Steve Matusek of Aeromotive...
Steve Matusek of Aeromotive squared off against David Schorr in a best-of-three match race. Matusek ran a best of 6.47 at 219 mph to grab one round win, while Schorr had a best of 6.60 to take the other round. The third round was cancelled when Matusek's tire developed a strange bubble on the sidewall.
It was mid-June when the NMRA opened the gates at Milan Dragway (Milan, Michigan) for the third race in the seven-event Keystone Ford Nationals racing and car-show series. The racers headed to Ford Motor Company's home state as championship hopes were starting to take shape. While the rest of the nation has certainly been effected by the enormous price jump in gasoline and diesel, the NMRA racers showed up in large numbers, as prestige and bragging rights were still on the line for anyone to grab.
NMRA officials packed the Milan stop on the tour (which was sponsored by Aeromotive Fuel Systems) with extra classes and features for racers and fans. In addition to the normal line up of bracket racing, index racing, heads-up competition, a manufacturers' midway, and the car show, the organization debuted its latest class-JDM Engineering Super Stang. It's a bracket racing category that attracted 21 competitors during the kick-off event. Milan was the first stop on a four-race schedule for JDM Super Stang, and it was a wild shootout between 10-second, $100,000 Saleen race cars to bolt-on V-6 cars and everything in between. Larry Russell Jr. took the inaugural win over JDM's Paul Gamino driving the shop's new race car.
Power-Adder Heads-Up Classes
Conrad Scarry drove Ken Seeger's '02 Mustang GT to its third-straight NMRA victory in the Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5 ranks. The Florida-based racing team was paired against local favorite Dan Millen of Livernois Motorsports. Both racers rely on turbochargers-Millen prefers to run a single 106mm unit while Scarry has two 88mm turbochargers- and both utilize small-block Ford engines. Millen went red, in what was suspected to be a problem with the starting-line lights. Scarry blasted to the win with a 6.96 to Millen's 7.03. Both racers screamed to the finish line at a terminal speed of 207 mph.
 NMRA at Milan was the first-ever...  NMRA at Milan was the first-ever JDM Engineering Super Stang race, a category designed specifically for S197 Mustangs. Paul Gamino (shown) drove JDM's 25th Anni-versary Saleen Mustang to the runner-up spot. The car ran mid-10s all weekend long. |  Our very own Evan Smith competed...  Our very own Evan Smith competed in a special Ford Racing Invitational race that pitted editors from an assortment of magazines and Web sites. He was picked as being the favorite to win due to his vast experience in drag racing. However, the car ran too fast in the first round when Smitty went 13.29 on his 13.30 dial-in. The car was a Shelby GT500 'vert that had over 650 hp and stock Goodyear F1 tires. That makes for a terrible bracket racing vehicle. |  The Show-'n'-Shine portion...  The Show-'n'-Shine portion of the event was packed with nice Fords. Here are Sunday's car-show winners. |
The ProCharger Super Street Outlaw ranks saw extremely tight competition as racers jockeyed for the top qualifying position. Don Burton was crowned at the top of the ladder with a 7.49 but lost in the third round of competition. That left the door wide open, and AJ Powell rushed through it with an impressive display of consistency. Powell drove his ProCharger-powered ride to the winner's circle with a string of 7.50 runs. He took out local favorite John MacDonald in the final round with a 7.58 at 185 mph.
It was a wild weekend in BFGoodrich Drag Radial action, with John Kolivas firing off a 7.99 run during test and tune. Kolivas didn't come close the rest of the weekend, largely due to the heat and track conditions. He also had to repair his engine Saturday night when the Four-Valve modular engine dropped a valve. The shining light in Drag Radial belonged to the other modular-powered Stang, driven by Joey Bridge and owned by Sonny Biggs. The Mississippi racers blasted to a win over Kolivas, 8.17 to an 8.20.
Former True-Street-standout-turned-heads-up racer Joel Howard was credited with the DiabloSport EFI Renegade win. Howard's sanitary '86 Mustang GT is one of the most popular cars in the class due to its street looks and mid 8-second performances. In addition to Howard's nitrous victory, Bruce Hemminger scored another class victory for the giggle-gas crowd, as he took home the Real Street title with a commanding final-round performance. Hemminger beat defending series champion Tim Matherly, 9.74 to Matherly's 9.77.
Naturally Aspirated Heads-Up Classes
The top-ranking naturally aspirated class, Edelbrock Hot Street, is the NMRA's version of NHRA Pro Stock. The high-winding, free-breathing entries were stacked up against each other in the high-eight-second zone. It was anyone's battle, and the championship is wide open.
The packed house watched Robbie Blakenship run the tables. The Roush-powered '03 Cobra clone blasted to victory with consistent 8.80s. He took out Mike DeMayo for the final act when the black LX went red. Blakenship unleashed an 8.83 on the freebie.
 Justin Burcham of JPC Racing...  Justin Burcham of JPC Racing took the Heddman Headers True Street Overall Winner spot with his S197 Mustang. He went easy on the Ford Racing Aluminator engine and sprayed the ProCharged Pony only in high gear. Burcham finished with a 9.70 average. |  Cory McComsey was Overall...  Cory McComsey was Overall Runner-Up with his gorgeous Mach 1 sleeper. A Livernois Motorsports-built Four-Valve engine and a ProCharger D1SC blower power the car. Visually, the car looks stock from the interior to the wheels. There's only a boost gauge that's visible. Upon closer inspection, you start to notice things like a larger exhaust, a serious rumble, and then the kicker-stock Mach 1 wheels that were narrowed in the front and widened in the back. McComsey finished with a 10.64 average. |  Jeffery Carroll finished with...  Jeffery Carroll finished with a DNF because his coupe pushed through the lights in Round 1. He did, however, continue to participate and ran 10.42 and a 10.46 in Rounds 2 and 3. The coupe features a 331 stroker engine with a custom single turbo system, C4 transmission, and enough power to knock off 9.70s at 139 mph during test-and-tune nights. |
 John MariotTi was the 14-second...  John MariotTi was the 14-second winner with a 14.03 average. His '96 Mustang Cobra not only looks sweet, but it has been modified with 4.30 gears, a cold-air kit, pulleys, a DiabloSport Predator, and an Eibach suspension system. |  Our Super Sleeper award belongs...  Our Super Sleeper award belongs to Will Carroll of Ohio. A former MM&FF shootout participant, the turbocharged '06 Stang is virtually stock looking from the outside. Then you pop the hood and find a Powerhouse turbo system huffing massive boost into a built Three-Valve engine. Mid-10s is the norm, and Carroll finished with a 10.89 average and fourth overall. |  Jeff Schmell participated...  Jeff Schmell participated in our Shelby Shootout last month and had problems with the differential in his ride. He got home, had a rollbar installed, added a complete TRZ Motorsports rear suspension, and swapped out the rear for something a bit meatier. He finished as the 11-second winner with an 11.41 average. Schmell reports that his Shelby ran several 10-second runs the week prior to the event. The heat soak slowed his Shelby to low-11s during True Street competition. |