After two days of qualifying here at Bowling Green, it’s time to start sending some folks home. We’ll get underway with bracket and index action this morning, with the first round of Pro Street and the remainder of the heads-up categories scheduled to go off at noon. Keep it here all day for news, notes, and photos from what should be an exciting day of racing action!
Kentucky's own Willard Kinzer began the weekend at the ADRL's Memphis Drags down at the Memphis International Raceway, where he was competing in the popular new Pro Drag Radial eliminator. Kinzer made the show there at No. 10 with a 4.58, but with plans to drive up to Bowling Green already hashed out, and a rain delay that was to push the ADRL eliminations to today, Kinzer pulled out of competition and headed north to Beech Bend. Said Kinzer, 'we're fourth in points here and I really hated to miss this race, so we left and came on up here.' Kinzer received a single qualifying hit early this morning, where his Mustang broke the rear end just off the starting line, sending his crew scrambling to make repairs prior to the first round of eliminations this afternoon. Kinzer shared with us that he thoroughly enjoyed his outing with the ADRL and has plans to enter the series' debut of the Outlaw 10.5 eliminator at Rockingham later this year. Willard Kinzer’s team was unable to get repairs made to his Mustang in time for the first round of eliminations, allowing Mike Murillo to take a single into the second round. The reigning series champion used the opportunity to take a crack at the Beech Bend quarter mile, running another 6.62 at 215 mph. With Brian Hicks and Ray Jaso both out due to breakage, the first round of Super Street was all single runs.
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No. 1 qualifier Jeff Lutz carded a 6.07 at 250 mph on his first round competition single, advancing him to the next round, where he'll meet Jim Widener. Widener downed Billy Glidden in a great first round matchup, 6.11 to 6.14. Clint Hairston advanced on a single, as Chuck DeMory Jr. broke and pulled out last night. Hairston, by virtue of the ladder, will receive another single into the final in the next round.
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John Kolivas (left) ran another steady 7.46 in the first round of Street Outlaw to take down George Toll. The story of the round, however, was the match between Dwayne Barbaree and Jason Lee (show at right), as Barbaree recorded low elapsed time of the weekend by more than a tenth, but was dead-late with a .245 reaction, allowing Lee to sneak by, 7.40 to 7.29. Sean Ashe advanced on a competition single and will meet Kolivas, while Lee will single into the final. James Beil stepped up big in the first round of Nostalgia Pro Street to take advantage of Kevin Parent’s struggles, advancing on to the semifinals with an 8.15. Beil will meet Danny Shemwell, who carded a stout 7.37. On the other side of the ladder, Dave Beeson, who recorded low elapsed time of the round with a 7.33, will square off with Robin Lawrence and his LSX-powered Chevy Nova.
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John Warren (left) cranked off low elapsed time of the first round of Xtreme Street with a 7.88 on his competition single. Bob Curran (right) was able to chase down Steve Cagle in a great matchup with an off-pace 8.11.
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In the semis of Pro Street, Clint Hairston, who’s nursing a wounded race car after an engine change last night, took the tree on his competition single and coasted won the track into the final. In the other pairing, however, Jeff Lutz dropped the hammer on low elapsed time of eliminations, a 5.99, to take down a slowing Jim Widener. In Street Outlaw, Sean Ashe lost traction just off the starting line, while his opponent, John Kolivas, brought his A-game, making his best run of the weekend at 7.38 at 192 mph to advance into the final. Kolivas will have lane choice when he meets Jason Lee in the final round a little later today.
Rick Riccardi solo’ed into the semifinals of N/A 10.5, where he’ll meet Andy Schmidt, who recorded low elapsed time of the round at 8.12. Don Bowles carded an 8.17 to advance and will single into the final.
Dave Beeson and Danny Shemwell will square off this afternoon in the Nostalgia Pro Street final. Both racers were in the 7.30’s in the semifinals, making what should be an incredibly tight finale.
Brian Camobell’s wheelstand in the final looked great for the photographers, but it cost him, as he missed a shaft with the wheels dangling in the air and slowed, allowing Don Baskin to cruise on by for the Mean Street victory.
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Eric Cheffer (left) was another of the racers that arrived this morning from the ADRL race in Memphis, and buy virtue of breakage from his opponents in the Super Street 10.5W category, had just one side-by-side run on his way through eliminations, ultimately singling in the final for the win. Danny Shemwell (right) also benefited from his Nostalgia Pro Street competitors' misfortune this weekend, as Dave Beeson broke following his semifinal single, handing a solo run in the final to Shemwell. Clint Hairston hadn’t needed to make a full pull all day long, leaving many to wonder if the bullet the team put in the car last night anything left. Hairston let everyone, including opponent Jeff Lutz, know that he was in it to win it. Both Lutz and Hairston were all over the race track, but it was Lutz that kept it on the straight and narrow better, scoring a 6.13 to 6.40 victory.Like Campbell in Mean Street, Street Outlaw racer Jason Lee’s crowd-pleasing wheelstand in the final cost him, as John Kolivas barnstormed to the victory with another great 7.3-second lap, a 7.32 at 194 mph.Andy Schmidt was the quicker of the two N/A 10.5 finalists all weekend, but a .007 red in the final handed the win to Don Bowles, who legged it out to an 8.180 that would’ve given Schmidt and his 8.178 a serious run for his money.Just like the N/A 10.5 final, John Warren was the quicker car on paper in the Xtreme Street finale, but a red light start handed the win to Bob Curran, who recorded an 8.14 to solidify the victory.
