The NMRA is coming...to Atlanta!
Date: Monday, March 15
The return of All-Ford drag racing is on the horizon for Atlanta and the surrounding Georgia area. The NMRA will be making a stop at 'Georgia's House of Speed' - Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia over the weekend of March 26-28, 2010. The NMRA has not been in Georgia since 2008, and wanted to return the hotbed of Mustang activity to its schedule. According to ProMedia CEO Steve Wolcott, "The Atlanta and Georgia market is very important to the NMRA and ProMedia Events. We decided to return here after receiving an avalanche of requests from local racers and fans, as this area used to host one of Fun Ford Weekend's largest events."
The Inaugural Nitto Tire NMRA Peach State Nationals will feature All-Ford Drag Racing, the UPR Products Show'n'Shine, and the wild Tremec True Street class.
Check out the event forum HERE.
Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Monday, March 15 @ 12:36 PM by NMRA Jason
A Wild Weekend of Incredible Racing!
Date: Sunday, March 7
Wow! That’s really the first thing to say about the season-opening Nitto Tire NMRA Ford Nationals Spring Break Shootout, because the race action was hot and heavy all weekend long. Wheelstands, crashes, record-setting performances, and the most incredible True Street field that the NMRA has ever seen highlighted the action.
In the headline class, Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5, six cars showed up to do battle on the sticky Bradenton 1320’. Once qualifying was complete, 2008 class Champion Conrad Scarry took the top spot with a stout 6.78 at nearly 215 MPH, right off the trailer. Jim Blair, who had qualified with a 6.94 on Friday, loaded up and went home, as he had broken some parts during that passes, which took him out of competition. Mike Murillo’s 7.11 put him third, but he too left and went home early after damaging a cylinder head beyond repair. Dwayne James, Billy Driscoll, and Jim Brown rounded out the field heading into eliminations. With two racers out of the mix before the hit, there were two single passes, taken by Driscoll and James, sending them to round two. Scarry had to face off against Jim Brown, and Brown got out of shape, handing Scarry the win with a 6.81. Driscoll and James faced off in round two, with James hitting the tires hard on the hit and getting wildly out of shape, sending Driscoll on to his first NMRA final against Scarry, who wisely took it easy on his bye run. The big-block power of Scarry was simply too much for Driscoll to overcome, as Scarry scored a 6.80 with a half-track wheelie for the win.
Awesome record-breaking action took place in the ProCharger Super Street Outlaw class. During qualifying on Friday, John Urist clicked off a 7.29, only to be surpassed by Sammy Vincent’s 7.28 during yesterday’s sessions. Chris Tuten turned in a 7.40 to take over the third spot, while John Macdonald put a 7.45 on the board for fourth. Filthy Phil Hines went 7.62, , followed by Chip Havemann, Andrew DeMarco (driving Mike Dezotell’s borrowed car), newcomer Dan Pachar, and Anthony Lawson (who purchased Yanni Papakosmas’ hotrod in the offseason). The first round of competition was a barn-burner, as Lawson got out of shape and into the wall, sending Hines on to round two. Macdonald took a single after Pachar couldn’t make the lane call, and Tuten’s 7.56 sent Demarco back to Massachusetts. Vincent had the bye run and took it easy, bringing up the last pair. Urist and Havemann, friends for years, had to face off in a showdown of Behind Bars Race Cars customers. As the tree dropped, Havemann pedaled the car, while U . . . 
Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Sunday, March 7 @ 5:52 PM by NMRA Jason
Final Qualifying News
Date: Sunday, March 7
It’s been another record-setting day here at Bradenton Motorsports Park. In the ACT Factory Stock class, Tommy Godfrey became the charter member of the 10-second club when he clicked off an unreal 10.96 in the final round of qualifying. It’s been an interesting weekend for Godfrey, as he had to send crew chief Eric Holliday to the track with the car, since he was stuck at work and didn’t get here until today. Holliday ran into a snowstorm in North Carolina, and someone came across the lane and wrecked the driver’s side of the tow rig. Luckily it was able to be driven here so Godfrey can compete. Somehow we think the 10-second pass will ease some of his pain!
