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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.
A special thanks to the presenting sponsor of our same day event coverage, Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
