The NMCA Flowmaster Drag Racing Series season opener, the Ross Pistons Muscle Car Nationals down in Bradenton, Fla., is still a full month away, but already the storylines are heating up as teams in the headliner Pro Street division make preparations for another exciting year.

Jeff Lutz, who finished third in the season standings last year behind series champ Chris Rini and Clint Hairtson in his brand spankin’ new Jerry Bickel Race Cars-built ’69 Camaro, went testing in Bradenton over the weekend and the early part of this week and reeled off some stout sub-record, career-best numbers that has everyone talking, and certainly has the attention of Rini, Hariston, and the rest of the Pro Street class.

On Friday, Lutz carded a 5.93 elapsed time at a booming 252.59 mph in his twin-turbo mount, and during the track’s 1/8 mile Heads Up Madness race on Saturday, went 3.938 at 198.41. Lutz and his scheduled final round opponent, fellow Pro Street runner Josh Green, split the final when the weather turned too cold for a safe finale, thus keeping he and the PTP gang with tuner Patrick Barnhill and Jason Lee from improving upon that number.

On Monday afternoon, Lutz and company did themselves one better (or two better, rather) when the bright orange Camaro ripped off a 5.910 at 249.72 mph, with a 1.052 short time and a 3.952-second clocking to half track. Barnhill, via the Yellow Bullet forums, had stated on Sunday that their goal on the final day of the test was to break into the 5.80’s, and they got awful close.

Lutz is running his tried-and-true 540 cubic inch Pat Musi-built mill that was recently featured here on the pages of Dragzine, with a pair of 88mm Precision turbos and one of ATI’s trick new Turbo 400 transmissions with a Pro Torque converter.