Norwalk Fun Ford Weekend - Wheelin' And Dealin'

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.

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.