The NMRA returned to action this past weekend at fabled Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, just a short drive southwest of Detroit, and right in Ford’s backyard.  The decision had been made prior to the even tot turn it into a two-day race, and by the looks of things, both fans and racers alike enjoyed the switch from the norm.  Aeromotive sponsored the event, and as a result, had the shop’s twin-turbo, Modular-powered Comp Eliminator Shelby Mustang on the premises making test passes.  They also brought out their innovative dragster powered by a GT500 Mustang engine, complete with zoomie headers.  The fans packed the stands all weekend long, and the racers didn’t disappoint – killer racing, wild wheelstands, and first-time winners all came together to make this a great weekend of Ford drag racing.

The NMRA returned to action this past weekend at fabled Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, just a short drive southwest of Detroit, and

right in Ford’s backyard.  The decision had been made prior to the even tot turn it into a two-day race, and by the looks of things, both fans and racers alike enjoyed the switch from the norm.  Aeromotive sponsored the event, and as a result, had the shop’s twin-turbo, Modular-powered Comp Eliminator Shelby Mustang on the premises making test passes.  They also brought out their innovative dragster powered by a GT500 Mustang engine, complete with zoomie headers.  The fans packed the stands all weekend long, and the racers didn’t disappoint – killer racing, wild wheelstands, and first-time winners all came together to make this a great weekend of Ford drag racing.

In the Turbonetics-sponsored Pro Outlaw 10.5 class, the return of 2008 class Champion Conrad Scarry to the NMRA caused quite a buzz around the pits on Friday morning.  Scarry wrecked his old ride at the season-opening event in Florida, and the Kenny Seeger Motorsports/Scarry Crew has pulled some serious overtime to put another car of this caliber on the track so soon.  When qualifying was over, Texan Mike Murillo sat atop the ladder with an outstanding 6.81 at a whopping 220.53 mph.  Keith Neal took the second spot with a 6.95, and Scarry managed a 6.96 to land in third.  AJ Powell, Jim Monson, and Dan Millen rounded out the qualified field of six cars, setting up Sunday’s eliminations.  In the first round, Murillo advanced over Millen, which earned him a bye directly into the finals.  On the other side of the ladder, Monson advanced to the second round with a 7.25 at 194 mph, after Keith Neal couldn’t get the car to build boost on the starting line.  In the last pairing, Powell took the easy ride into the semifinals when Scarry timed out on the starting line, taking too long to move into the stage beam.  Although Monson hasn’t been able to get out and race much over the last season, he took the home-track advantage and ripped off a 7.18 in the semifinal, sending Powell home after he slept on the tree, setting up the final round.  As the tree dropped on the final, Monson got out first, knowing he had to strap a light on Murillo to have a chance to win.  Murillo was right behind him, and as they powered downtrack, Murillo’s big-block Ford sucked in the boost and ran away from Monson’s small-block powered car, giving him two wins in a row and a commanding points lead.

Procharger Super Street Outlaw class saw more wild action this weekend, with major advances coming for a particular racer.  After a week of thrashing leading up to the event, champion John Urist wasn’t even sure he’d make it, as the airline couldn’t find his cylinder heads just a few days prior to the event.  However, the showed up in time, Dan Millen helped him get the car prepped, and he went out and qualified first with a 7.40 at 197 mph.  Chris Tuten found some gremlins that have been standing in his way and managed to run a stout 7.44 to land in the second spot.  John Macdonald, Don Burton, Tim Huspen, Vinny Barber, and Junior Southwell rounded out the field heading into Saturday’s eliminations.  The first round saw Macdonald advance over Barber, Tuten over Huspen, and Burton over Southwell, while Urist had the competition bye.  In the second round, Urist had to face off against Macdonald, and Macdonald stepped it up hugs, running a 7.48 at 196, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Urist’s hard-charging 7.46. Tuten set up against Burton, and when the tree dropped, Tuten jumped the gun by a heartbreaking four thousandths of a second, ending his weekend and sending Burton on to the final round against Urist – a rematch of the Florida event.  Urist, true to his championship form, dialed in further for the final, strapping a stunning .002 reaction time onto Burton, then cruising out the back door to a 7.48 at 194.04, while Burton got loose and had to lift. 

BFGoodrich Tires’ Drag Radial class, the ultimate test of man over tire, is shaping up to be one hell of a show so far this season.  Ohio’s Jason Lee took the top qualifying spot again this weekend with an 8.01 at 175 mph, but class newcomer Dave Guy was hot on his heels with an 8.03.  Guy took the step of hiring former three-time class champ John Kolivas for some tuning advice this weekend, and it paid off in the form of an 8.03 qualifier to put him second on the ladder, while eight other racers packed the field.  The first round saw Lee win a pedal-fest over Orson Johnson, and Atco runner-up Ken Ewer win over newcomer Fred Bodnar.  Bob Kurgan won over a struggling Sean Lyon, while Guy edged closer to the 7-second zone with a win over Steve Thompson, and Enzo Pecchini ran a stout 8.17 to put the gremlin-fighting Matt Bell on the trailer.  Lee had a bye in round two, and Kurgan took the win when Ewer’s .345 reaction time doomed him from the start.  In the other quarterfinal matchup, Pecchini advanced when Guy got loose at halftrack and stuffed the nose of the car into the wall.  The semifinals saw Lee take the win over Kurgan, while Pecchini advanced with a bye straight into the final.  As Lee and Pecchini staged, both bulbs lit, and Pecchini jumped the gun early, handing the win to Lee, making it his third in a row.

