.  And five years later, the process repeated, only this time it was to “drive the Sheik’s Pro Mod car in the United States and overseas,” said Smith.  “I said I’d do it.”

Sheik Khalid’s objective is to promote the domestic and international awareness of motorsports in Qatar through the Qatar Racing Club and construction of a new, spectacular drag racing facility located in Doha, Qatar.  He also is partners with Alan Johnson in the Al-Anabi Top Fuel and Funny Car teams.

“We had two races in Bahrain late last year and we won both of them,” said Smith, the series leader.  “In November, we took the Pro Mod Extreme 1957 Chevy that we ran last year to Qatar and left it over there. We have four more races there.  The first two are Feb. 1 in Bahrain and the grand opening of the Sheik’s track on Feb. 5. 

“The track looks great,” Smith continued.  “Penhall Company construction helped build it.  It is definitely one of the best.  We are trying to get everyone in Qatar acclimated as to what goes on at a drag strip.  We had an opportunity to get on the track in December and do burnouts, trying to get some rubber on the track.

“Drag racing in Qatar is not yet nearly as big as it is in the United States,” Smith concluded, “but they sure are fired up about it.”

Moon’s Atomic Performance race shop – it’s near the area where the first atomic bomb was built – is rolling along in high gear, creating the high-powered engines that will produce winning elapsed times and speeds both in ADRL’s nine races and the challenges overseas.

“We are going to Qatar on Jan. 24 and come home Feb. 9,” said Moon.  “And then we fly back over there on Feb. 20 and come back in time for the ADRL’s first race (at Houston, March 6-7).  It’s good we’re home now because we have a lot of work to do on our new 1968 Camaro.  Tim McAmis is building the car and we are supposed to take delivery sometime in February.”

Moon lauded Sheik Khalid’s drag racing involvement. “He is promoting his country of Qatar very hard right now,” said Moon.  “He built an excellent race track and we are looking forward to that first race.  It’s exciting.”