Those who rolled into Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the Full Throttle Kustomz Fun Ford Weekend Buckeye Nationals came looking for wild, wheels-up, blistering-fast Ford racing. When the smoke had cleared and the racing was done, they weren't disappointed.
The baddest cars in the place competed in Precision Turbo Street Outlaw. Tim Lynch set the tone for the weekend, ripping off a blistering 6.80-second pass to hunker down in the number-one qualifying spot. Lynch lined up against Jimmy Keen for the money run, and what promised to be a great race (Keen was the number-two qualifier) was over as soon as it began as Keen left the starting line a mere 0.003 second too soon. Lynch, seeing that he had the automatic win from Keen's red light, shut down the car and cruised the Norwalk quarter-mile to victory.
Winner Tim Lynch wrecked...
Winner
Tim Lynch wrecked the Precision Turbo Street Outlaw field with his twin-turbo, Steve Petty-prepared Mustang. After qualifying number one with a 6.80, he downed Jimmy Keen in the final for the win.
ProCharger Street Renegade saw the '00 Mustang of Travis Franklin square off against the '92 Stang of Timmy Smith. Franklin took the final-round win from beginning to end, leaving the starting line first and never looking back, and clicking off an 8.10, which was more than enough to handle Smith's troubled 9.94.
Borla Street Bandit featured Josh Short and Tom Conrad in the final. Conrad, who has been on a major tear with both his Bandit car and his Street Stang ride, took home the victory in Norwalk. Scoring a slight holeshot, he recorded a 10.87 on the 10.60 Street Bandit index, which was more than enough to overwhelm the 11.15-second effort of Short.
The American Racing Headers Mod Comp final saw Dan Sikora stage against Johnny Weller. Only seven-thousandths of a second separated the two in reaction time, but at the stripe, Weller's 13.18 e.t. was well under his 13.25 dial-in, handing the breakout win to Sikora, who lit up the boards with a safe 11.43 (11.34 dial-in).
The JDM Engineering team of Jim D'Amore and son Jim III combined to double-up in Ford Racing Ultra Stang and Saleen Street Stang, respectively. The senior D'Amore took care of Chris Parisi in the Ultra Stang final. He scored a huge holeshot over Parisi and rolled off of the throttle at the finish line, recording a 10.67 that was well over his 10.17 dial-in. As for D'Amore "the kid," he utilized an 0.027 to 0.045 reaction time advantage over reigning Street Stang champion Mark Anderson to take home the win with an 0.01-over 12.51 (12.50 index). In JDM Engineering Tough Truck, Gerry Vanveen and his Ranger downed the Lightning of Robert Chuhran when Chuhran turned on the foul light.
True Street saw 72 cars run for fun and prizes, and after completing the 30-mile cruise,it was the wheels-up notchback Mustang of Marty Merillat taking home the crown. Merillat obliterated the competition on the first pass, ripping off an 8.88, which helped him finalize a 9.16-second average, besting Second-Place Steve Critchlow's 9.50-second average. Round-ing out the top three was the Top 10-second winner, Paul Nadau, who averaged a 10.25 over three runs.
Fast Fords, $1-a-pound ice cream, and a facility worth every bit spent on upgrades to get it ready for an inaugural NHRA national event, all added up to one great weekend of racing.

Winner Marty Merillat and...

Winner
Marty Merillat and his notchback Fox-body was hanging the hoops all weekend. Running a 300hp shot of laughing gas, Merillat blistered the Norwalk quarter-mile in 8.882 seconds. Coupled with a pair of low-9-second passes, he won the True Street category with a 9.169-second average. Best of all, he had the stands and starting line filled on Saturday night when he won the True Street Quick 8 race while traveling the first 330 feet on the rear bumper. Talk about a photo op!

Winner Travis Franklin took...

Winner
Travis Franklin took the ProCharger Street Renegade class from wire to wire, qualifying number one and downing Timmy Smith in the final. Franklin's best run of the weekend was a 7.78.

Winner Gerry Vanveen and...

Winner
Gerry Vanveen and his red Ranger captured the JDM Engineering Tough Truck win. Vanveen got the win when final-round opponent Robert Chuhran fouled out.

Winner Dan Sikora cruised...

Winner
Dan Sikora cruised to victory in American Racing Headers' Mod Comp, piloting his colorful Fox-body Mustang. Sikora, who drew Johnny Weller in the trophy dash, got the "W" when Weller ran under his prediction.

Winner The first half of...

Winner
The first half of the D'Amore family winner's circle reunion began when Jim III gunned down Mark Anderson in the money round of Saleen Street Stang. "The kid" combined an 0.027-second reaction time with a 12.51-second run on the 12.50-second class index for the win.

