While attending a private test session at Bradenton Motorsports Park this past Thursday with the folks from Pro Fab Performance, we ran across none other than 2009 NMRA Hot Street champion Don Bowles also on hand for some track time. Some rule changes for the 2010 season have him testing out some newly allowed parts.

One of those is a 4500 style Dominator carb. The other is tires, as now the 29.5 x 10.5 tire is allowed in Hot Street. Our understanding is that since the NMCA Pro Stock class has allowed this tire for some time, and allowing it over on the NMRA side should allow for some more crossovers between the series in the similar classes.

Don had two carbs from Quick Fuel Technologies on hand for the session. One of which he tested earlier in the day which resulted in two 8.53 passes at 158 MPH. Since we didn’t get there until after 12PM, we weren’t able to get those on film. Robbie Blankenship was also on hand but broke a rocker arm.

We did however get his later session runs with the other carb. The first pass we saw was an 8.60 @ 156. He then made some adjustments and got an 8.56, then two 8.55’s @ 158. This session he was running the 400 ci engine.

The larger tires should allow for a little better 60 foots and a little more consistency, especially on marginal surfaces this summer. We got three of the runs on film and was able to talk with Mr. Bowles for a short on camera interview when they were all wrapped up for the day.