PAUL SMITH HOPING TO PLAY SPOILER AT FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
You won’t find Paul Smith’s name among those who have won drag racing world championships over the last four decades, but the Florida native’s fingerprints are all over the sport in which he has been active for almost 50 years.
Working with sons John and Mike on the family Funny Car, Smith returns this week to zMAX Dragway hoping once again to make life miserable for a few of the sport’s biggest names during the ninth renewal of the NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals.
John Smith will drive the team’s venerable ROCK Batteries-sponsored 2008 Chevy Monte Carlo while his dad and big brother will turn the wrenches. Significantly, despite limited resources, the Smiths aren’t looking for a participation trophy.
Although their national event appearances are limited, they rarely fail to qualify and are among the most feared first round foes in the sport, regardless of the format.
For his part, the elder Smith is a legend in the Southeast region. As a driver, he was runner-up for the NHRA Funny Car championship in 1974. As a team owner and tuner, he has won races in Funny Car and Top Fuel and, as proprietor of Paul Smith’s Drag Racing School, he made available the equipment and hands-on instruction that jump-started the careers of dozens of young pro drivers.
Smith developed his driving skills in the heyday of Funny Car match racing.
"One year I drove four different Funny Cars," he said. "I drove for four different teams. At that point I would drive anything that rolled. As long as the money was there, we'd go racing.”
Smith won three races on the IHRA pro tour and was a fan favorite on the match race tour in “The Entertainer,” a car he bought from the late NHRA and NASCAR champion Raymond Beadle. Nevertheless, it was in the “Fireball Vega” that the Miami native first made a name for himself, finishing second to Shirl Greer for the 1974 NHRA championship.
It was as close as he would ever get to the title.
“We never had the kind of major sponsorship needed to be able to run the car right,” Smith said. “Even back (in the ‘70s), you needed a thick wallet to stay competitive even though very few cars had major sponsors."
Nevertheless, Smith almost always runs “good enough” and that’s what still frightens his rivals.