We are into round two of eliminations in the 2015 NMCA/NMRA Superbowl in Joliet today with stiff competition going into round two. Stay tuned to Dragzine for the latest news from Route 66 Raceway brought to you from the fine folks at Comp Cams.
We stopped by RPMS Racing to chat with Billy Adams and Phil “Corndog” Smith who advanced over Justin Burcham last night with a 4.58 making Smith the quickest nitrous car in VP Fuels/Stainless Works Street Outlaw. The team has used Nelson Competition for years and this engine is a 598 cubic inch big Chevy with three systems of Speedtech nitrous for 2015. The crew from left to right, Phil Smith, Phil jr, Mike Sticca and Randy Truhlar.
Image/s missing.
We caught up with Canadian Outlaw 10.5 racer Pete Campbell this morning in his first NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars event. The car features a turbocharged big Chevy from Nelson Competition tuned by Rob Zarcone from WRZ Engines and Tuning with an ATF two speed 400 and converter from Cameron at Torque Converter Services. He qualified tenth in class with a 4.66 at 174 and lost first round to Marty Robertson last night. The rolling chassis was built at Racecraft Inc. and finished at home by Pete and his wife. The car still retains some “street” items including a radiator mounted low and behind the turbos and still sees occasional street duty. He and Rob are going to work on some tuning and spooling issues today before going home.
Image/s missing.
Rich Bruder and team are here this weekend for some Superbowl action with their top running X275 Mustang. They installed a fresh engine from Disomma Racing Engines fed this weekend by a class legal 94 MM turbo. He qualified fourth with a 4.48 at 164 and will move on to round three after a round two win over team mate John Ashnault.
Round 2 Elimination Results
In round two Pro Mod action this morning Josh Green met with Rick Snavely who took the starting line advantage. Snavely slowed to a 6.07 at just 139 allowing Green to sneak by around the thousand foot cone and earn the round win with a 6.03 at 237.Billy Glidden and Steve Summers faced off with Glidden doing his job on the tree but backfiring past the eighth mile. Summers drove by for his best run this weekend 5.84 at 256 MPH.
Image/s missing.
Dewayne Mills was to meet Marty Robertson in round two of Radial Wars today though despite the team working most of the night after bursting the intake last night was unable to make the call by just about five minutes, Mills went on to a 4.22 at 194 MPH on his single run. David DeMarco and Jason Rueckert were paired up with Rueckert striking the tires and pedaling the car as DeMarco went on to take the round.Keith Berry met with Mike Hupp’s now turbocharged Malibu scoring a 4.22 at 187 finding some lost MPH Berry struggled with in qualifying to Hupp’s 4.44 at 178In Street Outlaw action Andy Manson faced of with Phil Smith in a very tight race. The cars were locked going down track with the winner apparent only when Manson’s side lit up with a 4.61 at 166 to Smith’s game 4.62 at 159 MPH.Jim Plimpton Jr. was paired with John Urist in a blower vs nitrous match with Urist taking the win with a 4.60 at 162 to Plimpton’s 4.64 at 153.Gina Cavallo pulled an upset win over number three qualifier Rob Goss with a 4.56 at 152 as Goss had to pedal early in the run slowing to a 5.28 at 147 MPH.Louie Filippides took the round over Bill Trovato in a battle of third and fourth qualifiers in Edelbrock Xtreme Street. Trovato faltered at the hit slowing to a 5.28 at 147 with Filippides taking the win with a 4.75 at 152 for the American Racing Headers sponsored Camaro.
Round 2-3 Results
Image/s missing.
This gets us caught up to the last completed sheets available at this time.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Frank Varella put up a 7.75 to get past Cooper in round two of Edelbrock Renegade. He will face off with number one qualifier Alton Clements in the semi finals and give up lane choice.Dwight Ausmus will have a buy to the finall of Quick Lane Tom’s River NA 10.5 after sending Don Bowles home despite his 7.88 ET. Ausmus needed just an 8.01 after putting up an .010 reaction time to Bowles .048. He will face the winner of Don Baskin and Leonard Long in the final where Long has lane choice.Rich Brudeer faced off with Phil Hines in the first pair of semifinalists in Street Outlaw. When the tree came down Bruder hooked hard and Hines spun and the race was effectively over sending Bruder to the final.The other pair was Eric Gustafson and Andy Manson with Gustafson turning on the win light with a 4.49 at 164.Darren Hendricks (near lane) launched hard and will advance to the Strange Coyote Stock final with Drew Lyons with lane choice after a 10.45 at 128 round win over Shane Stymiest.
