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We finished up round one with a little time to spare before the 11 PM curfew last night with some great racing and quite a few upsets. As we move into round two this morning the weather is a bit more sunny which could play a bigger factor in eliminations today compared to Saturday’s mostly cloudy skies.
It’s the summers’ biggest door car bash, and thanks to the support of Fuel Air Spark Technology, Dragzine will be bringing you all of the action, all weekend long from Route 66.
My partner in crime this weekend Brian Wagner shot this from the stands this morning before we got under way. We have been blessed with nice weather with the exception of a bit of rain on Friday. We have an exciting day ahead sure to be packed with some tight racing and enthusiasm.
This years Route 66 NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl has three new classes this year including Pro Stock which is the second race for the class this year and was prompted by Richard Maskin and Bob Book along with Dave W using 400 cubic in limited small blocks loosely based on Australian Pro Stock rules and including an 11,000 RPM limit. Bob has one of his small block Chrysler Hemi engines in Steve Graham's GXP who is here to help support the class and it's destined for long time racer Robbie Blankenship who will be competing in the class in 2017. The rules allow EFI and engine swapping between brands so racers are not bound by car make with the hopes of drawing cars from the Comp Eliminator ranks of different body styles, not just the late models. Other well known racers including Don Bowles and Don Baskin are also rumored to be interested in campaigning cars for the class next year.
Kevin Fiscus was having a rough weekend in his Pro Mod Mustang. No time on the Q1 hit due to the car pushing through the beams, Q2 lost to weather, and Q3 was a no go due to a broken oil line. The team was able to overcome all those issues in round one to knock out Randy Adler who was top qualifier. Fiscus is very confident in the team’s chances now after getting the new motor sorted and ready.
Shawn Pevlor reset the MX235 record last night with a blistering 4.67 pass. Pevlor's crew chief Jason attributes the improved performance to constant testing and the switch to a fogger system on the Mustang. The team is running nearly identical on the 235 tire as they did in their win at a Nitrous X event last weekend in North Carolina at Shadyside Dragway.
Jennifer Brooke is using her fathers old turbo motor in Nitrous Pro Street at the Super Bowl as she chases her first championship. The team is very confident if the track can take the power they are trying to put down a Super Bowl win is within their grasp.
NMRA racer Adam Arndt does some prep work to his Mustang for the next round of Renegade racing action. Arndt has been running like a bracket car all weekend peeling off passes in the 7.60s all weekend.
NA 10.5 driver Dwight Ausmus gets his 1972 Pontiac Firebird ready for round 2 today. Ausmus knows how finicky these all motor monsters can be when it comes to track conditions, so he has both a hot track, along with a cloud-covered track tune-up on tap.
NMRA Renegade racer Valerie Clements in her SBF F1A ProCharger powered 2005 Mustang has been creeping up on the tune with her new EGT sensors and it has paid off. The car went 7.60 with a 4.80 1/8th mile time, a new personal best for her. She racers her brother Alton Clements in round two who just went a 7.65
Nitrous Pro Street racer Randy Dolensek's 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler Two could be one of most unique cars on the property this weekend. The car is powered by a 498 cubic inch big block Ford that is huffing a huge hit of nitrous through an EFI system, and is backed by a TH400 transmission. Dolensek is still working through the new car blues trying to figure things out, but has cracked into the seven second zone with this massive car, and is going to round three in Nitrous Pro Street.
We stopped by the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow display and had a chat with Rodney Bingham about their engine building competition. The program is designed for high school students in the automotive field where five person teams tear down and reassemble engines in a timed competition. There are multiple qualifier events across the country with the teams with the best times are invited to the Dual Championship Shootout at PRI show and SEMA for a chance to win a share up 4 million dollars in scholarship funds from tech schools such as the School of Automotive Machinists, OTC, UNO and Universal Technical Institute now in it's ninth year with this being the thirteenth for 2016. The engines are small block Chevy engines from 1986 to 1993. This year there are 172 teams competing with forty nine manufacturers participating in sponsorship. Plans are in the works for an LS engine based competition for college age students which are about a year out.
This beautiful 1969 Chevelle caught our eye running in Open Comp and is owned by Donny Edmunds based out of Franklin, Ohio. The car is powered by a big block Chevy displacing 565 inches topped with Dart CNC heads and Dart Big M block built by Greg Robinson at Robinson Racing Engines with TRZ rear suspension and Global West control arms up front. The 12 bolt rear is filled with Strange internals and a Richmond 4.11 pro gears. The car runs consistent 6.0's in the eighth and 9.40's out the back at 141 MPH.
The Factory Appearing Stock Tire (F.A.S.T.) class is here at the NMCA for the second time after running one event at Norwalk last year. The interesting thing about the class is all the cars are factory appearing with full interior with the engines maintaining a factory appearance as well though modifications are allowed to the internals. This 69 Hemi Roadrunner belongs to Dave Dudek displacing 498 cubic inches and has run in the high nines at 139 MPH. The class will also be featured again at Norwalk later this year which should draw about 30 cars compared to the ten here this weekend with several racers sitting out and making repairs.
This 69 Corvette belongs to a husband and wife team with matching cars though his car is not here this weekend. Julie Pennington runs her car in the Factory Stock class with an L88 427 running a best ET of 10.87 at 125 MPH with the attention to detail really showcasing the potential of factory stock muscle cars.
Don Giannone owns this 1966 Chevelle in FAST running a 555 cubic inch mill out of The Engine Shop. Don has been racing this car about ten years in the class and is based out of Lansdale, PA. There are three cars left in eliminations today and he will face off with Dudek's Roadrunner in the next round. Don holds the 60 foot record with a 1.51, an impressive feat on the required tire.
