Mustang Ownership can be rewarding, but one of the coolest parts has to be sharing your enthusiasm with other Mustang owners. If you've never been to one of the numerous Ford races that are held throughout the year, you owe it to yourself to check one out. This year's 29th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Ford Expo at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, was a hot one and is consistently one of the best to attend, as it offers a plethora of both late-model and vintage Ford iron.
The Columbus meet is the sixth stop on the NMRA Keystone Automotive championship tour, and it offers something for every Ford owner to enjoy. Drag racing is the largest part of the show, and the NMRA offers both heads-up and bracket style classes. In addition to the heads-up, index, and bracket categories, the Columbus stop plays host to the annual Y-Block shootout-this year being its 12th season-as well as the annual Ford Capri Swarm, which is put on by the Capri Club of North America. Yes, that's the Ford Capri, not the Mercury version. If you haven't seen one before, this is the event to go to.
Our beloved MM&FF True Street class offered up 55 cars in Columbus. Only 51 were able to hack it and make the road trip as well as all three back-to-back runs. In the end, it was high-nine-second performances that took the big trophy, the crown, and the cash. It was also a four-cylinder Mustang that showed the V-8 cars how it was done. You can read more about that later on in the story.
While there was plenty of racing to watch, the Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Auto Show & Shine filled the grounds with more than 200 cars, while the swap meet offered parts for late-model cars and vintage rides as well.
Be sure to check out the photos and captions to see who the winners were, along with all of the other fun that was to be had at the '07 Nitto Tire NMRA Ford Expo.
 Three, two, one-liftoff. Perry...  Three, two, one-liftoff. Perry Santini's modular-powered Super Street Outlaw entry produced more smoke during its launch than its burnout. In the Second round of qualifying, it wasn't the smoke but a slight straying out of the groove that had the four-eyed filly swerving from wall to wall at the top end. A mere scrape on the corner of the rear bumper cover was the result, and Santini was back at it Sunday in eliminations. |  Winner True Street was fast...  Winner
True Street was fast and furious in more ways than one. Jon Huber put a hurtin' on the competition with his turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang, and he took the crown and the goods home thanks to his Pony's 9.90 average over his three runs. Huber has been trading low four-cylinder e.t.'s with Michigander Dave Flanders for years now, but he recently put the gray hatchback down in the 8s to take the record. Since then, he has dialed the combo back a bit and installed a large-frame 80mm turbo, since they kept chucking turbine wheels out the exhaust. You can check out Huber's full-on feature article back in the Aug. '07 issue of MM&FF. |  Tim Casto of Mason, West Virginia,...  Tim Casto of Mason, West Virginia, gave Jon Huber a run for his money, as his average was just 0.04 second behind him. The '95 Cobra took the runner-up spot with a 9.94 average. |