2009 NMRA Bradenton Spring Break Shootout Title - Asphalt Annihilation

There was no shortage of trunk-model Mustangs in the True Street/SBS ranks, and Blair Brannock's '92 was the fastest of them all, as it posted a three-run average of 9.48.

Stephen Clements of Tifton, Georgia, wasn't afraid to drive the wheels off his '93 Mustang Cobra. That's what Ford intended for enthusiasts to do with it anyway. Clements went as fast as 13.28 and averaged 13.93 over his three runs.

The eliminator with the Aluminator, Justin Burcham had the fastest car in the class. His '05 Mustang had gone 8.40s prior to the event, and cruised to an easy third-place finish in the True Street category with a 9.52-second average. He was on his way to victory after dispatching Bryan Bromley in Round One of the SBS, but a bad coil put him down a cylinder, which opened the door for Jason Borum to get to the semifinals.

Most tracks that we've been to don't usually keep fire safety equipment in the staging lanes, so you may want to keep one in your car lest you suffer the same fate as Louisiana's David Belcher. A backfire through the carburetor lit up the engine compartment, and before the fire could be put out, the underhood area was toasted. Belcher had posted a 9.24 and 9.35 on his first two runs. He was in the staging lanes to make his third pass when this happened. Rumor has it the car has done 8.80s, so he was certainly poised to do well in Sunday's Shootout.

SBS Runner-Up Randy Seward of Orlando, Florida, drove his Mustang over 120 miles to Bradenton, cruised 30 more miles in True Street, and then laid down a 9.88-second average--all the while pulling down nearly 20 miles to the gallon from his twin-turbocharged, 364ci powerplant. Seward, a Spring Break Shootout veteran from the early days, turned the wick up on his sleeper Calypso Green, posting a 9.34, 9.22, and 9.23 to get him into the final round. In the final, Seward took the advantage of the line, but his 9.26 wasn't enough to stay ahead of Escobar and his hard-charging 8.90 effort.

Macon, Georgia's Jason Borum finished in seventh place in the True Street class with an average of 9.81 seconds. The ultra-clean coupe packs 284 turbocharged cubic inches of DOHC Ford power. In the Spring Break Shootout, Borum stepped up his game with a 9.39 and 9.21 to get him to the semifinals, where he ultimately lost a tight battle against Chris Escobar. Borum was first off the tree with a 0.07-second advantage, but that and his 9.12-second e.t. wasn't enough to overcome Escobar's 8.94 effort.

Talk about a diehard stickshift guy.

The NMRA's Steve Wolcott (left) and Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords Editor Evan Smith (right) congratulate Chris Escobar on his Spring Break Shootout win. Escobar informed us that he planned to wreak havoc on the NMCA True Street class a few weeks after the NMRA event, and he was also considering making the trip to the NMRA Milan, Michigan, event. If you see his burnt-red SVO in the staging lanes, you'd better turn up the nitrous or boost, because Escobar's ride hauls the mail.