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2011 NMRA Keystone Atco - Rain, Rain, Go Away!True Street racers danced between raindrops as the NMRA-Keystone event was postponed From the September, 2011 issue of Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords By Michael Galimi Photography by The Author
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As the rain set in at Atco Raceway on the second day of the three-day event, the NMRA-Keystone Drag Racing Series officials looked at the weather satellite image with grave concern. "There is a 70 percent chance of rain for Saturday and Sunday," grumbled Charlie Harmon, president of the event division of the NMRA organization. Working with longtime event director Lynwood Dupuy, they hustled to get in as much racing as possible before the clouds opened up Saturday afternoon. The two opening days provided enough dry weather to get two rounds of qualifying in and just one round of eliminations in Super Stang, Truck and Lightning, Modular Muscle, and Open Comp. They managed to complete the True Street cruise, but only one pass of three consecutive runs was completed. It forced the NMRA officials to declare a winner using just the one runùnot the ideal situation, but as rain fell on the fabled New Jersey facility, it was all they could do. "It was a brutal day and a game of survival," stated Mike Jovanis, as he was crowned king of True Street thanks to his lone 8.79 at 160 mph. His name should ring a bell as he scored a runner-up finish at the '11 Spring Break Shootout with his turbocharged '89 LX hatchback. He continued, "It was 32 miles of driving in pouring rain, which made it interesting in a 1,200hp car. It was definitely the most grueling True Street drive." Jovanis tells us that was a lot of big talk heading into the race of possible 7-second cars, but those guys never showed up. His LX is strikingly simple for a 1,200hp machine that has run as quick as 8.48 at 166 mph in non-True Street competition. Power comes from a DiSomma Racing Engines 347ci bullet with Trick Flow Street Heat heads, a Dart block, a custom DiSomma camshaft, and a few other tricks. The turbo kit is a B&G Customs single-turbo setup with a small-frame Precision GT-47/88mm (T04 exhaust housing) and a rather smallish air-to-air intercooler. The intercooler is being replaced later this year with a larger unit from B&G Customs. Jovanis was declared the Atco True Street winner by way of an 8.79 performance. He summed up his solo run, "It went really fast for the adverse track conditions." Once the plug was pulled on racing operations the NMRA officials announced that the elimination rounds would be finished at the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing (Joliet, Illinois) six weeks later. MM&FF True Street Top 25
| 1 | Mike Jovanis | Wall, NJ | 8.79 | Winner |
| 2 | Art Henninger | Beachwood, NJ | 9.58 | Runner-up |
| 3 | Kris Mustacchio | Westmont, NJ | 9.80 | 9-Second Winner |
| 4 | Sean O'Brian | Monroe, NJ | 10.15 | 10-Second Winner |
| 5 | Jason Kahles | Minneola, NY | 10.51 | |
| 6 | Ray Goelz | Hatboro, PA | 10.83 | |
| 7 | Fred Felt | Brown Mills, NJ | 11.49 | |
| 8 | Mike Gerhard | Lexington, NC | 11.61 | |
| 9 | James Moshler | Williamstown, NJ | 11.85 | |
| 10 | John Hines | Huntingdon Valley, PA | 12.00 | 12-Second Winner |
| 11 | Joseph Tekverk | Centerreach, NY | 12.78 | |
| 12 | Jonathan Harper | So. Bound Brook, NJ | 13.08 | 13-Second Winner |
| 13 | Charles Hickenson | Franksville, NJ | 13.14 | |
| 14 | BJ Thompson | Laurel Springs, NJ | 13.16 | |
| 15 | Krista Elyse | Burlington, NJ | 13.24 | |
| 16 | Ken Sulkowski | Burlington, NJ | 13.45 | |
| 17 | Robert Kulpowitz | Shenandoah, PA | 13.463 | |
| 18 | Larry Petronglo | Newfield, NJ | 13.464 | |
| 19 | Mike Corrin | Wilmington, DE | 13.51 | |
| 20 | Kyle Fields | South Hampton, NJ | 13.72 | |
| 21 | Karen Baum | Lewistown, PA | 13.90 | |
| 22 | Oscar Garcia | Leonia, NJ | 14.06 | 14-Second Winner |
| 23 | Craig Sauder | Austintown, OH | 14.37 | |
