Canfield’s Smida wins NHRA title

Staff report

Canfield native Phil Smida won the 59th annual NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in the Super Gas competition Monday afternoon at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

After six eliminator rounds in the Super Gas event, he and his 1988 Chevy Cavalier bested former champion Marlin Snyder, of Avon, Ind., in the finals, which were televised on ESPN2.

Snyder was driving a 1973 Opel GT.

Known as the “Big Go” on the racing circuit, it’s considered one of the biggest races of the season.

“It’s one of the most prestigious events that everyone wants to win,” said Smida, by phone Monday evening. “It’s just huge.

“The best of the best are at this race.”

Smida, on the other hand, was making his debut in the U.S. Nationals.

“I wasn’t sure how [Snyder] raced,” Smida said, “but I sure wasn’t going to take him for granted, knowing how he was a former champion.”

Racing in the 9.90 Index, competitors are required to cross the finish line in no faster than 9.9 seconds. Smida met the mark exactly and reached almost 140 miles per hour.

Smida now leads the Mellow Yellow Drag Racing Series by 21 points over the next closest competitior. With four races left in the season, he’s closing in on the series title.

“It’s the closest I’ve ever been to the championship on a divisional level,” he said.

He and his team depart for Bristol, Tenn., before stops in Charlotte, Columbus and St. Louis, all in consecutive weeks.

Smida still resides in Canfield and helps run the family business SOS Security Systems.

“I don’t think of [racing] as a hobby,” he said. “I look at it as my second job.”