 |
     |
 |
|
|
NMCA Hot Rod Power Festival Columbus,
Ohio |
 |
|
The
latest results from the NMCA tour |
by Brian Wood |
|
 |
(10-2-2003) - A long and often tumultuous 2003 NMCA season came to a thrilling close with the running of the Nitrous Express World Finals at one of the NHRA’s premier facilities, National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio.
The event, held the weekend of September 26 – 28, was a fitting finale to the rough and tumble racing season which began back in Atlanta, Georgia in mid-March. The entire year’s excitement, on and off-track rivalries and ultra-competitive racing action was fully in evidence all weekend long.
Coming into the season closer, a number of championships in the sanctioning body’s 13 heads-up and index classes remained to be determined, and some went right down to the wire. In a season during which the unexpected became the norm, Mother Nature brought the curtain down as only she can, dumping just enough rain on the track on Sunday afternoon to disrupt the proceedings just as the final rounds were to begin.
 |
After a monumental effort by track crews to dry the racing surface, the late hour and rapidly dropping temperatures forced race officials to make a tough decision. With the top end of the track still holding moisture, it was determined that the NMCA season would close with event and season titles being decided on the first eighth-mile of the famous track.
Perennial Pro Street “kingpin” Pat Musi, of Carteret, New Jersey, had yet another NMCA World Championship locked up by the time he unloaded his 2000 Pontiac Firebird on Thursday, but this tough racer and engine builder never takes the easy path to anything, and he pushed his trademark green “Popeye” machine to the limits all weekend long.
Musi qualified No. 2 on the strength of a best pass of 6.727-seconds at 208.94 mph. ironically, the top qualifier was his teammate Dan Parker, who wheeled Musi’s ’69 Camaro to a mark of 6.715, 202.97. The same two cars worked their way through eliminations to meet in the eight-mile final, where Musi capped off another great Comp Cams/TCI Engineering Pro Street season by taking the win over a red-lighting Parker.
 |
In another of the NMCA’s high-profile professional classes, three-time Accel DFI Pro Outlaw champ Marc Dantoni, of Staten Island, New York, was locked in a tight points battle with the “Mississippi Madman,” James Clark, of Laurel, Mississippi. Clark, who pilots the 1997 Chevy Monte Carlo once owned by his rival, was determined to do his best to spoil Dantoni’s victory celebration. The pair qualified 1-2 on the grid, with Dantoni’s 6.711, 205.22 edging out Clark’s 6.726, 208.01 for top spot.
As in Pro Street, the top two cars went through their respective sides of the ladder to meet in the big final, and this time around everything was on the line. Giving it a monster effort in one last eighth-mile dash, Clark pushed too hard, tagging the right side wall as his big Monte Carlo fishtailed and then shot across the track behind Dantoni, plowing the front end into the wall on the opposite side, where it came to rest. Clark was unhurt, but upset at handing championship No. 4 to Dantoni.
To make his weekend in Ohio even sweeter, Dantoni also won the big Pro-Filer Shootout for the top four Pro Street and top four Pro Outlaw points earners during the season.
Qualifying for Nitrous Express Nostalgia Pro Street was led by Stanford, Connecticut’s John
 |
Schroeder and his beautiful 2002 Camaro. In the long run, however, White Lake, Michigan’s Rob Golobo continued the dominance he held over all NPS competitors in 2003, extending a season-long winning streak by defeating his cousin Rick Golobo in an extremely exciting final round.
Rob and Rick, of Highland, Michigan, campaign two of the prettiest hot rods in all of street-legal racing, and seeing the pair slugging it out under the lights in Columbus was a real treat. At the green, Rick’s 1967 Corvette was late off the line, allowing Rob to sail away to the win. Needless to say, the celebrations in both of the Golobo pits rocked on until the wee hours.
In other action, two new NMCA records were set during the course of the big weekend in Ohio. In Ramchargers Super Street, Brookville, Indiana’s Doug Smith wheeled his 1996 Olds Achieva to a new elapsed time mark of 7.296, breaking his own record of 7.392 set in 2002. In the class final, Greg Blevins, Jr, wheeled his Steve Grebeck-built 2000 turbo Saleen Mustang to the win over the ’95 Olds Achieve of Doug Smith.
In Corteco Limited Street, “Mustang Mike” Modeste, of Brooklyn, New York, completely trashed Bobby Joysey’s elapsed time record of 8.17 under a cloud of controversy. Modeste ran the first-ever seven-second pass in the history of the class, an incredible 7.93, during his first time trial on Friday, and backed it up with a pass of 7.95 a short while later. However, an air inlet in the hood of his supercharged 1996 Mustang was later deemed illegal by NMCA officials, and Modeste grudgingly removed it and covered the hole with cardboard and duct tape. Nevertheless, he ended up top qualifier with a solid lap of 8.01.
 |
In a dramatic show of might AND right, Modeste went to the line for the first round of eliminations and cranked out a stunning “legal” 7.94 to rightfully claim the new class elapsed time record. A broken oil pump in the second round ended Modeste’s weekend prematurely, however, and in a battle of ’86 Mustangs, Phil Hines took the win over Jim Widener.
