We are up and running the second round of qualifying for the index classes this morning. The plan is to try to stuff the entire event in today as there is weather on the horizon for tomorrow, so stay tuned to us for the rest of the day and likely into the early morning hours as we bring you all of the race information. There will be one round of qualifying today and then it will be right into eliminations until we’re all finished up.
The Baskin clan was hard at work in the pits this morning getting ready for today's festivities. Skip told us,"We shook the tires yesterday in our only qualifying shot, so we're not real sure what we've got."It appears as if Jeremy Gillam came through yesterday's teardown with flying colors. Crew chief Jeff Gillam said, "We spent the whole day yesterday in 'lockup' tearing the car down, but we're cleared to go and today is all about clinching our championship in Mean Street." They've enlisted the help of longtime Ford racer Bruce Hemminger in their quest. On his only hit this morning he ran a 9.92 to take the top spot. His jubilation was short-lived as Alsept clicked off a 9.90 two pairs later to regain the top spot heading into eliminations.As the very last car down the track in a long qualifying session last night, Andy Schmidt had the challenge of overcoming the cold air and cold track on his only qualifying hit. "The car got loose and I had to let out at about 500 feet. We think it could have been a good run, so we'll see how today goes," he said. Schmidt and brother/crew chief Matt haven't been out much this year but always come to compete when they show up.Drag Radial #1 qualifier Larry Prykucki is here this weekend all by himself. "I'm gonna get after it today. There's a lot of competition here," he explained. As his grip on the number one spot is tenuous at best with challengers like Jason Lee and Dan Kroll chasing him, Prykucki has his work cut out for him today.Jeff Lutz clicked off a stout 6.10 last night, but apparently that's not enough for the Pennsylvania-based racer. Lutz was up burning the midnight oil changing the transmission and is ready to go for this morning's session.A Team Speed Shop driver Randy Adler hasn't been out much this year with his Pro Street car. They had differential issues at the Super Bowl event but figured he'd come to the last race of the season. Expenses have pushed racing to the back burner this season for the longtime racer, but he's looking to make a splash today.Phil "Corndog" Smith was gettin' after it in the second session today. Corndog is now second on the qualifying list entering eliminations.Jim Brown made the call for qualifying in the Super Street class. Brown had engine issues last weekend at the NMRA Bowling Green race but repaired the car and made it here just in time to make the last qualifying hit. He spun off the line but did make it onto the ladder and will be ready for eliminations.Larry Prykucki made good on his boast from this morning, improving his top-of-the-heap elapsed time by dropping it to a 7.39 at almost 190 mph in the Drag Radial class.Nice hit by Don Baskin in the last round of qualifying. Baskin rocketed to an 8.37 at nearly 160 MPH, a new class record. The Shoebox Nova is always tough on race day.Looks like Randy Adler figured out his issues. He jumped all the way up to number two during the last Pro Street session with a stout 6.13 at 236 MPH.Right after Corndog made his hit, John Warren took his Nova to the top of the ladder in Xtreme Street with an awesome personal-best 7.827 hit in the last round. His 523 cubic-inch nitrous-injected BBC was built by Knieriem Racing Engines in Kentucky.
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These don't really need much of an explanation. Don Rayburn's wheelie bars snapped on the hit and these photos are the result. Enjoy!
Skip Baskin must have found the problems that ailed the team yesterday, as he rocketed to the second spot on Nostalgia Pro Street with a 7.27, just .019-second behind Joe Bucaro.Xtreme Street Final QualifyingPro Stock Final QualifyingMean Street Final QualifyingNostalgia Pro Street Final QualifyingSuper Street Final QualifyingPro Street Final QualifyingDrag Radial Final Qualifying
In the first round of eliminations, a number of competitors were unable to make the lane call, giving their opposition free runs to the second round of eliminations.
Jim Widener was the first Pro Street car out to the line after the long rain cleanup. He proved quickly that the IRP track staff had done a terrific job of preparing the racetrack for night use with a 6.19 hit to move on to the second round.
All Mike Murillo needed to do was take the tree to clinch his Super Street championship, so that's exactly what he did. His crew pushed him off and Murillo was off to celebrate.
John Warren continued his roll through the Xtreme Street class with another killer 7.86 at 171 mph, taking the win easily over Steve Cagle.
In the upset of the first round in 275 Drag Radial, Larry Prykucki went red, handing Kurt Borton the win.Andy Schmidt figured out what was keeping the team from performing well - he clicked off a strong 8.49 in his defeat of Don Bowles in Pro Stock round one.
Semifinals
Clint Hairston's 5.970 run is better than the national record, if he can back it up with a 6.029 or better in the final round he will become the new record holder.
Finals
A wire-to-wire win is the result of this weekend for Brandon Alsept. He qualified #1 and ran through the field, finishing off friend, teammate, and employer Brian Campbell in the final round to take the Mean Street win.
After struggling at the beginning of qualifying, Skip Baskin acquitted himself well. Not only did he manage to find the sweet spot during qualifying, he also took the holeshot on number-one-qualifier Joe Bucaro in the final round. Baskin managed to hold on at the top end for the win, 7.32 to Bucaro's 7.28 - a difference of .008-second at the stripe.Steve Summers capped off an awesome weekend with a strong win over Ed Parker in the Super Street final. Summers stopped the timers with a stout 6.59 to Parker's valiant but not-quick-enough 6.87.Clint Hairston used the last two passes of the race and the season to claim the Pro Street win and ET Record over Randy Adler. Hairston backed up his earlier 5.970 hit with a 6.004 at over 251 MPH to take home the weekend crown.
