National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, was first completed in 1964 and began hosting NHRA events in 1972, nestled amongst central Ohio's cornfields just east of downtown.
On May 22, 2005, Tony Schumacher set the NHRA quarter-mile top speed national record there at 336.15 mph, which still stands to this day. Later that same year, the Ford Expo welcomed NMRA racing to the all-Ford event for the first time. Since then, the Exedy Racing Clutch NMRA Ford Expo has been drawing racers and spectators alike from all over the country.
This year, the Labor Day weekend event featured all the familiar NMRA classes, a whole class of Y-block classics, a mob of bracket racers, and-our favorite-the Tremec/MM&FF True Street challenge. The beautiful late-summer Ohio weather made for a good turnout and some sticky track conditions.
The show car field was packed with classics and late-models alike on Saturday and Sunday. Winners were chosen for each day, and awards were given out for each category. From pre-war flathead iron to tricked-out modular muscle, there was something for everyone. We even spotted a clan of European Ford Capris, some '10 Stangs, and a really cool '63 Fairlane gasser owned by Shannon Davis of Zanesville, Ohio.
The Tremec True Street event began Saturday at noon with a 30-mile cruise down back roads between cornfields and back to the track for a cool down. Fifty of the fifty-four participants survived the cruise to begin the three consecutive passes down the 1,320. One of the contenders, Pete Ricart, made only one pass (9.54) before he blew a water pump gasket. When it was all over, Kurt Borton and his '82 Fairmont ("The Almond Assassin," Sept. '09) earned the victory with a 9.02-second average.
Borton made the long trip from Missouri, but it was worth it as runner-up Justin Burcham's average was nearly 0.3 slower (9.28). Any one of the top five could have won, but Burcham, Chad Fisher (10-second winner, 10.12-second average), Mike Martyn (9.61-second average), and Tim Casto (9-second winner, 9.39-second average) all had traction problems.
Borton's Fairmont blew smoke it's entire third run, which was apparently just transmission fluid boiling out from hot-lapping the 800-rwhp classic Fox. Kris Mustacchio wheeled his Vortech-supercharged '91 LX hatch to a lucky 11-second win (11.02-second average) after his supercharger belt shredded on his second run. Billy Holeshot took the 12-second win with a 12.06-second average, and Tom Conrad received the 15-second victory with a 15.06-second average.
In the Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5 class, Dan Millen took the win over Conrad Scarry, running a 6.72 over Scarry's 6.91 in the final. John Urist tucked yet another win under his belt in the ProCharger Super Street Outlaw class with a 7.40-second run in the final over John MacDonald's 7.49.
Mike Look launches his V-10-powered...
Mike Look launches his V-10-powered '91 LX hatch hard during Tremec True Street.
Mark Colombini of Dublin,...
Mark Colombini of Dublin, Ohio, is seen on the Tremec True Street cruise. His '03 Mach 1 has a beefed-up torque converter, 4.10 gears, and a tubular K-member. Colombini was the 13-second winner in the True Street event.
Reggie Burnette jr. won the...
Reggie Burnette jr. won the Roush Performance Modular Muscle class over runner-up Donnie Bowles after Bowles red-lighted in the final.
Matt Stanford and his Cobra...
Matt Stanford and his Cobra Jet Mustang finished runner-up in the JDM Super Stang, right behind winner Chris Parisi and his V-6 S197.
Y-block cars and trucks made...
Y-block cars and trucks made quite an appearance for the Ford Expo. Many, like this '57, were big but fast too. This beast dialed in at 11.70.
MM&FF Senior Technical Editor...
MM&FF Senior Technical Editor Steve Baur checks out his "do" using the polished intake of Mike Martyn's turbocharged convertible. Martyn's 1,015-rwhp GT averaged 9.61 seconds in the Tremec True Street event. It features a 91mm turbo pumping out 30 psi of boost.
Bob Dill's Lightning blew...
Bob Dill's Lightning blew a head gasket, torching the cylinder head, during time shots on Friday. The crew worked through the night welding and hand-milling the head with a file trying to get it back on the track for Round 1 on Saturday. Although he made first call, Bob was eliminated by Rick Devito.
Aaron and Teresa Gardner showed...
Aaron and Teresa Gardner showed off their 2,800-original-mile '94 SVT Cobra. It won numerous awards in the car show.
Diablosport EFI Renegade winner...
Diablosport EFI Renegade winner Larry Hourcle goes wheels up during qualifying. Alton Clements finished runner-up behind Hourcle.