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Drag Racing Story of the Day!

Gaylen Smith Doubles Up in Winning
Final Paris Race of 2000

By Danny White

Gaylen Smith took wins in both his Pro Modified Camaro and Unlimited Pro Street Camaro at Paris Drag Strip's Pepsi Street Jam Saturday night. Smith, in his Texas Bounty Hunter 1994 Camaro, beat Rick Senfft in Johnny Todd's legendary King Kong Camaro in a best two out of three match race. He ran a new track record 4.50, 152 in a backtracking first round pass that defeated Senfft's distant 5.01. Smith broke the rear end on the pass so in the second round he borrowed his old Pro Modified nitrous ‘91 Trans Am now owned by Bart Jetton. 

Rick Senfft was able to win this race with a consistent 5.03 to defeat Gaylen's crossed up 6.68 due to a misadjusted wheelie bar. In the third and deciding round, Smith was back in his Texas Bounty Hunter blown BAE ‘94 Camaro to decide the winner of the match race. Smith left the line, went into tire shake, and had to backpedal to a winning 4.74, 134 that covered Senfft in the Oklahoma-based nitrous ‘68 Camaro at 5.08. The 4.50 run beat the long-standing record of 4.55 that Clayton Pool, the previous owner of Smith's Camaro, ran way back in 1995.

In the Unlimited class, Gaylen was in his newly built back halved ‘68 Camaro that had won in Kennedale two weeks before with a best of 5.08. He was able to march his way through the field and beat his closest competition, Barry Williams, in the semis, 5.24 to the 5.48 of Williams' ‘66 Chevy II. In the final, Smith got loose and had to pedal to a 5.70 that covered the 6.84 of Jeff Chapman in his ‘72 Toyota pickup. Smith set the low elapsed time in the class with a 5.21 that covered the field by two tenths.

Congrats go out to Smith and the Texas Bounty Hunter team that fielded two cars to wins tonight in the last race of the year at Paris.

Danny White
ddgw@valornet.com

 




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