Final Elimination Results
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
NMRA Final Results
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Josh Green and Steve Summers made up the final round of VP Racing Fuels Pro Mod. After a bit controversy on the first try the pair was given another go for the final match with Summers gettign away first with a nice ,025 reaction time. Green’s .051 was not bad by any means in the class and the two were on a run with both drives gettign away clean. Summers hit the stripe just off his best lap running a 5.86 at 254 to Green’s stout 6.02 at 237 MPH, his best run in competition.In the final of ARP Nitrous Pro Street it would be number one qualifier Joe Bucaro vs 2014 champ and thirteenth qualifier Don Baskin. The race was over at the start with Bucaro going red handing Baskin the event win.
Image/s missing.
Keith Berry and Dewayne Mills both had singles into the final running a 4.31 and 4.21 respectively. Sadly Berry has chosen not to run the final due to a leaking cylinder head and save the engine from further damage. He will maintain the points lead he has had all season and make repairs for Norwalk. Alton Clements met with Aaron Bates in the Edelbrock Renegade final round with Bates leaving first, He was unable to hold off Clements’ 7.66 at 179 with his own 7.85 at 177 with Clements earning the win.
Image/s missing.
Johnny Lightning turned his number one qualifying position into a final round appearance in Procharger Coyote Modified with Haley James who held the number two spot. James would have lane choice going into the final after defeating Joe Cram with an 8.32 at 163 MPH after gettign beat on the tree by .030 while Johnny had an earned by and took the tree and drove down easy to save parts. When the lights came down it was Johnny out first with an .016 reaction with James just .012 behind. At the stripe it would be Haley James there first with her 8.39 at 162 to earn the win over Johnny Lightning's game but off pace 8.46 at 163. Leonard Long and Dwight Ausmus were the final pair left in Quick Lane Toms River NA 10.5. Long took the tree first forcing Ausmus to play catch up if he could. It was a very close match with Long edging out Ausmus’ Pontiac with an 8.05 to an 8.07.Louie Filippides did his job in the final of Edelbrock Xtreme Street winning the reaction time battle and running a 7.80 at 177 MPH, David Hutnick had other ideas running a 7.75 at 179 to earn the win.Rich Bruder and Eric Gustafson were the last pair standing in Street Outlaw today with both racers having a near equal chance at a win. At the hit Gustafson stuck the tires hard getting in his own oil and Bruder going right down to take the win over the California based Gustafson.Drew Lyons earned number one qualifier and waded through his side of the ladder to meet with number three man Darrin Hendricks to make an all Indiana final round. It was a good start for both racers with each driver making clean passes in the match. Lyons would earn the win in a close race running low ET for the weekend with a 10.462 at 127.78 to Handricks’ hard charging 10.482 at 128.66.
Image/s missing.
Int he final of SDPC Chevy High Performance Stock top qualifier and MPH holder Ronnie Hackelton met with Glenn Pushis. Ronnie Hackelton was a bit to eager to go lighting the red bulb to the tune a -.380 and Pushis also went red but the race was decided at that point. Noth racers ran it out with Hackelton going a 10.58 at 124 to with Pushis netting a 10.69 at 125.
Image/s missing.
Gainesville, Florida based Jimmy Wilson met Teddy Weaver in the ACT Pure Street final pairing up the number one and two qualifiers. Weaver had low ET going in for a theoretical advantage but Wilson had lane choice by just .002 after his win over Derek Downs in the semi final. Both races actually had identical ET's in their round one matches so this one was up for grabs and any ones guess to the outcome. Wilson would take a .09 advantage at the start, stretching it out over the quarter mile to score the win with a 9.736 to Weaver's 9.757 in one of the closes heads up matches of the day.
