Nighttime qualifying brought...
Nighttime qualifying brought excellent weather conditions and the newly paved track surface provided serious grip. Record runs were made in many classes, but the performance everyone will remember for years to come is the insane Super Street Outlaw qualifying. Three racers jumped into the 7.40 zone-No. 1, John Urist (7.46/192); No. 2, Don Burton (7.47/190); and No. 3, Mike Trimandilis (7.49/190). Phil Hines narrowly missed the club with an oh-so-close 7.50/190 mph qualifying run.
A day at the dragstrip means something different to every racer. For beginners, it could be finding success in his/her first powershift. Meanwhile, others are there to hang with friends and put some laps on their Mustang or Ford. Finally, there are those who race for the pure thrill of competition and speed.
At the NMRA Nitto World Finals, held at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, a day at the races meant a season of chasing points was coming to a close-and championships were on the line. For the NMRA regulars, doing well at the finals would cap off a season quite nicely. It wasn't all about the championship points races, though, as locals and regulars mixed it up for three days of fun on and off the dragstrip.
The NMRA ran its usual program of nine heads-up categories, which has classes for everything from mid-6-second Pro 5.0 machines to 12-second Factory Stockers. Heads-up racing is first to the finish line-no breakout racing-but there's also index-style and bracket racing. The NMRA offers three open comp-style categories and three bracket racing eliminators.
Off the strip at the NMRA World Finals was the crowded Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Car Show and a manufacturer's midway that was packed with plenty of parts for your show machine or your project back home in the garage. The central location of Beech Bend Raceway makes it an ideal facility to host the final NMRA get-together of the year. Now all we can do is kick back and get ready for all the hot action in 2007. We'll see you there.
Pure Street racer Amy Sherwin...
Pure Street racer Amy Sherwin crashed her '90 Mustang at the NMRA-Columbus event one month earlier. The car was severely damaged when it got loose in its own fluids and took a header into the wall on the top end.
Thanks to help from many companies...
Thanks to help from many companies and friends, the car was repaired in time for the Bowling Green finals.
Even death looks good on Amy...
Even death looks good on Amy Lynn Urist.
Michael Hauf dethroned the...
Michael Hauf dethroned the mighty Don Walsh Jr. for the '06 Pro 5.0 championship. Hauf entered the race one round ahead of Walsh and sealed his first NMRA title when Walsh encountered a serious problem in qualifying. Hauf has been deadly consistent all year long and his 812ci, naturally aspirated combination runs consistent 6.60s at 210 mph. Hauf was runner-up at Bowling Green to Tony Bischoff.
Winner First in the 7.40s!...
Winner
First in the 7.40s! John Urist continues to nail the major milestones in the Super Street Outlaw category. The Nitto-sponsored racer also took home the win from the World Finals. His ProCharger-blown entry ran flawlessly all day long with consistent 7.50-second runs in eliminations. Urist also became the first two-time Super Street Outlaw champion in the class history. He earned the title in 2003 with a turbocharged combination.
Jason Lee built his 25.5-certified...
Jason Lee built his 25.5-certified Drag Radial racer in 2005 and spent the better part of 2006 as a front-runner in the category. Power comes from a ProCharger F1R blower, and the car runs consistently in the mid-to-low eight-second range with speeds over 170 mph.
Chad Doyle wowed the Drag...
Chad Doyle wowed the Drag Radial field with an insane 8.10 performance but lost to Bob Kurgan in the semifinals on a holeshot.
Raising the level of S197...
Raising the level of S197 performance is David Beyer with his Legend Lime GT. The car is fitted with a turbocharger, a BMR suspension, and sports a C4 transmission. At Bowling Green, Beyer ran in the 9.90 range in the Modular Muscle class, but he has since dropped his best performance to a 9.73 at 142 mph.
Another hard-running S197...
Another hard-running S197 in the Modular Muscle category was that of JPC Racing's Justin Burcham. JPC has continually pushed the performance envelope of the S197 platform, and Burcham lit up the boards with an impressive 9.56 at 148 mph. The ProCharger/ZEX nitrous concoction was refined a bit more after Bowling Green, and Burcham now owns the Quickest and Fastest S197 title with a 9.23 at 154 mph.
Winner A category win in...
Winner
A category win in Bowling Green secured Captain Keith Kohlmann's second consecutive Truck and Lightning championship title.
Hot Street was a hotly contested...