| 24 | John Pflug | Fresh Meadow, NY | 14.79 | |
| 25 | Dave Pierce | Mount Laurel, NJ | 15.11 | 15-Second Winner |
 You know your car is serious...  You know your car is serious when you have to pack a parachute after every run. Mike Jovanis took home the Tremec True Street victory at Atco Raceway with a single 8.79 performance—officials canceled the remaining two passes due to inclement weather.  GoPro Cameras are everywhere...  GoPro Cameras are everywhere at the race track; shown here is one mounted on the door of Jason Kahle’s ’91 Mustang GT. One look at YouTube shows how the Hero HD camera has revolutionized on-track videos. It has enabled average enthusiasts to churn out cutting-edge videos.  Jason Kahle’s turbocharged...  Jason Kahle’s turbocharged entry stumbled off the starting line, hurting any chances at taking a stab at a mid-9-second run. This car is a former MM&FF project vehicle—Project Hooligan—and it has gone as quick as 9.30 at 147 mph. The combination remains largely the same as when Vinnie Kung wrote about it in the magazine, save for a C4 transmission upgrade.  MM&FF Editor Evan Smith jumped...  MM&FF Editor Evan Smith jumped behind the wheel of Anthony Bongiovanni’s ’08 Cobra Jet that was built for NHRA Stock Eliminator. Smitty pushed the car to a new best of 9.43 but at just 126 mph as he jumped on the brakes to avoid breaking out in Round 1 of Modular Muscle. He didn’t break out, but still lost to Jacob Lamb and his mod-powered ’86 Mustang LX coupe by 0.006.  MM&FF Editor Evan Smith jumped...  MM&FF Editor Evan Smith jumped behind the wheel of Anthony Bongiovanni’s ’08 Cobra Jet that was built for NHRA Stock Eliminator. Smitty pushed the car to a new best of 9.43 but at just 126 mph as he jumped on the brakes to avoid breaking out in Round 1 of Modular Muscle. He didn’t break out, but still lost to Jacob Lamb and his mod-powered ’86 Mustang LX coupe by 0.006.  Anthony Bongiovanni’s other...  Anthony Bongiovanni’s other car is an NHRA Super Stock Cobra Jet, which is painted the same as the Stocker. He dipped in the 8.90s the few passes he made before the rains came. His best was 8.95 at 150-plus mph. As per the NHRA rules, the engine is a Four-Valve 5.4L modular with ported heads, big camshafts, FAST EFI, and a Ford Racing TVS supercharger.  Mark Williams hails from Ontario,...  Mark Williams hails from Ontario, Canada, and made the long haul to Atco Raceway in search of his first 8-second timeslip. Williams was chasing a unique unofficial record for a Mustang with a legit Tremec TKO-600. As far as we can tell, the quickest run is an 8.99 by Mark Lutton. Williams rows the gears of a street box, but it’s modified to be Pro-shifted. Under the hood is a 337ci engine with AFR heads and an Induction Solutions direct-port, single-stage nitrous system. He ran 9.05 at only 141 mph as the car veered to the centerline on the top end, forcing him to lift early.  Connecticut’s Tom Passallaqua...  Connecticut’s Tom Passallaqua rolled out his wild street-driven ’07 GT500. It has a built 5.4L powerplant with a Kenne Bell 3.6L supercharger and guzzles E85 fuel. It made over 1,000 rwhp through a six-speed, but he recently added a Rossler TH400 three-speed automatic as he aims to run deep into the 8s. He mustered a traction-limited 9.23 at just 136 mph as Passallaqua and tuner Jon Lund worked the bugs out of the new combination.  Larry Petronglo brought a...  Larry Petronglo brought a rather unique ride into the True Street ranks: a ’65 Daytona Coupe replica. Under the hood is a mild 302 High Output with aftermarket camshaft and ported E7 cylinder heads. He ran a 13.46 at 103 mph in the only round of True Street action.  We love the new SVT Raptor,...  We love the new SVT Raptor, and Kevin Caroucci entered his ’10 Raptor (5.4L-powered) in True Street. The bone-stock truck ran 17.88, and Caroucci had fun smoking the tires before every pass down the Atco track.  Krista Elyse and her Grabber...  