NMCA West Coast Shootout Same Day Coverage From Pomona

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For this weekend, we’re stationed here at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, California for the NMCA West showdown. To say it’s hot would be a complete understatement. Our current temperature is just near 100 degrees and it hasn’t even hit noon yet. However, the remaining race weekend should have slightly cooler temperatures. So, what’s on the grid for this weekends round of races? For starters, The Flowmaster NMCA WEST will be here on the Autoclub Raceway at Pomona all weekend for August 17-19. Of course, we’ll be here all weekend to cover the entire event all the way through finals. This will be the second Annual Lucas Oil NMCA WEST Coast Shootout, which is presented by JE Pistons. What’s more, this is the second of four races where drivers will earn championship points. With only three races scheduled for this specific track, the NMCA WEST is privileged to be here at this iconic track. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show. We’ll have all the coverage, including qualifying, eliminations, semi’s and the finals. Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, SCT Performance. For all your high plug and play performance, look no further than SCT Performance. We’ll have complete coverage of today’s elimination rounds including semi’s and the finals. Stay tuned, we’ll have more as the show goes on!

We're already on our way to a great day of racing here at Pomona for the NMCA WEST Series race. The heads up classes have just been called, including the Pro Street class, which will be running first.

Morning Pit Notes – Behind the Scenes

After suffering from that nasty spill on Friday, Cedric Washington stayed focused and is now the number one qualifier in the Outlaw 8.5 class with a best ET of 5.35.

Another Outlaw 8.5 contestant, Ron Shaw, is a street class record holder with a personal best ET of 8.96 at 160 mph. Here, Ron is making some pre-race final adjustments.

Roger Holder was just wrapping up some last minute checks on his Camaro. Josh Deeds and Eddie Rios were there as well to touch base and wish Holder luck.

A crew member is filling up the crankcase on John Scialpi's True Street '57 Chevy. Like most other racers, John mentioned that the track was quite slippery throughout the weekend.

Here racer and team owner, Chip Rumis, celebrates the victory of successfully applying the event windshield banner to his Pro Street Cobalt, despite the morning wind.

This '69 Camaro SS belongs to Eric Gustufson, and packs 412ci. of ProCharged-boosted LSX. Eric was on hand to answer our questions feeling confident about the day.

First Round Eliminations – Heads Up Classes

Larry Drake set up for the go during his first round of eliminations. However, Drake's 5.24 at 157 mph was not enough compared to the his opponents 4.18 at 177 mph.

Chip Rumis, who we previously mentioned was successful in applying a window sticker, just went 4.52 at 155 during his first round of eliminations. Rumis managed the lead and will advance to the next round of eliminations.

Russ Delia out of the True Ten.5 class put on a show by riding out his bucking '68 Camaro. What started as a mild wheel stand ended up with the Camaro completely riding out the bumper. This run put on quite the show, although we don't think the oil pan was as excited.

Al Jimenez was having some issues with spinning the tires, however, he still managed to go 4.76 at 155 mph. Jimenez has told us that for his next round of eliminations, pulling out some timing will help keep the tires in check.

Again, Mike Saiki proved to stay on top. This round Saiki's '72 'Vette went 5.520 at 133 for the win against Cameron Hensley's '02 Camaro.

Van Tol's '64 Chevelle took the light against Mark Washington; however, it wasn't enough. Washington came around Van Tol with a 5.39 at 134 mph. Washington advances to the next round.

Allen Stewart True Ten.5 Crash Sequence

Things started off well for in the second round of True Ten.5, until Stewart crossed lanes. Stewart did what any good racer would do; pulling the chute early, however, the Camaro was still packing a lot of energy and eventually smacked the wall.

Thankfully, Allen Stewart was able to walk away from the accident completely unhurt, although his Camaro will need some touch up before it's ready to race again.

Pit Notes – After Second Round Eliminations

Unfortunately, Ryan Toaster Jones was unable to keep up the pace. Toaster's Nova unexpectedly blew a burned a head gasket and was unable to make the second round of eliminations. We'll see him in a couple weeks in Arizona, he'll be back.

Lepone Jr. wanted to make sure his team and car were ready for the next round. Lepone Jr's team hustled to fine tune and make any last minute adjustments necessary.

Third Round Eliminations – Advances To Final Round

Round three saw Pro Street favorite Scialpi sleeping at the light, however, still managed to pull out the win. Scialpi went 4.16 at 172 against Greg Seth-Hunter’s ’07 Mustang. Scialpi will go to the finals.

Although True Ten.5's Rick Snavely took a single run down the track, that meant it was up to Al Jimenez and Scott Wile in his big-block powered '89 Toyota pickup. Yeah, that's right we said Toyota. Wile's '89 took the hole shot with a quicker light at .066 than Jimenez with a .0.94. However, Wile shut it down early and Jimenez took the win (4.85 at 154 mph), advancing himself to the finals against Snavely.

Final Rounds – For The Class Win!

Pro Street's John Scialpi, a Phelan, California resident took the light away from Joe Lepone Jr in his ’57 Bel Air. Scialpi’s win light took him all the way to victory and managed a blazing 4.05 at 182 mph against Lepone Jr.’s 4.20 at 175 mph. Scialpi wins the Wally.

The finals were tough during Outlaw 8.5. With Mark Washington against Cedric Washington, it was for sure a win for Washington. Wait, I know it’s confusing. Mark Washington cut a .057 light against Cedric’s lazy, .0164. Mark Washington was able to keep up the distance, taking the win and the Wally with a 5.44 at 134 mph.

Drag Radial finals threw in Artis Houston's '71 598-inch Nova against the consistent Kevin Jones and his ProCharged '86 Camaro. Jones go the hole shot and was able to keep the lead with a final time of 5.01 against Houston's 5.07. Wow, talk about a close finish. Jones grabbed up the Wally for finals.

Talk about a man on a mission. Jimenez began the weekend as top qualifier for the True Ten.5 class and essentially dominated the entire weekend, even after battle some tire slip. Eventually, Jimenez saw Snavely during the final round. Unlike most of the True Ten.5 class, Jimenez's leaf spring car is confusing to watch during the launch. While most cars squat, Jimenez's Camaro stiffens up, lifts the front and went for the win. Even though Snavely snagged the hole shot, Jimenez was able to come around for the win and the Wally. Jimenez went 4.88 against Snavely's 4.97.

Final Round Video Recap