Diablosport’s EFI Renegade class had six racers vying for the gold, led by number one qualifier Dan Rawls.  Rawls lit the scoreboard with an 8.50 from his nitrous combination, followed by Alton Clements’ 8.51 and Brian Mitchell’s 8.57.  Chris VanGilder, Bart Tobener, and Larry Hourcle rounded out the field heading into eliminations.  In the first round, VanGilder and Rawls faced off, both racers going red, but Rawls advancing as the lesser of two evils.  Tobener took out Clements, and Mitchell advanced easily when Hourcle didn’t show.  Mitchell lost his cool in the second round, carding a -.023 redlight against Tobener, who ran it out the back to an 8.63 at 154 in preparation for Rawls in the final.  Rawls tuned his hotrod to an 8.43 in the final, his best time of the weekend, sending Tobener home with ease, as his 15.49 shutdown pass didn’t cut it this time around.

In Edelbrock’s Hot Street class, the drama had begun before the race even started.  Don Bowles had wrecked his Maverick the weekend prior at the NMCA’s race in Maple Grove, PA, while Max Gross and Team Powerhead were still recovering from their burnout-box fire in Atco.  Class champ Robbie Blankenship took the top spot on the qualifying ladder with an 8.69 at 155 mph, while Gross turned an 8.74 into the second spot.  Bangin’ Bob Hanlon showed up and shifted the gears to an 8.75, putting him third heading into eliminations. Bowles had the gang at Roush repair his hot-rod and carded an 8.83.  Former class champ Ben Mens was working to sort out the bugs on a new suspension combination and struggled to get down the track.  Once eliminations started, Blankenship advanced to round two with the bye, while Mens stood the car up so hard he almost flipped it onto its roof, allowing Hanlon to take the easy win into the semifinal.  Gross faced off against Bowles and uncorked an 8.75 to Bowles’ 8.86, giving Gross the bye into the final.  Blankenship faced off against Hanlon and ended his own weekend with an uncharacteristic .105 reaction time, negating the 8.73 to 8.78 ET advantage.  Gross lined up against Hanlon to finish up the event, but jumped the gun -.037 early, handing Hanlon the win and putting him in the winner’s circle!

The six racers in 5.0 Mustang Magazine stress their street-oriented combinations to the max every time they hit the track, but the elapsed times this class puts on the scoreboard are nothing short of amazing.  Class stalwart Tim Matherly put the biggest numbers on the board during qualifying, his 9.62 besting the competition by over a tenth.  Jim Breese landed in second with a 9.750, while Paul Wiley’s 9.759 put him into third.  Kevin Scott, Matt Johnson, and Dave Ginter rounded out the field and set the stage for eliminations.  In the first round, Matherly faced Kevin Scott, who ended the race before it began with a redlight, sending Matherly straight to the finals with a second-round bye.  On the other side of the ladder, Breese advanced when Johnson didn’t show for round one, while Ginter had sorted out his bugs well enough to take the win over Wiley.  The semifinal matchup between MV Performance teammates Ginter and Breese ended quickly when Ginter had a case of premature acceleration with a -.012 redlight, setting up the final between Matherly and Breese.  Breese took the holeshot, but missed a gear, allowing Matherly to slide on by with a stout 9.59 at 146 mph to Breese’s 9.90 at 129 mph, earning him the win.

Seven racers made the trek to Milan to compete in Eibach Springs’ Pure Street class, led by number one qualifier Mark Anderson’s 10.29.  Steve Gifford was a close second, his 10.31 besting third qualifier Shawn Johnson by .03.  Ryan Hecox landed on the ladder just .0013 behind Johnson, and three other racers qualified as well.  Anderson took the first-round bye, while Eric Burkhart took out Shawn Johnson.  Steve Gifford won over 2008 champ Brandon Alsept, and Atco winner Ryan Hecox advanced over Drew Lyons.  Anderson moved on to the final round with a gimme as Burkhart didn’t make the lane call, and Gifford didn’t show for his semifinal race against Hecox, setting up the final round between Hecox and Anderson.  Anderson continued to run well, taking the starting line advantage away from Hecox, then running a 10.26 at 130 mph to Hecox’s 10.38 at 134 mph, turning it into his very first NMRA Pure Street win!. 

ACT Factory Stock had its own drama this weekend, as nine racers showed up to shoot for their piece of the pie.  Champ Tommy Godfrey qualified number one with an 11.23, followed by John Leslie Jr.’s 10.265 and Jim St. Charles’ 11.267.  As eliminations started, Godfrey could only muster an 11.73 first-round bye pass, as he was fighting electrical gremlins that only cropped up during the gear change.  Matt Amrine took out Brian Marr and Leslie got a free pass to the second round when Jay Dold didn’t show.  St. Charles earned the win over Louis Sylvester Jr., and Jeremy Taylor advanced to round two over Zane Reed.  Amrine ended Godfrey’s weekend, while Leslie had a bye to the semifinal.  St. Charles and Taylor lined up, and St. Charles cranked out a nice 11.30 to Taylor’s 11.48 to advance, with the bye to the final round.  Leslie, on the other side of the ladder, faced Amrine, who redlit his chances away, setting up an all-Hoosier final round.  Leslie got out of the gates first, taking a strong starting line advantage, and as the pair powered downtrack, Leslie carried his advantage through for his very first NMRA Factory Stock win after nine years of competing in the class!

In the ROUSH Performance Modular Muscle class, 2008 Champion Tom Motycka earned the win over a tough field of 23 other racers, beating out Rhode Island’s Kevin Volk after a long day of racing.  Steeda’s Open Comp class had 29 entries, and when it was all said and done, Bruce Parker took his second win of the season, beating out Jon Pickering to cement his points lead.  Detroit Locker’s Truck and Lightning class had a field 20 trucks strong, and Dave Cole earned the win after beating out Atco winner Bob Cochran. JDM Engineering Super Stang saw Don Justus earn his very first NMRA win over local racer Matt Stanford.

 

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