Super Bowl Run for the Rings Results
After all the NMRA and NMCA eliminations are wrapped up various winners are paired up for the Super Bowl and the Run for the Rings. We kicked off with the NMCA and NMRA True Street winners with this mid eight second overall winner taking the win with an 8.51 at 166 MPH, earning a point for the NMCA side. The next pair up was Roush Super Stang winner Larry Fireston and E3 Spark Plugs Top Sportsman winner Matt Szymczak. Who took the win and another point for team NMCA.
Next up was David Hearn for the NMCA side from Magna Fuel Open Comp and Mel White from the NMRA side of the same class. This time White took the win and a point for NMRA putting up a 10.98 at 114 to Hear’s 10.80. Remember the cars are stagger started according to best ET during the event making for some very interesting match ups.
Image/s missing.
The next match would be Florida based Mike Clifford in his 1966 Cuda and Detriot Locker Truck winner Bob Dill out of Templeton, PA who put up a 10.06 at 133 in his 2001 turbocharged Lightning to score another one for the NMRA side. Corky Bumpas, Nostalgia Super Stock winner paired up with Donnie Bowles, Exedy Modular Muscle winner. Just about one second separated these two with Bumpas taking the win for the NMCA side.
ACT Pure Street winner Jimmy Wilson took on Xtreme Street winner David Hutnick who was number one qualifier, won his make up race from Bowling Green, this event and yes, the Super Bowl too, earning the “quadfecta” for the Straightline Performance team running a 7.73 on his 7.66 target after Wilson bogged down after the launch. Next up was Don Baskin, Nostalgia Pro Street winner against Haley James from Coyote Modified. James ran right on her index taking the win with an 8.31 and more points for team NMRA. NA 10.5 winner Leonard Long faced off with James Meredith who won Factory Stock with Long taking that round for NMCA running an 8.00 at 171 to Meredith’s 10.94.
For the next pairing it would be Steve Summers’ Pro Mod vs Renegade winner Alton Clements who ran a nice 7.68 at 179 but could not hold off the hard charging Summers who laid down one of his best runs of the weekend, a 5.850 at 255.97 MPH to score fro NMCA.
With just three pairs left it was advantage NMCA and Radial Wars winner Dewayne Mills set to face off with Andy Manson. Mill’s was favored here and rolled out to a 4.19 at 194 bringing home a critical point for team NMCA. Next up would be a pair of Street Outlaw cars with Rich Bruder racing for NMRA against Eric Gustafson. After the burnout Gustafson had to shut it down and forfeited the round to Bruder putting the pressure on the final pair to decide it all.
That match would be Drew Lyons and Glen Pushis from Coyote Stock and and Chevy High Performance Stock respectively. The pair left together and ran side by side to the stripe where the win light lit up for Lyons giving the NMRA side the win making it eight to two over all for Super Bowl victories.
As we get started here at Route 66 for the NMCA/NMRA Superbowl the weather is looking nice for a great day of racing. Last night went long and ran into the curfew so there were some qualifying to make up this morning. The car count is spectacular with racers from all over the country here to compete. Stay tuned to Dragzine for the latest news and photos brought to you from Comp Cams.
