Winner The points battle...
Winner
The points battle in Truck and Lightning has never been tighter. Captain Keith Kohlmann (shown) is fighting to retain his truck title this year. He took the win at Atco, and with his recent performances, a repeat championship looks imminent.
Outstanding weather coupled with favorable track conditions provided record-setting accomplishments. There were performances quicker than the national record, but the racer is required to back up that performance within 1 percent in order to claim it at the conclusion of the race weekend. Some racers missed that margin by mere hundredths of a second. In all, five e.t.. and mph records fell-it would have been seven if some racers were able to back up their runs. It's amazing, but the south Jersey racetrack continues to be a prominent stop on the Ford drag racing scene, even after all these years.
Denso NMRA Drag Racing Series
Atco Raceway Event Winners
Presented by Downs Ford Motorsport
| DiabloSport Pro 5.0 | Tony Bischoff |
| MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw | John Urist |
| BF Goodrich Drag Radial | John Kolivas |
| Edelbrock Hot Street | Ben Mens |
| ProCharger EFI Renegade | Brian Mitchell |
| Real Street | Bruce Hemminger |
| Tremec Pure Street | Brad Meadows |
| K&N Factory Stock | Jeff Schmell |
| Toyo Tires Open Comp | Tom Demalto |
| Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning | Keith Kohlmann |
| Vortech Modular Muscle | Zak Harty |
Paul Maleski (near lane) lost...
Paul Maleski (near lane) lost to Tom Demalto (far lane) in the finals of Open Comp. Maleski and Demalto both pilot high-11-second Mustangs. Their street-legal cars took down full-on race cars to head to the finals against each other. Maleski had an 11.73 index, while Demalto was running on an 11.98. Demalto won the race with a 12.01, and Maleski broke out with an 11.63.
Tim Matherly always has his...
Tim Matherly always has his Two-Valve modular Real Street combination running strong. He qualified well with a 9.98 at 134 mph and lost in the semifinals to Bruce Hemminger.
Bob Walker ran his street-legal...
Bob Walker ran his street-legal Lightning into the 9s during test and tune on Friday night. The truck relies on a Johnny Lightning-built bullet, a Kenne Bell blower, and a whiff of nitrous. He backed it down to the 10.20 zone for Truck and Lightning action. Walker lost in the semis to Johnny Lightning. He was late on the Tree, but he still ran a 10.204 on a 10.20 index.
Michael Hauf left Atco with...
Michael Hauf left Atco with a slight points lead over Don Walsh Jr. The Iowa resident posted the first Pro 5.0 run in the 6.50 zone with a 6.59 in qualifying. He got lucky in the first round when Dave Hance went red. Hauf had a tight race with Tony Bischoff in Round 2, but was on the losing end of the 6.67 to 6.68 match up.
Andy Schmidt underestimated...
Andy Schmidt underestimated the track conditions with his Hot Street ride. The teal LX went wheels up immediately after Schmidt let go of the transbrake button. The car put a gouge in the track surface when it landed, dinging its headers and slightly denting the oil pan. Other than that the car was fine.
Alex Vrettos' turbocharged...
Alex Vrettos' turbocharged entry posted some great mph performances at Atco, but the BFGoodrich tires proved to be a bit tricky that weekend. He did run in the 8.50s at a scorching 172 mph. Vrettos lost to John Kolivas in the semifinals. When Vrettos is not running in NMRA competition, he bolts on a 101mm turbo and some M/T Drag Radials and runs in the 7-second zone on the Outlaw Drag Radial circuit.
Jarrett Halfacre and his brother...
Jarrett Halfacre and his brother would rather forget the Atco event. It was rough, with everything from busted transmissions to exploding turbochargers. Luckily, these two fierce competitors carry enough spare parts and a welder. They thrashed all night and then popped off a 7.60 in Round 1 of SSO. Unfortunately, more carnage (a blown transmission) in Round 3 prevented them from going to the starting line to face eventual event winner John Urist.
Winner Ben Mens was driving...
Winner
Ben Mens was driving the DeMayo family's '89 LX that is normally driven by Mike DeMayo. Mens is a Roush engineer who has been working with many teams in NMRA competition fine-tuning the Roush engines. He got behind the wheel of the LX and was fortunate enough to make the finals and take the win with an 8.96 over Hanlon. Mike DeMayo was behind the wheel of the family's brand-new Hot Street ride built by Team Z Motorsports. The 25.5-certified ride has a new 400ci Roush engine under the hood and ran in the high-8s at Atco-it was the first time to the track with the new car. The team left from the chassis shop and drove straight through to Atco for the race.
Brent Blacker went to Round...
Brent Blacker went to Round 4 in the Open Comp category. The big-block Ford combination runs in the 10.60 zone, but unfortunately it ran too fast in the quarter-finals-10.59 on a 10.63 index. Open Comp was huge that weekend as it spanned six elimination rounds in order to crown a winner.