All Ford Mustang - Garden State Gathering

In the Detroit Locker Truck and Lightning category, John Riccio's Ranger gunned down Jim D'Amore's Saleen truck. D'Amore, who was doing double duty in Mod Muscle with his JDM-powered Saleen Mustang, scored the holeshot but couldn't run close enough to his 13.09 index, giving the win to Riccio, who recorded a 10.46 (10.37 index). It was neat to see the full-court press of Saleen vehicles, including an S281 NA Mustang, a blown version, D'Amore's truck, and a PJ model as they did battle with the slew of Roush vehicles and even a Shelby GT500 or two built by Evolution Motorsports.

The MM&FF True Street contingent showcased arguably the quickest and baddest True Street field seen in NMRA competition to date. To make it into the top five, competitors needed to record better than a 10.04-second average and better than a 12.46-second average to settle in the top 25. After cruising around scenic southern New Jersey for 30 miles, 38 drivers made the required three passes down the Atco quarter-mile. When the runs were tallied and averaged out, John Kokinda showed them all how it was done, recording a 9.02-second average. The low-9-second average was aided by an opening 8.61-second hit. Brian Zaid's notchback, a former MM&FF feature car, ended up in the runner-up position with a 9.83-second average, and rounding out the top three was Art Heninger, who averaged a 9.85.

As the season winds down, the point chases get closer and the pressure rises. Stay tuned as the series travels to Columbus next.

The bracket-racing action was hot and wild. Chris Stratton took home the Super Ford win, his second in as many years-not too shabby for an ex-Roy Hill/ Richie Stevens Pro Stock Truck.	Winner John Kolivas went back to Ashland, Mississippi, with the Drag Radial gold. Kolivas sneaked past an opening-round bout that ended up being a pedal fest as both he and his opponent lost traction. After that near miss, Kolivas backed off the car to get it down the track, and the setup worked.	Winner Tony Orts earned his first-ever NMRA win with a final-round triumph over Aaron Stapleton. Orts' game plan for the weekend was not to beat himself, and the end result was the win light on his side of the racetrack-not too bad a result after seriously hurting the engine in qualifying, forcing an all-night thrash.
Winner Sean Mohan's Mustang rolled to the top 15-second time in the Atco True Street competition. A best e.t. of a 14.98, coupled with a pair of low 15-second elapsed times, computed to a 15.18-second average.		Winner Charlie Booze got the Hot Street win the easy way when final-round opponent Justin Curry left the starting line a bit too soon. Booze seems to be back on track and on his way to winning another Hot Street championship.
Jim D'Amore's Saleen truck (left) paired up with John Riccio's Ranger (right). Things were even in the staging lanes, but at the finish line, the race turned in Riccio's favor.	Jimmy Wilson came oh-so-close to winning it all in Pure Street. He lost the final-round decision to Victor Downs by a mere three-hundredths of a second.	Winner Don Bowles ripped off an 8.99 out of the experimental Ford powerplant-powered Roush Mustang-his first 8-second run ever. In addition to the top-secret powerplant being quick, it was also consistent, allowing Bowles to take home the Open Comp win.