Moroso Performance Products President Rick Moroso had his late father Dick’s dazzling 1961 Corvette flying all weekend in Hot Street, and he took home another victory when final round competitor “Rockin Al” Miller broke during the run. Moroso, of Guilford, Connecticut, began the season in an outstanding 2002 Corvette, but brought his family’s classic coupe out at the end of the season, much to the delight of racing fans everywhere.
In other action, a shootout between a pair of awesome Hemi-powered ’68 Barracudas saw Jim Pancake defeat Johnny Kelley for the Edelbrock Pro Nostalgia win, while Jamie Stanton maintained his dominance over the Real Street class by wheeling his 2000 Camaro to yet another event title with a win over Bruce Maichle.
In BFGoodrich Drag Radial Eliminator, Jamie Forcucci outlasted Dave Rudisell for a big win, while the 28 beautiful cars gathered for competition in Specialty Motorwerkes Nostalgia Super Stock were whittled down to a final round shootout between the ’65 Coronet of Mike Dechicco and the ’64 Savoy of Jim Guy, with Dechicco grabbing the gold.
 |
Todd Merkel wrapped up a great season of competition in Mr. Gasket EFI Eliminator by knocking off Ted Rudie in a classic Ford versus Chevy duel. Merkel’s ’86 Firebird covered Rudie’s ’92 Mustang to take the win light and the event title. In BFGoodrich American Muscle, Steve Gerrard and Mike Walker faced off in the final, with the win going to top qualifier Gerrard’s quick ‘69 Chevelle.
The racing action in Columbus was tough and dramatic right down
the line, and a more fitting season wrap-up couldn’t have
been scripted. With Limited Street sponsor Corteco Engine Parts
stepping up to a three-year title sponsorship deal beginning in
2004, it’s just going to get better and better!
 |
 |
’59 and Fine, Charlie Kuenster’s Awesome Impala Walks Away with Editor’s Choice Award
 |
(10-1-2003) – The car count at the recent NMCA Nitrous Express World Finals in Columbus, Ohio was one of the best of the 2003 season, which seemingly would make the job of selecting my personal favorite pretty darn tough, which it was – for about 15 minutes.
Making my first tour of the pits on Thursday morning, I spotted Charlie Kuenster and his son Dan unloading their immaculate ’59 Chevy Impala, and the sight of this pristine classic literally stopped me in my tracks. I had seen this particular car in action at the Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a few months earlier, but now, upon closer examination, I just knew that Kuenster’s well-preserved machine deserved to be singled out for recognition.
This fantastic car, one of the newest on the extensive Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association roster, has an unbelievable pedigree, and the story of its 41-year history as the proud possession of 63-year-old racer Kuenster is one for the books.
Kuenster, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, bought the gleaming white Impala from the son-in-law of the original owner when he was 21. He took delivery of the car in February of 1962, but the seller backdated the bill of sale to January so that Charlie could avoid a new tax levy that went into effect in Wisconsin on the 1st of February that year.
He later courted his future wife in the car, and then after they were married, put 3,500 miles on the odometer on their honeymoon trip. During the journey, Charlie, a self-admitted “gearhead,” impressed his new bride by collecting no less than five fast driving awards, including one as the result of a challenge he couldn’t refuse at a stoplight in Waco, Texas.
 |
Needless to say, a car that has been in the hands of the same enthusiastic driver for over four decades certainly would have a lot of stories to tell if it could only talk, but right now we’ll concentrate on its legal drag racing background.
Off the street since 1965, and garaged during countless Wisconsin snow storms, Kuenster’s car retains all of its original components, including windshield wipers and washer, heater, radio, back-seat speaker and much more. In fact, put street tires and mufflers on it, and it’s ready for a cruise down any boulevard.
Originally, the car came from the factory equipped with a 283, which Kuenster replaced in 1964 with a new 365-horsepower, 327-inch Corvette powerplant, for which he paid just over $700.00, fresh from the factory. Backed by a four-speed gearbox in place of the original Powerglide, Kuenster ran that set-up until 1979, when a Turbo 400 tranny replaced the manual job. Later, a 406 small block replaced the “Vette bullet, followed by a 408 and then another 406. Interestingly, Charlie still owns the hot Corvette 327, and it has less than 30,000 miles on it.
Currently the sleek “Imp” is powered by a “348,” which in reality is a 409 bored 60-over with a 454 crank for a total of 482-cubic inches. Keeping with the period look of the car, however, the engine still retains its factory orange paint and is complete with correct 348 engine decals.
The 4,300-plus pound car currently runs on a 12-second index, but Charlie plans to hot things up over the winter with a new cam and some other go-fast goodies, and is shooting to drop into the 11.50 range for 2004.
 |
Kuenster is undoubtedly a dedicated “car guy” and an enthusiastic competitor, and a worthy addition to the Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association’s outstanding group of racers and vintage factory muscle cars. He, in turn, is very happy to be a member of the association, commenting “I have to say that I had more fun at the Columbus event than any two others I went to this season. I just joined the Midwest group after watching them race for three years, and I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to race with and be around at the track. They are all very knowledgeable and eager to help each other out. I’m really looking forward to racing with them next season.”
And I know I speak for a lot of race fans when I say we’re
all looking forward to seeing Charlie’s beautiful winged Impala
back out on the track.
 |