Hot Street was a hotly contested eliminator as the 16-car field was the quickest and fastest in the history of the NMRA. Here Randy Henry (near lane) lined up against Mike DeMayo in Round 1 of eliminations. DeMayo bested Henry, 8.98 to a 9.08.
Blower cars make up a majority...
Blower cars make up a majority of the EFI Renegade class. Rich Groh still carries the nitrous brand into competition. He has been successful with mid-eight-second performances but ran into some wheelie trouble in Bowling Green. Groh hoisted the wheels for our cameras almost every time he came to the starting line, and he managed to make it to the final five cars (19 cars total) before getting eliminated by eventual class winner Brian Mitchell.
| NMRA-Denso Ford Drag Racing Results |
| Nitto Tires World Finals Event Winners |
| DiabloSport Pro 5.0 | Tony Bischoff |
| MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw | John Urist |
| Vortech Superchargers Outlaw 10.5 | David Hance |
| BFGoodrich Drag Radial | Bob Kurgan |
| Hedman Hedders Wild Street | William Slavey |
| ProCharger EFI Renegade | Brian Mitchell |
| Edelbrock Hot Street | Charlie Booze Jr. |
| Real Street | Tim Matherly |
| TTC Tremec Pure Street | Ron Anderson |
| K&N Filters Factory Stock | Eric Holliday |
| Vortech Modular Muscle | Robert Hindman |
| Toyo Tires Open Comp | Sam Dyer |
| Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning | Keith Kohlmann |
| NMRA-Denso 2006 Champions |
| DiabloSport Pro 5.0 | Michael Hauf |
| MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw | John Urist |
| Vortech Superchargers Outlaw 10.5 | David Hance |
| BFGoodrich Drag Radial | John Kolivas |
| ProCharger EFI Renegade | Brian Mitchell |
| Edelbrock Hot Street | Charlie Booze Jr. |
| Real Street | Brian Meyer |
| TTC Tremec Pure Street | Ron Anderson |
| K&N Filters Factory Stock | Shawn Johnson |
| Vortech Modular Muscle | Robert Hindman |
| Toyo Tires Open Comp | Randy Conway |
| Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning | Keith Kohlmann |
The Laurel Mountain Mustang...
The Laurel Mountain Mustang Car Show was packed with a wide variety of cars from the Blue Oval.
Winner Tim Matherly of MV...
Winner
Tim Matherly of MV Performance was vying for his second Real Street championship title. It came down to the final race of the year as he and Brian Meyer were virtually tied going into Bowling Green. Matherly wasn't messing around as he showed up with a spare engine to put it all on the line for the championship. The car toasted the first bullet in qualifying, and the team swapped in the fresh one for eliminations. The Mustang shop owner from Georgia won the final round with a 9.89 but lost the championship bid as Meyer accumulated too many points at the World Finals.
Renegade racer Zoop Zellonis...
Renegade racer Zoop Zellonis was on an emotional roller coaster in 2006. The year started great and the car ran better than ever, but a shop fire destroyed most of his mid-eight-second ride. Thanks to friends, sponsors, and family support, he repaired the Stang and actually had a shot at the championship. Zellonis qualified number one with his Vortech-blown ride but did not get a chance to be crowned champion as he exited competition in the quarter-finals. Look for him to make the move to NMCA Xtreme Street in 2007.
Winner For all of 2006, David...
Winner
For all of 2006, David Hance pulled double duty with a pair of twin-turbo machines in Pro 5.0 and Outlaw 10.5. At Bowling Green, he ran his '05 Mustang only in Outlaw 10.5 competition as he did not have an engine ready for his Pro 5.0 ride. Hance posted the first six-second run in NMRA Outlaw 10.5 competition and left the final race with the event win and class championship.
Winner B.E.S. Race Engines'...
Winner
B.E.S. Race Engines' main man, Tony Bischoff, was unstoppable in Pro 5.0 action. The engine builder jumped on tour late in the season but was undefeated whenever he showed up to race. He took the win over Mike Hauf, 6.59 to 6.64 in a tight, side-by-side drag race.
This stunning '06 Mustang...
This stunning '06 Mustang GT is owned and driven by Don Shobe. A stout 403ci engine with a ProCharger F3R blower resides under the hood. The team normally packs mid-7-second performances but ran into some traction problems when they applied 1,800 hp to the 28x10.5-inch slicks. His best run of the weekend was 7.79 at 188 mph.
One of our favorite cars of...
One of our favorite cars of the weekend belonged to Hot Street racer Tim Eichhorn. His '90 coupe features a chassis setup by Matukus Race Cars and a high-winding 400ci engine that Eichhorn built himself at his shop in Florida, Mustang Performance Racing. The coupe pounded out 9.00-second, 150-mph runs without the aid of nitrous or any other power adder.