Winner The D'Amore double-win...

Winner
The D'Amore double-win was secured with Jim Sr.'s final-round triumph over Chris Parisi in Ford Racing Ultra Stang. Parisi was mighty late on the starting line, allowing D'Amore to cruise around for the 10.67-second victory.

Timmy Smith was plagued with...

Timmy Smith was plagued with mechanical troubles for most of the weekend. Even so, he still managed to get his '92 Mustang into the final round of ProCharger Street Renegade.

Robert Chuhran left the starting...

Robert Chuhran left the starting line in the final round of JDM Engineering Tough Truck a tad too soon, but a runner-up finish from his red Lightning was a good result nonetheless.

Reigning Saleen Street Stang...

Reigning Saleen Street Stang champion Mark Anderson tangled with Jim D'Amore III in the final round in Norwalk and came up empty.

Winner To say Tom Conrad...

Winner
To say Tom Conrad has been on a tear would be an understatement. He's been setting 'em up and knockin 'em down in both Borla Street Bandit and Saleen Street Stang. In Norwalk, Conrad used a 10.87-second pass in the final round to down Josh Short in Street Bandit.

Chris Parisi gave it all he...

Chris Parisi gave it all he had in the Ford Racing Ultra Stang trophy dash, but a breakout 15.57-second pass on his 15.59-second dial-in spelled doom at the stripe.

The numbers that came up on...

The numbers that came up on the scoreboard every time Tim Lynch went through the finish line showed to all in Precision Turbo Street Outlaw that he meant business.

Winner Ron Shaeffer's black...

Winner
Ron Shaeffer's black SN-95 Mustang ripped off an 11.09-second best in True Street to nail down the top 11-second time with an 11.282-second average.

Steve Critchlow was consistently...

Steve Critchlow was consistently in the mid-9-second zone on all three of his True Street runs. Recording elapsed times of a 9.61, a 9.49, and a 9.42, his 9.509-second average e.t. placed him in the runner-up position.

Winner Adam Benczo used an...

Winner
Adam Benczo used an 11.44-second best to average out a 12.085-second e.t. and took home the top 12-second time in True Street with his Fox-body.

Winner Finishing in the third...

Winner
Finishing in the third position while recording the top 10-second elapsed time was Paul Nadau and his old-school Mustang. Sporting a turbocharged powerplant, Nadau averaged a 10.255 over his triple set of runs.

Josh Short came up a bit short...

Josh Short came up a bit short (sorry, folks-couldn't resist) in the Borla Street Bandit final. He ran into trouble in the trophy round and handed the win to final-round opponent Tom Conrad.

Winner The Saleen Mustang...

Winner
The Saleen Mustang of Mark Mraovich nailed down the True Street 13-second win with a 13.015 average that was helped out by a best run of a 12.92.

Jimmy Keen did all he could...

Jimmy Keen did all he could to deliver the knockout punch to Tim Lynch in the final round of Precision Turbo Street Outlaw. Unfortunately, he pressed things too far on the starting line, lighting the red light on the tree and handing the automatic win to Lynch.

Johnny Weller tried to get...

Johnny Weller tried to get on the brakes at the finish line in his American Racing Headers Mod Comp final-round bout with Dan Sikora. He didn't get on the binders soon enough, though, and recorded a 13.18-second breakout time that relegated him to the runner-up spot.

Even the Batmobile made an...

Even the Batmobile made an appearance in Norwalk. While Batman was there, Robin was missed by all.

Dick Brannan Ford hauled down...

Dick Brannan Ford hauled down a quadruplet set of nostalgia Super Stock cars that were on display in the car show. All four cars were record-setters way back in the beginning days of NHRA Super Stock and have been meticulously restored to as-raced condition.

Mason Darnes spent his weekend...

Mason Darnes spent his weekend shining up his mother's Cobra in the car-show area. Darnes and family hail from Newark, Ohio, which is just down the road from Norwalk.

'Nuff said.

Raymond Orbas cruised from...

Raymond Orbas cruised from Medina, Ohio, to compete in Precision Turbo Street Outlaw, lining up against defending class champion Conrad Scarry in the opening round of competition. While everyone watched, Orbas' notchback got loose after leaving the line. He almost saved the car, but ended up on his lid, sliding down the Norwalk quarter-mile for a while. Orbas was OK, and the damage appeared mostly cosmetic.

Jim Brown took a single in...

Jim Brown took a single in Round 1 of Precision Turbo Street Outlaw when Brian Carpenter was a no-show. Brown, who torched a piston on Friday's first qualifying session, couldn't come back and face Jimmy Keen in the semifinals.