We stopped by the Hamstra pit this morning and spoke with Kevin Hamstra, VP Racing Fuels Pro Mod racer Jason Hamstra’s father. Jason has taken some time away from racing this year and has been focusing on tuning for some NHRA Pro Mod teams instead. Since the family lives just eighty miles from here and decided to put some laps on the car and have some fun this weekend at Route 66 Raceway. Jason has struggled with the set up and different track conditions than at NHRA national events and currently sits outside the 16 car qualified field.NMCA West 2014 Pro Mod Champion Rick Snavely made the trip from Los Angeles, California with the Turbos Direct Camaro. They went to Indy as spectators which was rained out and decided to fly back out and bring the car here for the NMCA/NMRA Superbowl to compete and are just one of several NMCA West teams here this weekend. The Bickel built car is powered by a MBR Hemi fed by a pair of Garrett turbos modded by Turbos Direct. Snavely is currently qualified sixth with a 5.98 at 238 MPH. Rick Snavely pictured on the right.Pete Llamas has his TA Race Cars built1972 Nova here this weekend for some Stainless Works Street Outlaw action. He normally races locally in X275 at Great Lakes Dragway running in the 4.80 range. He runs a 565 from Goodwin Competition topped with a Nitrous Outlet Stinger plate system backed by a PTC converter and Proformance Racing Transmission with sponsor help from Bullseye Boring. From left to right, Pete Llamas, his son Gage and Pete Llamas Sr.We stopped by David Hutnick’s pit and spoke with Kevin Stevens from Straightline Performance. Hutnick took number one qualifier after two sessions in Edelbrock Xtreme Street with a 7.66 at 180 MPH, a new personal best for the team on a slick. The BTR built engine features Edelbrock heads, intake and nitrous system topped with a CFM built Dominator carb. David chimed in to thank Lane from PTC, Dave Klaput from Proformace Transmissions, Winner Circle Speed and Custom and Carey Redmon and Craig Parker from Edelbrock.
Image/s missing.
John Kauderer runs this Cobra Jet in Procharger Coyote Modified sporting the number 5 from last years points. Kauderer is a former Open Comp racer and is still working on getting the full potential from this combo which features a swap from blower to a Hellion Turbo system with a class spec 68MM Precision turbo. Sponsors include UDMC Racing and CFO Solutions Plus and Blow By Racing.
Final Qualifying NMCA
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Michael Biehle earned top qualifier in VP Race Fuels Pro Mod with a 5.853 at a new best 256.26 MPH in the final session. His previous best ET was a 5.81at the SCSN in Las Vegas last year. Biehle has worked with Pro Torque Converters and the changes made this year with the converter has helped get the MPH up and consistency. Power comes from a pro Line Racing 481X fed by twin Precision turbochargers. Biehle will be a force this weekend for sure.Clint Satterfield hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico with his BAE Hemi powered 68 Firebird. He landed sixth in Pro Mod with a 5.96 at 238 and made some consistent laps so far this weekend.Randy Dolensek has my favorite car in NPS this weekend with his 1960 Mercury Cyclone sporting factory style paint job and Ford 598 big block under the hood. His best effort 7.93 at 172 was good only for twelfth in the field for the Frankskille, Wisconsin based racer.Fast Forward Race Cars owner Aaron Stapleton is trying his hand at ARP Nostalgia Pro Street with his Chevy powered 2007 Mustang. He runs a Chevy 632 cubic inch big Chevy and qualified eleventh in class today running a 7.80 at 177 MPH.Phil Hines has been on a tear this weekend landing top qualifier in VP Fuels/Stainless Works Street Outlaw running a 4.458 at 165.Charles Hull brought his car up from Kentucky and has Joel Greathouse behind the wheel this weekend. The team is running well qualifying in thirteenth spot in Street Outlaw with a 4.70 at 160 MPH. We caught up with them in the pits changing out some rod ends on the rear control arms and in need of a drive shaft this afternoon.Greg Powrie made the trip from Clarkston, Michigan with his 2000 Camaro for soem Radial Wars action. He qualified with a 4.55 at 167 and is pleased with the performance so far this weekend with his eighth qualified position.
Image/s missing.
Dave DeMarco slowed in the final session and was unable to improve on his earlier 4.31 in Mickey Thompson radial Wars. We stopped by the pits to chack on the team and found the bolts for the crank pulley had sheard off making it an easy repair and no further damage to the engine. He will be rady for round one.
Final Qualifying NMRA
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Matt Amrine took top honors in American Racing Headers Factory Stock qualifying with a 10.78 at 115 MPH and a wheels up launch for the Batavia, Ohio based racer and 2014 class champion.Winder, Georgia racer Tim Matherly is running Strange Coyote Stock with his 2003 Cobra and landed fifth in class running a 10.47 at 129.12 MPH earning top MPH in qualifying.Drew Lyons (far lane) took top qualifier in Strange Coyote Stock running a 10.39 at 128 MPH.
