Curtis Smith Sr.

Owner/Driver

Following in his father’s footsteps, Curtis Smith carried the Smith family name to new heights in the world of drag racing. A second-generation racer, Curtis grew up in the garage and on the racetrack beside his father, Earl “Cigar Earl” Smith, learning the craft of building, tuning, and driving winning Chevrolets.

By the 1970s, Curtis began carving his own path, finishing runner-up at his first IHRA National Event at Rockingham Dragway — a sign of the success to come. Over the next two decades, Curtis became one of the most dominant competitors in IHRA Stock Eliminator, driving a series of now-legendary cars including the Shakedown and Hot Stuff Camaros.

In 1984, Curtis captured one of the biggest wins of his career at the NHRA Summernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey, driving the Shakedown Camaro that his father had built. A year later, he made IHRA history by becoming the first Sportsman driver to win three consecutive national events, an achievement that cemented his reputation as one of the best in the sport. He followed with back-to-back IHRA U.S. Open Nationals victories in 1986 and 1987.

Curtis narrowly missed out on the 1985 IHRA World Championship after skipping one race for family and work obligations—a decision that reflected his lifelong commitment to balance racing excellence with family values, a hallmark of the Smith legacy.

The 1990s proved to be Curtis’s decade of dominance. He and his father made history with an all-Smith father-and-son final round at the 1990 IHRA Winternationals at Darlington Dragway, which Curtis won. That same year, both father and son finished in the IHRA Top 10 in national points, with Curtis winning multiple national and divisional events. From 1990 to 1995, Curtis won four IHRA Fall Nationals at Bristol Dragway, adding to his growing list of career victories.

In 1996, after years of near misses, Curtis captured his long-awaited IHRA Stock Eliminator World Championship, with the help and encouragement of his father-in-law and crew chief, Eugene “Pop” Carlsward. He continued his winning ways, adding multiple victories at Darlington and Rockingham and earning the nickname “Mr. Winternationals” for his remarkable record of four IHRA Winternationals victories.

Curtis’s achievements have been recognized across the sport and beyond. He was inducted into the North Carolina Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2012, the East Coast Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2014, and the Sampson County Sports Hall of Fame that same year. The IHRA officially recognized him as the all-time winningest Stock Eliminator driver in history, a testament to decades of consistency, precision, and unmatched competitiveness.

In the 2010s, Curtis proudly watched as his son, Curt Smith Jr., took up the family mantle, racing in CCRA and NHRA events and continuing the tradition of Smith excellence on the dragstrip.

Curtis Smith’s career embodies what makes drag racing timeless — skill, heart, and family. From the legendary Shakedown and Hot Stuff Camaros to his record-breaking wins, his story is one of resilience, integrity, and passion for the sport that shaped four generations of the Smith family.