Teenager Races Awesome Pro Stock Firebird

This 16-year old driver makes licensing passes in a beastly tribute Trans Am to NHRA all-star Rickie Smith.

If you follow modern NHRA drag racing, you’ve undoubtedly heard about “Tricky” Rickie Smith. Today, he’s one of the powerhouses of the J&A Service Pro Mod Series and puts together some incredible Pro Mods. However, the 64-year old’s racing legend goes back to 1980s Pro Stock (and beyond). In 2016, one Illinois teenager started racing a recreation of Smith’s 1990 Pontiac Trans Am.

Tyler Shenuk’s family has raced with the much-lauded Midwest Nostalgia Pro Stock Association for years. At age 16, Tyler joined the MNPSA’s ranks with his tribute to the STP Trans Am.

If you notice a close resemblance to late ‘80s Richard Petty colors, you’re right on the money. Petty was close friends with Rickie Smith and helped put together sponsorship for Smith’s Pro Stock efforts. That Trans Am finished 6th plac in the championship during one of the insanely competitive eras of the class.

That makes it an awesome tribute car, no less so because Smith raced it more than a decade before Tyler Shenuk was born. We love seeing young people not only embracing motorsport but also participating in its history.

Drag-racing YouTuber VictoryRedColorado caught up to Shenuk in 2016 while he was making his drag-license passes at Byron Dragway. The license also marked a transition for the teenage drag racer, who moved from filming duties for the family’s old Pro Stock Pontiacs to turns at the wheel.

The video doesn’t explore engine specs, but Pro Stock from that time period limited cars to 500 cubic inches and four-barrel carbs. That put a premium on engine building and development. It also made legends out of guys like Rickie Smith, Warren Johnson, and Bob Glidden.