We stopped and Talked with Tim Savelle who ran a 3.83 at 201 in round two and is set to face off with Greg-Seth Hunter in the MMR sponsored Mustang. Tim has driven for Mike Bankston about eight years after running Top Sportman and Pro Mods of his own and as a hired driver. Savelle has lane choice over Hunter who has been running 4.0's and has been fighting a misfire this weekend and looking to get back on track and in the 3.90's next round. He is General Manager and an engine builder at MMR. The car uses a 351 inch Mod Motor fed by a pair of Garrett 88 MM turbos and will be the last event for this combo before switching to their own billet block and topped with Coyote heads. Tim Savelle is pictured with Keith Auwarter on the right and Greg-Seth Hunter with Mark Luton on the left.
Round Two Elimination Results
In the FAST Semi finals David Dudek faced off with Don Giannone in a Mopar vs Chevy battle with Giannone launching hard but striking the tires just after the hit and slowing to an 11.08 at 128 with Dudek putting up a 10.33 at 134 to take the win. He will face off with Ed Keim's 69 (pictured left) Camaro in the class final.
The Pro Mod final is set with Kevin Fiscus taking the win over Tony Williams setting up a nitrous vs turbo, Ford Vs Chevy match. Fiscus will have lane choice against Tim Savelle in the Pat Musi powered Camaro.
Radial Wars has has some good racing as well as some upsets today. Mark Micke faced of with Matt Bell in the semi finals but struck the tires past the tree with Micke going on to a 4.07 at 200.59 MPH on the run. He will face off with Dwayne Mills who has lane choice with a 3.97 in in his win over Daniel Pharris in a close race.
Charles Hull is having good luck this weekend with his new KBX combo which is very similar to Jared Johnson’s engine. His 4.47 at at 166.93 is a new best for Hull who advanced over Manny Buginga.
Joel Greathouse has taken over driving duties from Johnson in White Riot this year and has been running well for team KBX. On this pass the car climbed the ring gear and into a wheel stand allowing Jacky McCarty will have lane choice in the next round where he will face Phil Hines.
The American Racing Headers/Farks Supercars Camaro advanced over Rodney Massingale with a 7.55 at 182. He will have lane choice over Erik Kenward in the Xtreme Street Final.
Aaron Bates paired up with Alton CLements in the Renegade Semi final with both drivers having very close reaction times and tied together to the stripe where Bates edged out Clements for the win by the slimmest of margins. 7.584 winning over a 7.588.
Tim Matherly also had a tight race in Coyote Stock against Drew Lyons, earning a win with a 10.381 to Lyons’ quicker 10.377.
Final Results
Kevin Fiscus met with Tim Savelle in the final of Xtreme Pro Mod running a 3.84 at 209 to Savelle’s 3.86 at 200 MPH. That was Fiscus’ best MPH of the weekend when he needed it after struggling early in qualifying and not getting a solid pass for any data in eliminations. In the Superbowl Showdown Kevin played a part in setting up the NMCA win.
Mark Micke and Dewayne Mills met in the Radial Wars final with Mills going in with lane choice. It was a close match with Micke improving slightly over his semi final performance but was not enough to get by Mills’ who ran identical ET to his semi final run scoring a 3.973 at 198.58 to Micke’s 4.05 at 200.98 MPH.
Phil Hines met up with Jackie McCarty in the Street Outlaw final but stumbled at the hit allowing McCarty to get out front and stay there with a 4.456 at 169.15 to Hines ‘4.55 at 165.66 MPH run.
Steve Graham earned a hole shot win over Nino Cavallo in an all Dodge Avenger final. Graham nailed an .012 reaction to Cavallos .070, 7.011 at 196.39 to Graham’s winning 7.032 at 196.04.
In the MX235 final it would be Brad Medlock vs Brian Edwards. Both cars left together but Edwards lost traction early while Medlock went straight down to a 4.72 at 154 to earn the event win.
The Xtreme Street final would be a turbo vs Procharger match with Eric Kenward and Louie Filippedas with Filippedas having lane choice. He took the left lane which turned the match in his favor as Kenward struck the tires at the hit knowing he need to improve his performance to a mid 7.50 to be in the game. Filippedas went on to win with a 7.57 at 184 MPH.
In NA 10.5 the final would pit Dwight Ausmus against Mike DeMayo with both racers very tough competitors. DeMayo would be the victor today scoring a 7.98 at 169.17 to Ausmus’ game 8.06 at 196.32 for the Pontiac powered Firebird.
Factory stock pit Dan Ryntz and James Meredith against each other with Ryntz getting the advantage at the tree. His 10.92 at 120 was not enough to hold off Meredith who laid down a 10.76 at 124 to earn the event win.
Adam Arndt and Aaron Bates met in the Renegade final round with Bates taking the holeshot and the win with a 7.55 at 183 to Arndt’s game 7.62 at 180.
The Coyote Stock final had Tim Matherly against “Shiftin”Shane Stymiest with Matherly taking the starting line advantage. At the finish line it would be Matherly with the win with a 10.45 at 126 MPH over the Stymiest who was quicker with a 10.41 at 126.
The Street Outlaw final paired Jacky McCarty and Charles Hull who had lane choice choosing the left side. It was fairly even at the line and side by side down track with McCarty scoring the win in a very tight match with a 4.436 at 167.47 to Hull’s very close 4.438 at 172.14 MPH. They would face each other again in the Superbowl with the same outcome.
Radial Wars racer Dewayne Mills sealed the deal for the NMCA Superbowl win this weekend scoring a 3.85 at 206 MPH. The NMRA was ahead in the race for the rings but Kevin Fiscus and Jacky McCarty did their part winning their races setting up a make or break final pass with Mills and Aaron Bates who put up a 4.85 at 147.