Victor Downs was the first...
Victor Downs was the first to bring a modular engine to the Pure Street ranks and it appears that he has started a trend with a few other mod-powered entries at the World Finals. Downs qualified seventh with a 10.66 at 128 mph.
Winner Ron Anderson wheeled...
Winner
Ron Anderson wheeled the Leo Johnson-owned, Pure Street-legal coupe to victory in Bowling Green. The team also set the e.t. record with a 10.22 and won the championship. Pure Street is a naturally aspirated, heads-up class for engines under 310 ci.
Winner JPC Racing's Eric...
Winner
JPC Racing's Eric Holliday proved the Two-Valve combination is a force to reckon with in Factory Stock competition. Holliday launched his car into the spotlight with an 11.43 qualifying effort and then grabbed the class win with an 11.40 at 117 mph in the finals against Steve Gifford.
Swill Racing was hauling the...
Swill Racing was hauling the mail in 2006 with their Renegade racer. The Vortech-blown ride made a run at the championship this year with Scott Lovell handling the driving chores again. The team was one of three contenders for the title heading into the final race of the year. Lovell lost in the semis when the car pulled a hard wheelie and slowed. The coupe had run mid-eights all year long and oftentimes set the standard in the class.
Busting the juice! Joe Morgan...
Busting the juice! Joe Morgan purged the Edelbrock nitrous systems in his Pro 5.0 entry. The Motive Gear-backed team heads into a six-second/200-mph battle with a nitrous-snorting 632ci, big-block Ford.
John Kolivas won the '06 Drag...
John Kolivas won the '06 Drag Radial championship under the watchful eye of Job Spetter Jr. In Bowling Green, the car knocked down a class-leading 8.10 during eliminations but slowed up in the finals where Kolivas lost to Bob Kurgan.
Winner Brian Mitchell grabbed...
Winner
Brian Mitchell grabbed another class win in EFI Renegade and won the championship title in dramatic fashion. Mitchell was the long shot at winning the championship and he threw down a serious effort at Bowling Green. Using consistency and great driving, the Vortech-backed racer beat George Seeger in the finals (8.70 to 9.18) and clinched the championship at the same time. It was the second time Mitchell was crowned the EFI Renegade champion.
Winner Bob Kurgan might be...
Winner
Bob Kurgan might be a rookie in the Drag Radial class, but he isn't a rookie racer as he owns a few championships in other racing categories. The savvy veteran negotiated his way through the tricky street tire class and won. The Vortech X-Trim-pumped engine pushed this '86 Mustang GT to a best of 8.16 at 170 mph.
Brian Meyer dragged the bumper...
Brian Meyer dragged the bumper a few times at the World Finals, but he didn't care, as he brought home his second straight Real Street championship title.
Dwayne James of Hellion Power...
Dwayne James of Hellion Power Systems was racing in the Outlaw 10.5 category with this twin turbocharged Mustang. The car belonged to Billy Glidden in 2000, but James updated a few things and added the twice-turbocharged engine under the hood. Bent four-link bars prevented the team from turning up the wick. They did report that the car was originally built to be a lightweight nitrous car and wasn't meant to have a 2,200hp engine in it. James vowed to be back in 2007 with an updated chassis and six-second times.
Winner The Modular Muscle...
Winner
The Modular Muscle championship fight was quite dramatic considering there were 47 cars competing in the class and the top-two points earners met in the final to decide who won it all. Robert Hindman lined up against Chris Colitas for all the glory. Both racers broke out, but Hindman got the win with a 12.07 on a 12.10, while Colitas ran 11.82 on his 11.88 index.
Winner Eight-second street...
Winner
Eight-second street cars are totally cool. William Slavey proved the street-worthiness of his beast by running his car for 30 miles with no problems. After the cruise, the Wild Street contestants sat in the staging lanes for a few hours due to rain. Slavey finished off the night with an impressive 8.91 average.
Winner It was big-block versus...
Winner
It was big-block versus small-block as Sam Dyer lined up against Jeff Moses in the finals of Open Comp. Moses dropped a sick 0.007 reaction time, but Dyer grabbed the win. Both finalists broke out of their index.
Dyer ran 10.806 on a 10.82,...
Dyer ran 10.806 on a 10.82, while Moses knocked down a 10.911 performance on a 10.93. Dyer was rewarded with the win light.