A strange winter here in the Southeast put a damper on Turbonetics Pro 10.5 competitor Conrad Scarry’s testing plans. Scarry finally made it onto the property today, and proceeded to unload the car and show everyone he wasn’t playing when it comes to regaining his Pro 10.5 title from 2008. An awesome 6.788 was the reward for all of the late nights of work from the Scarry Crew. Can he go wire-to-wire?
Yesterday morning, we reported on John Urist’s incredible 7.29 blast in the ProCharger Super Street Outlaw class. Today, Sammy Vincent laid a 7.28 at 192 MPH down in the final round of qualifying. As the track conditions got better, Vincent put Urist second on the ladder for tomorrow, which is a spot he’s not accustomed to occupying. Today should be an incredible day in SSO – it’s all on the line at the Spring Break Shootout!
Another class with competitors jockeying for position is DiabloSport EFI Renegade. After Alton Clements’ 8.34 yesterday, we didn’t expect to see anything better this afternoon, but Bad Bart Tobener proved us wrong. Not only did he take the top spot away from last season’s champ, he also put an unreal 166 MPH up on the scoreboard out of his Modular-powered notchback. Tobener is no stranger to the winner’s circle. Maybe he’ll be there tonight.
Friday night, Bob Kurgan was sittin’ pretty at the top of the BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial ladder with a stout 7.947 at 176 MPH. Yesterday, Jason Lee took that spot away from him with a 7.941 at a whopping . . .
Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Sunday, March 7 @ 7:50 AM by NMRA Jason
Friday's Happenings...
Date: Saturday, March 6
Just when you thought he couldn’t do anything else to shock you, Super Street Outlaw racer John Urist pulled an incredible pass out of nowhere Friday in the first round of qualifying. After watching every other racer put numbers up, including Chris Tuten’s stout 7.40 blast, Urist put the pedal to the metal and launched incredibly hard out of the gates. When the scoreboards lit, Urist demolished last season’s record and put a 7.29 at 194 MPH up on the scoreboard to set the tone for the weekend. We can’t imagine what he has in store as the track conditions get better throughout the weekend. Keep your eye on the five-time champ.
Last year, Charlie Booze showed why he is a multi-time champion in the Edelbrock Hot Street class by killing the competition at the season’s final race in Bowling Green. He picked up right where he left off today, clicking off a killer 8.41 at over 160MPH, three hundredths quicker than Robbie Blankenship’s 8.44, to sit atop the Hot Street ladder going into today’s final two qualifying rounds.
In yet another stunning show of performance, DiabloSport EFI Renegade champion Alton Clements picked up right where he left off at the end of last season. After Renegade qualifying was complete last night, Clements was number one with an incredible 8.34 at almost 165 MPH, nearly a tenth ahead of his closest competition, nitrous brawler (and #2 in ’09) Dan Rawls. Clements looks to be well-sorted-out and ready to put a hurtin’ on the competition during eliminations.
Another racer hot under the collar yesterday was BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial racer Bob Kurgan. With an offseason to regroup and rebuild his program, Kurgan came out firing on all cylinders yesterday afternoon. As the qualifying session progressed, most of the racers in the class struggled to get down the track, but Kurgan was ready to rock, Putting up a record-breaking 7.947 blast at nearly 177 MPH. Can the Vortech-sponsored beast go even quicker today?
After an offseason consisting of a multitude of changes, including an engine-builder and tuner switch, Jay Dold brought his ACT Factory Stocker to the starting line on Friday without any idea what to e . . .
Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Saturday, March 6 @ 8:23 AM by NMRA Jason
Bradenton is underway and spooling up!
Date: Friday, March 5
Good morning race fans! It’s 8am here at Bradenton Motorsports Park and the 16th annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout – the first stop on the NMRA Keystone Ford Nationals series – is underway. We’ve already got pits full of racers, with more coming through the gates; a rapidly-increasing Manufacturer’s Midway and Swap Meet; and what’s looking to be a killer True Street field. The weather is cool and crisp, with beautifully-clear skies, and with the track already being prepped for our 11am test and tune, the ETs should be phenomenal. We’ll be posting updates throughout the weekend, but this is a show that needs to be seen in person, so if you’re within driving distance, hop in the car and head out to catch what looks to be record-shattering performances this weekend!
Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Friday, March 5 @ 8:37 AM by Donut
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