NMRA Ford Drag Racing Series - Gear Jammin' In Georgia

The EFI Renegade class continues to be one of the most popular in the NMRA racing arsenal. Longtime UPR-sponsored Renegade racer Bart Tobener has added his Vortech powered 330-cube mod-motor Cobra to the competitive mix. Tobener took out Brian Tuten in Round 1 and top-qualifier Aaron Stapleton in the second, which gave him a bye to the final. He will have a rematch with Brian Mitchell, whom he beat in the Bradenton final when Mitchell put it on the bumper.

Judson Massingill and his wife, Linda, run the School of Automotive Machinists (SAM) in Houston, Texas. The students' favorite class is NMRA Race Weekend, where they gather around the race car piloted by Justin Curry in the all-motor Edelbrock Hot Street category. Justin qualified the car in the number-one spot with a record-breaking 8.78; then proved his driving prowess with 0.029 and 0.035 reaction times to go with his 8.83 and 8.81 winning runs to make the final four.

Andy and Matt Schmidt's 400-cube BES small-block puts out an undisclosed 900-plus horsepower through a tricked-out Pro Systems 4150-style carburetor-no Dominators are allowed in Edelbrock Hot Street. The Powerglide-powered Pony got by Mike Curcio in the first round and outpowered Mike DeMayo 8.80 to 8.89 in the second. Bangin' Bob Hanlon's five-speed slapstick will be waiting for them in Michigan when eliminations continue.

Ben Mens is at the forefront of the Roush engine development movement. He pilots the second car in the DeMayo stable, which is, of course, equipped with one of Roush's newest 360 powerplants. They've had good luck running the small motor with the new Rossler Turbo 400 three-speed transmission, running low 8.8s most of the weekend. Their 8.80 win over Mike Abshagen will give them lane choice over the SAM car's 8.81 when the two meet in the semis at the Milan race, which is Mens' home track.

Bruce Hemminger's '86 JPC, White's Pit Stop-sponsored Mustang utilizes a set of out-of-the-box stock Twisted Wedge heads, the class-required stock camshaft, and an Edelbrock 200hp EFI dry system atop the Bily Glidden-built bulletproof bottom end. Hemminger qualified Third and ousted Richard Karr and Michael Washington from competition. Tim Matherly is the last one standing in Hemminger's way to a Real Street victory.

Jim Breeze is a former champion in the Modular Motor Class. His passion for racing had him build an MV Performance sister car to run in the hotly contested Real Street class. His ProCharger-powered, mod-motored Steeda is one of the most consistent bumper draggers in the class. Breeze lost a close contest in the semis to teammate Tim Matherly, 9.91 to 9.84.

Former Real Street class champ Tim Matherly posted the best e.t.'s at both Bradenton and Atlanta, setting records at each event. The ProCharger P1SC2 is his power adder of choice. Matherly's 8.836 qualifying pass reset the class record, and he's looking to extend his undefeated streak at the race's continuance.

Modular Performance is a family-owned business; its specialty is designing and building high-performance modular engines. Owners John and son Michael Tymensky were some of the first to successfully produce big horsepower numbers from the nearly stock 4.6 modular pieces about 10 years ago. Ken Bjonnes ran a 10.48 in NMRA Pure Street with one of their R&D engines in 2005. Now Mike has loaded up the same engine in his seasoned Skinny Kid-built '01 Cobra and proved they still got it with a number-two qualifying 10.37.

The majority of racers in Tremec Pure Street class utilize the enduring Tremec T5 transmission. Jimmy Wilson exemplifies why the class is not only a blast to compete in, but is definitely becoming one of the crowd favorites.

The Boys at BFGoodrich posted a $1,740 bonus fund for the top eight Factory Stock points chasers from 2006. Steve Gifford shocked everyone when he marched through consecutive 11.61, 11.51, and 11.42 rounds to decimate the baffled field.

The NMRA car show is always a spectacle of horsepower, chrome, and nostalgia. Participants fight it out for dozens of beautiful trophy plaques and enjoy a weekend of heads-up racing as a bonus.

Jonathan Paulk is the other half of Team JPC Factory Stock; the same RGR (Chicago) recipe but with an MSD Programmable Digital-7 box. Paulk says that Justin Burcham waved his magic computer mouse over his MSD box and-bam!-an 11.63 to 11.65 win light appeared over Eric Holiday's mod-motored powerhouse.

El Smith's all-motor Danny Daughty-built 5.4 is armed with no more than a stock steel crankshaft, Mahle pistons, and a pair of Ford FR500 camshafts. The C4-powered '99 is a pleasant change of tune from all the supercharged mod cars. Consistent 11-second runs earned him a runner-up in the Roush-sponsored Modular Muscle class.

Bill Jones was the man to beat in Crane Cams Open Comp. Not only did he post a 0.001 light to qualify, but consecutive 0.022, 0.011, and 0.002 bulbs decorated his weekend rsum. His 393-cube stroked Cleveland posted two 10.91s and a 10.94 on his 10.90 qualifying time. His amazing weekend was topped off with a 0.002, 10.92 on a 10.90 package against Shane Williams' 0.016, 12.09 on 12.07 package for his spot in the final. Unfortunately, the weather moved in and he and reigning champ Randy Conway had to flip for the win as Jones is being recalled to active duty with the U.S. Air Force, making him unavailable for a continuance. Even though he lost the toss, we can all rest assured that only the sharpest tools in the shed are guarding our skies.

Reggie Burnette Jr. has been riding high after winning his first race at the FFW season opener. A streak of reaction times low in the teens and near dead-on e.t.'s put him in the semis against the most winning racer in mod-motor history, reigning champ Robert Hindman. An amazing 0.013 bulb and a 12.869 on his 12.86 forced Hindman to break out to catch him.