2006 NMRA Bradenton Drag Racing & Mustang Car Show - Guns Blazing

Two-time Hot Street champion Charlie Booze Jr. had a hard fight in Bradenton. It seemed as if most competitors in the category were breathing down his neck. He faced number-one qualifier Pat Topolinski in the finals. Booze nailed down an 8.91 for the gold. Topolinski lit the red bulb, but still ran an 8.94.

Jim Roberts of Largo, Florida, was awarded the automatic "W" in the Detroit Locker Truck and Lightning class when opponent Keith Kohlmann went red and Roberts cruised to the victory.

Last year, the Sutton High Performance crew laid claim to the first nine-second run with a Three-Valve-equipped, S197 Mustang. This year, they painted the car red, Fast Forward Race Cars updated the chassis, and a new Four-Valve mod motor with a Vortech YSi-Trim blower was dropped into the engine bay. This engine was just used to gain valuable points as the team awaited their new Bennett Racing Four-Valve piece-the new bullet is expected to be in the car by the third NMRA event of the year.

The Laurel Mountain Mustang Car Show had representative iron from almost all generations of Ford cars and trucks. This Mustang is a rare Roush/Boyd Coddington edition. It's one of only two ever built by Roush in this color combination.

Shawn Johnson continued to dominate K&N Factory Stock like he had done last year, despite many rule changes over the winter. He ran a best of 11.59 and beat fellow Four-Valve racer Jeff Schmell in the finals.

The naturally aspirated eliminator Pure Street saw the times dip into the 10.30s, and that's from Mustangs with only 310ci engines. Brad Meadows hung the wheels on each and every run. He lost to Ron Anderson in the finals.

Bangin' Bob Hanlon teamed up with Boccella Performance and enlisted the services of Chris Beningo and Ed Smith to help out. The result was a refurbished Mustang drag racing icon and 8.90 performances in Hot Street competition. That's moving for a naturally aspirated 360.

Pat Topolinski and several students from the School of Automotive Machinists compete in Hot Street with this '95 Cobra. They built the engine in-house as a class project, were the number one qualifier (8.92), and went to the final round.

Ragdoll Racing (owned by Leo Johnson) made a last-minute purchase before the Bradenton event. On the way down, Johnson picked up this Pure Street car and enlisted the driving duties of Ron Anderson-he drove the car last year for the previous owner. The team had little testing under their belts before the big show, but Anderson and Johnson got the car running in the 10.30s and grabbed the event title.