image credit: NMRA/Race Pages

During an interview last fall with JPC Racing point man Justin Burcham, the Ford Mustang drag racing aficionado led on to his interest in what was then a proposed new category known as Coyote Stock that the NMRA was pondering implementing for 2012. Fast forward several months and the Coyote Stock category has already been contested twice on the season.

While Burcham hasn’t been involved in the class from the get-go at Bradenton, he made his presence known last week in testing leading up to the NMRA event at his home track of Maryland International Raceway.

Burcham and longtime JPC customer Joe Marini, who regularly competes in the NMRA Modular Muscle category and was the first to break into the nines with a naturally-aspirated 5.0L Coyote last November, have teamed up to field a new Coyote Stock entry using Marini’s second Mustang.

Burcham recently purchased a Coyote Stock-legal 5.0L engine from Ford Racing and paired it with a pro-shifted Tremec TKO600 transmission and a McLeod clutch, along with other modifications including Metco lower control arms and JPC’s upper control arm, BMR front suspension, and a host of other additions.

Last week Burcham reeled off an 11.07 at 122 miles per hour in the car formerly powered by a 318-inch stroker, and with a rear gear swap and a couple of other changes in the works following the test.

Burcham concluded qualifying second with an 11.08 behind class leader Joe Charles and his 10.93 and downed Shane Stymiest in the opening round, 11.12 to 11.34, before falling to Charles in the final, 10.82 to an 11.04.