 Ir’s day two of the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals here at scenic Beech Bend Raceway, and things will get ratcheted up as the two remaining qualifying sessions for our index and heads-up categories will go off before the close of the day. We’ve got a slight chance of showers in the forecast, but we’re going to hope the clouds in the area add up to nothing more than much-needed relief from the heat. Keep it tuned here all day for news, notes, and photos from here in Bowling Green!
Jeff Lutz stepped it up in the overcast second session of Pro Street qualifying, running straight-and-true to a 5.97 at a booming 249 mph.
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John Kolivas and Jason Lee both improved in the second session of Street Outlaw, but still trail Sean Ashe's class-leading 7.41. Lousiana native Dave Beeson grabbed the No. 1 spot from Joe Bucaro in today’s second session of Nostalgia Pro Street qualifying, rocketing to a 7.31.Billy Glidden has struggled to get down the racetrack in today’s heat, blowing the tires off his Mickey Thompson-backed Mustang right at the hit in both of today’s final qualifying sessions. Glidden will go into tomorrow’s eliminations resting on his 6.18 best.
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Leonard Long (left) is currently third in N/A 10.5 qualifying with this 8.19 best, while Andy Schmidt (right) continues to elad the way, improving to a stout 8.07 in this morning's session. In addition to leading the Super Street 10.5W field with his quick 6.62 from yesterday, Mike Murillo has also joined the media and taken up photography this weekend. Brian Hicks remains second with his 6.75, while Brian Campbell jumped into the “sixes” today with his 6.99 effort.
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For you nostalgia fans, there are all sorts of great old classics competing in the Dave Duell Classic this weekend.
Brian Campbell put his ’96 Ford Mustang on the bumper this morning and bettered his class-leading effort in Mean Street, running 9.84 at 135 mph. Don Baskin remains second with his 9.89.That is indeed Jason Lee’s Strange Engineering-backed Street Outlaw Mustang with the wheels HIGH in the air as he neared the half-track mark. Lee’s machine had gone skyward at the hit, and after briefly touching down, began to climb once more, eliciting a huge applause from the crowd here at Beech Bend.John Warren, who took over the Xtreme Street qualifying lead with his 7.93 this morning, bettered his standing in the final session with a 7.89.
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The car show here at Beech Bend, hosted by the Bowling Green Mustangs organization, features a wide range of great cars, from classic muscle to street rods and modern marvels.
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The head-turner of the car show was perhaps this unique (to say the least) 1988 Yugo that Illinois native Jerry Harris brought out. The car sports, of all things, a massive supercharged Chrysler Hemi situated in the backseat/hatch area of the infamously-small machine. However, this thing is all for looks, as the engine does not power the car. Also on tap today was the True Street competition, in which more than 20 competitors signed up to take the 30-mile cruise and three back-to-back runs to prove who has the quickest and fastest real street car on the property.
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Jason Meador had the quickest run of the True Street racers, recording runs of 8.68, 8.69, and 8.73. John Kolivas put together a nice 7.46 at 192 mph in the final session of Street Outlaw this afternoon, trailing just a few ticks behind class leader Sean Ashe and Dwayne Barbaree at 7.41 and 7.44, respectively.Clint Hairston stepped up big in the final session, recording a great 6.06 that moved him into second in the Pro Street order. The run came at a cost however, as damage incurred in the valvetrain ultimately broke the camshaft. Family patriarch Jim Hairston told us, “we just changed this motor we’re putting in the car out yesterday, and it’s not happy, but it’s all we’ve got.”
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Like in Joliet, Jim Widener (left) isn't the quickest car in Pro Street, but it's certainly consistent. In the final sessio, Widener cruised to a 6.12, his best run of the weekend to close out qualifying third in the order. Former Xtreme Street racer Danny Shemwell, competing in Nostalgia Pro Street this weekend with a very sharp '69 Camaro powered by a 525-inch, nitrous-fed big block, enters eliminations at No. 5 with his game 7.42 best.
Final Qualifying Orders
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Hot off the heels of the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl in Chicago just three weeks ago, the cars and stars of the NMCA are back in action in the summer heat at the fabled Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. this weekend with the Quick Fuel Technologies NMCA Muscle Car Nationals. With just three races remaining in the season, now is the time that racers will need to start making their moves in the points toward their goal of earning the series championship.