Round One Elimination Results
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Clint Satterfield and Willard Kinzer were paired for round one eliminations with Satterfield taking the starting line advantage and promptly moving hard to the right at the hit. He pedaled the car but moved right again before lifting as Kinzer went on to a6.18 at 245.63, his best run of the weekend.Brian Hicks and Josh Green had an interesting match with a staging duel that went on well over a minute before Josh’s father Dan approached the car and waved him to stage. Both drivers were late on the tree with the advantage going to Hicks. Both cars were on good runs but Hicks lost an engine before the stripe slowing to a 6.07 at 213. Green was game with a 6.36 at 218 though the round went to Hicks setting the team up for a long night repair the engine.Jennifer Brooke Hicks met with Gary Nash in ARP Nostalgia Pro Street taking the advantage at the tree and going on to take the round with a 7.46 at 178, well over a tenth better than her qualifying lap.2014 NPS Champion Don Baskin and Andy Vogt met with Vogt taking a bite out of the tree with a .022 reaction to Baskin’s .072. Vogt had qualified second with a 7.36 to Baskin’s off pace thirteenth and he slowed only slightly to a 7.40 while Baskin improved greatly to a 7.32 at 186 earning the upset win a and will fave off with Rice in round two.Marty Robertson and Peter Campbell faced off in Radial Wars with Robertson gettign the win, albeit an expensive one as he backfired after the stripe blowing the intake apart and sending shrapnel and bolts flying across the track and high into the air.Brian Mitchel and Curtis Catalon were set to have a good match as number seven and eight qualifiers respectively. Mitchel took the tree first nailing a .001 reaction to Catalon’s .069. The two were side by side but for the starting advantage for Mitchel. At the stripe Mitchell put up a 7,910 at 175 to Catalon’s game 7.915 at 169 giving Mitchell the nod to move to round two.NMCA West racer Tony Aneian met with Chad Nevenschwande out of Ft Wayne, Indiana in Quick Lane Tom’s River NA 10.5 for an interesting match. Nevenschwande turned on the red light with a -.038 reaction seemingly ending his day right there however Aneian left hard and got out of shape early in the run crossing the center line and nearly taking out his opponent and doing a great driving job to avoid a two car crash and avoiding the wall giving Nevenschwande another life in the class.
The stars of the NMRA and the NMCA have converged on the Route 66 Raceway near Chicago this weekend for the annual Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, where the top racers from around the country will do battle before settling the score in the annual bout for the Super Bowl rings! Keep it tuned here all weekend long as we bring you news, notes, results, and tons of great photos, all brought to you by the team at Comp Cams!
This weekend marks Jared Johnson’s first return to NMCA since 2004 here at Route 66 Raceway where he will run Stainless Works Street Outlaw in the KBX Performance, Bennett Racing Engines, Pressurized Solutions Mustang has been running in X275 since then and running near the top of the class. For this race Johnson swapped the Precision 85MM turbo for a NMCA legal 94 MM unit and gets to remove 100 pounds for a weight of 3150 pounds.Aaron Bates is here running NMRA Renegade in just his second event with the organization. He made the semi finals at his first event which will be finished up here this weekend after a rain out. The engine is a 360 cubic inch small block Ford from Steve Lapoint with an F1-A Procharger providing boost with tuning by Mike Dez. A TH 400 trans and ATF converter transfer the power to the back and Bates also uses an ATF gear drive to spin the supercharger.Cedar Rapids, Iowa based racer Shane Novak is here with Brandon Heff this weekend for the third time out for the team’s 1975 Camaro and first time since Memphis. The car was built at Scott Wharton’s H&W Speed Shop and runs Pro Line Racing twin turbo power.Jim Plimpton and son Jimmy Jr are running NMCA for the first time with the X275 car and running Street Outlaw this weekend. The 1979 Fairmont is powered by a BES built 580 cubic inch big block Ford based out of Wisconsin.John Urist is trying a supercharger this weekend in an effort to improve his performance. Urist says the turbo set up can be switched back in about an hour if needed when we spoke to him in the lane prior to his first test pass. He struggled on the run and we will check back with team Hellion/Nitto later this afternoon.Michigan racer David Adkins drives this Camaro owned by Gary Lee and based out of Boca Raton, Florida. The 454 LSX features a BMP aluminum block topped with ET Performance heads and is fed by a pair of 88MM Garrett turbochargers and backed by a Rossler TH 400 trans. This is their second NMCA event with the car after debuting at the season opener in Bradenton, FL.Joe Bucaro is sporting a new paint scheme on his APR Nostalgia Pro Street Mustang. It’s looking good and is a welcome change from the blue it was before.Rob Goss had made significant changes to his set up which he debuted at Tulsa recently. We will catch up to him this afternoon for specifics but the new nose looks great.
