Smith & Moon Score Battle For the Belts Victory for Al Anabi Racing

ROCKINGHAM, NC – For Von Smith and Howard Moon, driver and crew chief for Al Anabi Racing’s Pro Extreme ’69 Camaro, winning the coveted ADRL Battle For the Belts was a matter of execution. Three rounds of racing were all that separated them from the gold 12-pound championship belt and $50,000 cash prize, but it would be three rounds of racing amongst the quickest-and-fastest full-bodied cars on the planet.

In the opening stanza, Smith faced off with reigning ADRL Pro Extreme champion Mick Snyder. Smith was off the line first with a near-perfect .010-second reaction time and never waivered, streaking to the win with a 3.627-second, 211.53mph elapsed time in the Jerry Bickel-built doorslammer. The semifinal round pitted Smith against points leader Joey Martin, but points were of little consequence as the veteran driver out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee again was off the starting line first with a .021-second light and took the win with a 3.612/212.06mph effort as Martin was forced to abort.

A much revered setting in drag racing circles – under the lights at Rockingham Dragway – served as the stage for the 2013 ADRL Battle For the Belts final round, which featured a titanic matchup between Smith and the series’ most recent winner Tommy D’Aprile. Again Smith was off the line first with a stunning .003-second reaction and he needed every bit of it to hang on for the holeshot victory with a 3.616-second, 212.56mph pass over D’Aprile’s quicker-but-losing 3.596/211.93mph combination.

“It was so close down there at the end. I knew he was right there beside me,” said Smith. “It’s a little cliché to say that’s how a driver wants to win, but it does feel good. Honestly, though, this is what happens when a plan comes together. We came into this race knowing what we’re capable of – it was just a matter of going out there and doing it.

“To pull it off and win this belt – it’s unreal,” continued Smith. “As hard as this team works they deserve a night like tonight, and to have Sheikh Khalid here to experience it with us just puts it over the top.”

Howard Moon, longtime crew chief on the Al Anabi Racing Pro Extreme ’69 Camaro, shared the same sentiment as his driver.

“We always say that luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” said Moon. “We go to every race with the same goal – to win – so we didn’t treat this Battle For the Belts any different than we would any other race. But we have had a few issues this year – little things here and there that bit us – but after winning in Memphis and with the way the car has been performing, we felt like we had some momentum coming into Rockingham. For how hard everybody on this team works, I’m glad we were able to capitalize on that momentum and win this deal.”

To learn more about Al-Anabi Racing’s ADRL teams and follow their progress, visit www.facebook.com/alanabidoorslammers