John Kolivas is in the house this weekend, and any time the white Mustang is in the field, things are sure to be interesting. As a many-time NMRA champion, Kolivas has had a number of great moments here at Beech Bend, and he’ll look to add to his run here in Street Outlaw with his single-turbo, small block Ford combo.
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For reigning NMRA and NMCA 10.5W champion Mike Murillo, it's been a season marked largely by frustration. After engine woes in the early part of the year diagnosed as an issue with the camshaft, the team rebuilt the engine prior to the Joliet race, and then broke it again on a testing pass, snapping the crank 5.8-seconds into a strong 6.62-second blast. The engine has been put back together and Murillo is much more confident that his struggles are behind him. Jim Widener scored his first NMCA Pro Street victory in convincing fashion in Joliet, running a consistent string of low six-second laps. Widener admits his combination is geared toward the heat, due in large part to the design of the aging Cougar chassis in which the engine is set back several inches further than usual. “The car reacts well in the heat, but in the cooler weather, it really wants to carry the wheels.” Widener said the plan this weekend is simply “to go A to B”, and if his bracket-like consistency in Joliet was any indication, Widener might have another “Wally” trophy to put on his mantle at the close of the weekend.Outlaw 10.5 racer Peter Campbell and his wife drove 26 hours drown from their Canada home to make their NMCA Super Street 10.5W debut this weekend. Campbell had plans to attend the Joliet race, but family issues to tend to delayed the debut. The Camaro sports a 540 cubic inch Nelson-built engine with a pair of 88mm turbos. Campbell has been in the 6.90’s with the combination.Jeff Lutz put the first “five” on he board in the opening session of Pro Street qualifying, going 5.999 at 250 mph to grab the early lead. In the opposite lane, Joliet winner Jim Widener carded a nice 6.14, good for second in the order.Chuck DeMory Jr. is making his second Pro Street start of the season this weekend with his ProCharger-equipped GT500 fastback Mustang. DeMory has been working on his new combination for over a year since switching from a nitrous combo in Nostalgia Pro Street to Pro Street. According the second-generation racer, the F3 ProCharger and RaceDrive combo are making good power on the top end, but they’ve had to creep into it down low. The car recently carded a 6.37 during a test session in Michigan. In the opening session today, DeMory drifted out of the groove, and almost saved it, but ended up brushing the wall with the drivers side of the car, leaving some battle scars and a flattened ‘bullhorn’ pipe.
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The weekend came to a rather quick and unfortunate end for Joliet Super Street runner-up Ray Jaso and his killer twin-turbo Mustang, as the car reportedly broke a rod and caught fire in the shutdown area. As you can see in the images below, the blaze damaged the nose, windshield, and dash, along with a lot of the wiring and plumbing in the front half of the car. His team indicated that they plan to be back in a few weeks at Norwalk.
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Mike Murillo started his weekend of qualifying right where he left off in Joliet, running a 6.62 for the early lead in the class. Fortunately, this time all the parts are intact.Sean Ashe charged to a 7.41 to lead the opening session of Street Outlaw this afternoon. John Kolivas, opposite of Ashe, struggled early, but put together a stout 194 mph speed at the big end.
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Joe Bucaro and Dave Beeson put together a pair of side-by-side 7.40's in the opening round of Nostalgia Pro Street - Bucaro taking the early qualifying lead with his 7.41 at Beeson posted a 7.46. This weekend’s event also includes the now annual Dave Duell classic for Nstalgia Super stock racers, honoring the memory of the longtime Stock and Super Stock racer who helped make the popular category a reality. Over 50 of these classic machines, running anywhere from the mid 9-second range into the 12’s are here this weekend competing in both the Classic and the regular NMCA event.
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The “SpongeBob” train continues to roll in Xtreme Street, as Bob Curran uncorked the quickest run of the opening session with a 7.94, just a few ticks off the 7.90 he recorded earlier during testing.Don Baskin ended the opening round of Mean Street qualifying second in the order, thanks to his 10.06 from his SBF-powered ’89 Ford Mustang. Brian Campbell was the only racer in the class in the 9’s in the first session with his class-leading 9.88.Kentucky native Don Bowles just missed Andy Schmidt’s clas-leading 8.11 in the first session of N/A 10.5 competition, recording a stellar 8.12 from his very cool Ford Mustang.It’s been quite a while, five years to be exact, since NMRA and NMCA standout ‘Uncle Robin’ Lawrence last competed with the series. Lawrence, who hails from nearby Rockfield, Ky. is running his Nova, powered by a 440-inch LSX utilizing a Holley EFI system, in Nostalgia Pro Street. Lawrence’s mount took a hard turn toward the centerline in the first session today, forcing him to abort the run.
Hot off the heels of the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl in Chicago just three weeks ago, the cars and stars of the NMCA are back in action in the summer heat at the fabled Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. this weekend with the Quick Fuel Technologies NMCA Muscle Car Nationals. With just three races remaining in the season, now is the time that racers will need to start making their moves in the points toward their goal of earning the series championship.