Krista Elyse and her Grabber Blue ’10 Mustang GT should be familiar to readers. We followed her and Blow-By Racing as they installed a Paxton High Output kit on the Three-Valve engine at the track last year. Her Paxton-puffed ride had traction issues due to the street tires. She ran 13.24, but did manage a 12.70 run at 120 mph in the test and tune—11s are just a set of sticky tires away.  Kris Mustacchio was the 9-second...  Kris Mustacchio was the 9-second winner and third overall in True Street. He runs a nitrous-injected, 347ci stroker engine and finished with a single run of 9.80.  Art Henninger is a veteran...  Art Henninger is a veteran in the True Street ranks, as we have watched him take the class win several times over the past few years at Atco Raceway and Englishtown Raceway Park. He added a set of Mickey Thompson radials to the car this time out and ran 9.58 as he cruised into the number two spot overall. If the weather had been different, who knows? His winning ways could have been continued.  Easily one of the best-looking...  Easily one of the best-looking rides in True Street competition is a ’98 SVT Cobra that belongs to Robert Kulpowilz. Its 13-second run definitely wasn’t indicative of the true performance of this vehicle. The turbocharged entry was 9-second-capable, but the car wouldn’t spool up on the starting line.  Mike Gerhard cruised up I-95...  Mike Gerhard cruised up I-95 from Lexington, North Carolina, and brought his ’90 Mustang LX with him. He just missed winning the 11-second category as he ran 11.61 with the mildly turbocharged engine.  Mike Bowen of PowerHouse Automotive...  Mike Bowen of PowerHouse Automotive was having fun with his ’11 Mustang GT. It features, of course, a PowerHouse single-turbo kit. Bowen has run consistent 10.70s at 128 mph with the automatic-equipped 5.0L.  Terry “Beefcake” Reeves was...  Terry “Beefcake” Reeves was shooting for his first 9-second run with his ’11 Mustang GT. The car sports a built 5.0L short-block, JPC Racing CNC-ported heads, Boss intake manifold, Circle D torque converter, and a Vortech High-Output supercharger system. Evolution Performance/John Lund is responsible for tuning it all. Reeves came close with a 10.19 at 138 mph.  Johnny Lightning flew to low...  Johnny Lightning flew to low 10s with a best of 10.00 at 137 mph with his Kenne Bell supercharged Two-Valve engine combination.  Marco Ponce Jr. of Virginia...  Marco Ponce Jr. of Virginia slapped a set of Mickey Thompson ET-Street tires on his brand-new ’12 Mustang Boss 302, and ran 11.93 at 114 mph in Super Stang competition.  The heads-up cars were all...  The heads-up cars were all dressed up with no place to go. Most categories only completed one round of qualifying. Here, Robbie Blankenship unleashes the fury in Hot Street with a career-best of 8.39 at 156 mph. The 400ci naturally aspirated combination comes from Roush Competition engines.  John Urist drove the Nitto...  John Urist drove the Nitto Tire entry to a career-best and record-setting 7.12 at 203 mph. Unfortunately, he couldn’t back up the 203-mph record within 1 percent due to the inclement weather.  Steve Martin of Ontario, Canada,...  Steve Martin of Ontario, Canada, advanced into Round 2 with his brightly painted Lightning. Martin unleashed a 10.44 on a 10.42 index for the round win over Ronnie Diaz in his ’11 Super Duty. Diaz wasted 15.01 on a 15.01 index due to a red-light start.  JD Coon drove the JDM Engineering...  JD Coon drove the JDM Engineering R&D-mule 5.0L Mustang to a best of 10.95 at 124 mph. You read about this car in last issue when JDM added a Roush TVS blower and it cranked out 510 rwhp in a mostly stock combination.  One Ford GT engine combined...  One Ford GT engine combined with one drag-race Gen II Lightning equals a low 10-second street truck. Don Carson had JDM Engineering build this Lightning truck so he could tow his Ford GT around to various track events. Life is good when your tow vehicle goes low 10s.
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