2008 NMRA Keystone Ford Nationals Atlanta - Land of the Confederacy

As did Scarry in Pro Outlaw 10.5, John Kolivas went two-for-two in Drag Radial when he overcame the challenge of Bob Kurgan in a rematch of the Bradenton final. Kolivas, whose 8.17-second effort in qualifying put him more than 0.2 second ahead of the rest of the field, proceeded to obliterate the competition when eliminations began. After running an 8.24 in Round 1, he ripped off a pair of 8.12-second passes in Round 2 and the semifinals, before recording an 8.20 in the final for the win. While the outcome was the same as in Bradenton, both Kolivas and Kurgan are neck and neck in the points race, with their pair of final-round battles distancing them from Third-Place Phil Clemmons.

The final round in Real Street was a repeat of the Bradenton event, as Tim Matherly once again squared off against Jim Breese. As in Bradenton, it was Matherly coming out on top when he overcame Breese's final round holeshot to take the win by a 9.74 to 9.81 count. Breese got the best of Matherly in qualifying as his 9.76 earned him the number-one spot, but it was Matherly extending his points lead, albeit slightly, with the final-round win.

The Pure Street cars were purely spectacular, as most everyone in the class spent time on the bumper and looking at the sky. When battle was done, it was Brandon Alsept's '98 Mustang laying down the gauntlet and winning from wire-to-wire. Alsept ripped off a 10.29 to nab the number-one spot in qualifying, and then gunned down the '99 Mustang of Ryan Hecox in the final. Alsept left first and never looked back, as his 10.38 was more than enough to handle the 10.39-second effort of Hecox. The win in Atlanta, coupled with a semifinal finish in Bradenton, pushed Alsept into the points lead for the category.

The Factory Stock final was also a repeat of the Bradenton race. Bradenton winner Steve Gifford lined up against the '89 Mustang of that event's runner-up, John Leslie. According to the qualifying sheet, Leslie had a sizeable advantage, as he was the number-one qualifier with an 11.36, while Gifford settled into the three hole with an 11.60. The thing is, races are run on the track and not on paper, and for Gifford, that's a good thing as his 11.46 gunned down the 11.60 by Leslie for his second-straight win. Both Gifford and Leslie have distanced themselves from the rest of the Factory Stock field, as the two reside First and Second in points, respectively.

In the Modular Muscle final round, a pair of '01 Mustangs duked it out for the win, with the steed belonging to Tom Motycka coming out on top over the ride of Susan McClenaghan. Both drivers were nearly perfect on the starting line, as McClenaghan's 0.017 reaction time was just a tick behind Motycka's 0.005 light. At the stripe, both drivers went under their respective predictions, but after the computer did the math, it was Motycka's 12.45 (12.47) earning the decision over McClenaghan's 10.67 (10.69) by a scant 0.001 second. With her second-straight runner-up finish, though, McClenaghan moved past Reggie Burnette for the top spot in the points standings.

It was the other Motycka scoring the win in the Truck category, as Mike slipped past the '99 Lightning of Johnny Lightning for the conquest. Motycka left on Lightning, and then used a 12.07 pass on his 12.03 dial-in to handle the 11.50-second effort (11.45 dial-in) of Lightning for the victory.

Michael Olencheck gave everyone in Open Comp a driving lesson on his way to a final-round slam-dunk over Danny Towe. After recording a 0.088 reaction time and running a 10.35 on his 10.26 dial-in in the opening round of competition, Olencheck, who never changed his 10.26 prediction all day, ran a 10.261 in Round 2, a 10.265 in Round 3, a 10.263 in the semifinals, and a 10.262 in the final. Towe made it easy on Olencheck in the final as he fouled out by a miniscule 0.003 second, handing the easy win to Olencheck.

Although the rain wiped out Saturday's action, the MM&FF True Street competitors stayed until Sunday to compete. After finishing the required 30-mile cruise, the surviving cars attempted to run their required three quarter-mile passes, and it was Stephen Posenau and his '02 Mustang, a former MM&FF feature car, taking home the win. Posenau opened with the only 9-second run seen in the category, a 9.82, and then matched it up with a 10.19 and a 10.66 to seal the deal with a 10.27 average. Larry Waters Jr. ended the day as the runner-up after averaging a 10.62 in his '88 Mustang. Rounding out the top three was Elton Pearman, who also made it into the 10-second zone with a 10.87-second average, placing himself Third on the results sheet.