The National Muscle Car Association returns to the fabled Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis for the season-ending Fuelab NMCA World Street Finals, where a number of championships will be decided on the most famous quarter mile in drag racing.
Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. For all of your racing and street/strip tire and wheel needs, visit Mickey Thompson!
Anyone recognize this car? Randy Lambert's Impala used to be a fixture on the heads-up scene, but Randy's been out of the game for nearly 14 years. "I took some time off to raise my daughter - she's now in her last semester of college so I figure I can come back and play a little bit," he told us. Lambert had the car updated by Jerry Bickel Race Cars to current specs and is planning on competing in Super Street this weekend. The car features a nitrous-injected 632 cubic inch BBC built by Midwest Engine Tech, pushing the power through a Lencodrive back to a Bickel 9" rear. Lambert even remarked that this car still sees street duty upon occasion.Mean Street racer Mike "Halfsack" Gucciardo has been thrashing all season to get his car finished up. New car bugs have kept him sitting on the sidelines, but he's here this weekend to see if he can end the season on a high note.
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Left - Dave Beeson is here with his record-setting Nostalgia Pro Street Camaro andf is hoping to end the season with yet another record. We spoke with him a few days ago and he told us he's shooting to run the first-ever 7.0 pass in NPS this weekend. Right - Pro Street standout Chris Rini will put the finishing touches on his second-consecutive Pro Street title here in Indy.
The Gillam Brothers are here on the property with their points-leading Mean Street car. You may remember that they were disqualified at the last race in Michigan due to a technical infraction, and before they can compete here they will be subjected to a full tear-down by the NMCA staff. When we spoke with Jeremy he was optimistic that they would be able to race this weekend to clinch their title.It looks like the test-and-tune session will not be the first chance for Jeff Lutz to make it into the 6's this weekend. After a lengthy staging process the decision was made to wave off the test pass and the car was pushed off the track.We were surprised to see the Harrington clan show up in the staging lanes to compete in Super Street. For those of you who don't remember, this car was completely wrecked last season just days after its debut. The team found another body in Florida, had it trucked up north to their Michigan compound, and proceeded to re-build the entire car. They tested at the Milan Heads-Up race last month and are looking to get back into the swing of things this weekend. They will be happy to make some forward progress.Brian Hicks is here with his awesome '70 twin-turbo Challenger. This car has been 6.79 but Hicks is looking for the 6.60's this weekend. The car is powered by a 526 cubic inch Hemi boosted by a pair of Precision Turbo 88mm hairdryers that run through a Bruno/Lenco transmission.Chris Rini checking out the track. It was for naught as his test pass was unsuccessful with spin right off the hit.Lutz turned right back around after being waved off and ran a 6.08 at 242 mph in his first pass of the day.
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SpongeBob is working on lining out his new MSD Power Grid ignition and advanced RPM controller this weekend. He's using a Racepak V300SD to monitor all of the car's functions. The car ran an 8.62 on his first pass.
After a nitrous backfire on his first test hit, Nostalgia Pro Street standout Joe Bucaro came right back around and made a clean hit in the right lane.Eric LaFerriere is here this weekend driving Jason Carter's Malibu. He is locked into a points battle with Mike Murillo in Super Street and is looking for 6.40's this weekend. Pro Street standout Mark Micke is also on the property to assist the team.Shawn Johnson is working on getting the monkey off his back in Mean Street this weekend. The car has been 10.0's but Johnson had an aborted test pass after the main power wire came off about 15 feet out. "Better for this to happen today - I don't want to have issues like this during eliminations," he explained.After running ADRL XTF all last season, Jim Widener is back in the NMCA fold this weekend. Widener recently was forced to mold new quarter-panels onto his Cougar as the new 34.5x17x16" Mickey Thompson tires were too big for the original wheeltubs. Widener actually had the tires rub through the quarters at the NMCA Milan race and just got the car back from the body shop. After a quick shakedown hit the car is showing capable of low, low 6-second ET's.Mean Street Round one qualifying is complete and Brandon Alsept sits at the top of the ladder in his quest to unseat Jeremy Gillam. Alsept ran a 9.92 at 136 mph on his first hit. Gillam did not make a pass in the first round.Larry Prykucki sits atop the Stainless Works 275 Drag Radial ladder after the first round of qualifying. Prykucki's ProCharged "Rated PG" car hails from Shelby Township, Michigan, and put up a stout 7.51 at 188 mph - a tenth and a half quicker that his nearest competition, Dan Kroll.In what was likely the best pairing of the day, Eric LaFerriere (pictured) faced off against Mike Murillo in the first round of qualifying. As the number-one and -two racers in the current points standings, every little bit helps, and in this instance, Murillo came out on top in their matchup with a 6.50 to LaFerriere's 6.51.Kevin Parent came oh-so-close to the top spot in Nostalgia Pro Street today. Joe Bucaro's 7.25 led the field through the first round but Parent was hot on his heels with a 7.30 in the evening session.Dennis Merrow made the long trek from Maine to be here racing this weekend. He is currently qualified second behind Brandon Alsept in Mean Street with a 9.96 at 135 MPH - the only other racer besides Alsept to make it into the 9's.
Jennifer Green put her Corvette into the fifth qualified spot in Pro Street. Her Corvette features a 632BBC on nitrous.
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Left - Phil Smith (far lane) managed to eke out the top spot in Xtreme Street over Paul Smith. Phil's 7.884 is .0009 quicker than Paul's 7.893 qualified ET. Right - Bill Trovato was struggling to get the nitrous figured out on his Sunfire. He is not on the ladder at this point in time. Don Bowles rode out a nice wheelstand earlier today, but once qualifying started he was all business. He is currently qualified number one in Pro Stock with an 8.46.
