Chris Holbrook, Winner. Image Courtesy: Andrew Casselberry, Ford Racing Parts

At the NMRA‘s Spring Break Shootout event this past weekend in Bradenton, Florida, sixteen Ford Racing Cobra Jet owners made the Cobra Jet Showdown a race to watch. These competitors use the Cobra Jet Showdown as a tuneup for the NHRA’s Gatornationals, and in the process put on one hell of a show for the true-blue Ford faithful at the NMRA event.

Friday saw three qualifying sessions, at the end of which record-setting Super Stock racer Chris Holbrook found a spot on the top of the qualifying sheet with a stout 8.50 at 158 MPH to lead the field into Saturday’s elimination sessions. Local Florida racer Mike Skinner qualified second with an 8.79, while Bo Butner’s 2014 Cobra Jet was good in its shakedown sessions for a 9.85. Anthony Bongiovanni took fourth with an 8.63, while Rod Heltzel took both the fifth qualified position and the long-haul award (he’s from Jacksboro, TX) with an 8.69. Remember, these cars are qualified on how much quicker they run than their index, and Holbrook’s 1.479-second decrease from his 10.00 index is simply staggering.

Runner-Up Mike Skinner

During eliminations on Sunday, three racers – Evan Smith, Rod Heltzel, and Gary Richard – were out of competition in the first round before they ever got off the starting line, turning on the red bulb and thinning the field. Craig Hankinson was lucky enough that Heltzel left first on their double-red start, while Paul Rodgers, Steve Trombley, Gardner Stone, Skinner, Holbrook, and Butner all advanced. 

By the time the final round was set, Holbrook and Mike Skinner were the two combatants scheduled to do battle. Unfortunately for Skinner, he cut it just a little bit too close on the starting line and redlight by a scant -.007 margin, giving Holbrook the wire-to-wire win in the season’s first Cobra Jet Showdown.

The second round of the Cobra Jet Showdown takes place later this season at the NMCA’s stop at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, just prior to the NHRA‘s U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Also, we shot a great feature on Holbrook’s incredible, record-setting Mustang, which you’ll see soon right here on Dragzine.