Round 1 Qualifying Results
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Image/s missing.
Michael Beihle II earned number one qualifier after the first qualifying session of VP Racing Fuels Pro Mod running a 5.921 at 252.90 for the North Vernon, Indiana based racer.Brian Hicks was the only other racer in the 5’s this session running a 5.957 at 245.27 in his 1970 Duster.Andy Vogt qualified his 1990 ARP Nostalgia Pro Street Trans Am with a 7.43 at 187 to top the eleven car field so far.Jill Hicks is part of the two car team this weekend with her husband Brian in Pro Mod. She also qualified second in her class putting up a 6.46 at 185 with herself and Vogt the only cars in the 6.4 zone so far today.Benjamin Board hails from Overland Park, Kansas and is running E3 Spark Plugs Top Sportsman inhis Holley EFI sponsored Procharged 2013 Camaro. His 6.49 at 213 MPH black was good for top qualifier by a good margin this session.In Mickey Thompson Radial Wars Frank Meshaw earned top qualifier in a tight match with Keith Berry. Berry took the win light but that doesn’t count in qualifying, at least not in the first round today as we have some rounds from Bowling Green to complete. Meshaw put up a 4.285 at 188 to Berry’s 4.299 at 180 which put him in third position.Daniel Pharris is attending his first NMCA event in Radial Wars landing second in class after this session with a 4.297 at 189.84 earning top MPH on the run.Stainless Works Street Outlaw has a whopping 27 cars in class this weekend with Manhatton Beach, California’s Eric Gustafson leading the field with a 4.47 at 165. The increased count is due in part to the NMCA decision to shorten Street Outlaw to an eighth mile class allowing X275 cars to cross over with a minimal amount of changes. Rob Goss, Jared Johnston, Phil Smith and Phil Hines round out the top five.The Bruder Brothers are always a force to be reckoned with and Rich sits in sixth with a 4.66 at 163 MPH and is one of several X275 racers here this weekend.John Warren put his 1970 Nova on the pole in Edelbrock Xtreme Street running a 7.78 at 178. Tony Alm took top MPH this session.Dwight Ausmus put hit pure Pontiac on the top in Quick Lane Tom’s River NA 10.5 with a 7.98 at 171 MPH blast this afternoon.Brandon Alsept (far lane) and Steve Gifford launch hard in Coyote Stock qualifying with Gifford earning the better position landing fourth in the fifteen car field with a 10.47 at 128 MPH. Gifford uses BES power in the Finish Line Performance LLC sponsored ride.Glen Pushis (far lane) earned top spot in SDPC Chevy Performance Stock with a 10.43 at 127 MPH in a match with Heath Shemwell.Ronnie Hackelton landed second in class with his 2013 COPO running a 10.44 at 126.
After all the NMRA and NMCA eliminations are wrapped up various winners are paired up for the Super Bowl and the Run for the Rings. We kicked off with the NMCA and NMRA True Street winners with this mid eight second overall winner taking the win with an 8.51 at 166 MPH, earning a point for the NMCA side. The next pair up was Roush Super Stang winner Larry Fireston and E3 Spark Plugs Top Sportsman winner Matt Szymczak. Who took the win and another point for team NMCA.
