Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMRA
Aaron Worstell went through a lot of clutches while exploring exactly what his car wanted when he began competing in NMRA Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock a few years ago.
He was revved up to rocket off the starting line pass after pass in his Mustang with chassis work by GS Performance, a Gen III Coyote engine, G-Force G101A four-speed, Advanced Clutches clutch and Team Z Motorsports suspension components, and finding the sweet spot for clutch base pressure was problematic.
But Worstell was not going to give up, and he is now where he needs to be.
After an impressive fifth-place finish in points in 2023, Worstell prepared for the 2024 racing season with help from his crew chief, Grant Scott of GS Performance, and his father and fellow racer, Bill Worstell.
“We went over everything, and we sent the clutch to Advanced Clutches to have it ground, and then we reinstalled it to the correct height,” said Worstell.
When the work was done, they made their way to the first Holley NMRA Ford Nationals race of 2024, the 30th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout & Saturday Thrill Festival in February at Gainesville Raceway in Florida. Worstell qualified in the fifth spot with a 9.66 out of 16 racers and exited eliminations in the second round with a 9.90.
“After the winter break, it is always anyone’s guess as to how the car will run, but we were very happy to run well right off the trailer in Florida,” said Worstell. “We recorded every ounce of data we could, and we paid attention to what we would need to do to be ready for the conditions.”
From there, Worstell qualified in the fourth spot out of 14 racers with a 9.67 and exited eliminations in the second round with a 10.08 at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance & Top of the Rock Thrill Festival presented by Innovation Performance Technologies in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.
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“Because our car had some issues at the past events in North Carolina, we were anxious to see how it would do at this event, and it did well,” said Worstell. “It was consistent, and that is crucial.”
The next race on the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals tour was the NMRA/NMCA Race for the Rings & Saturday Thrill Festival in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. Worstell, of nearby Sullivan, Missouri, considers World Wide Technology Raceway his home track, and was happy to have more family members and friends with him that weekend. He qualified in the fifth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.77 and exited eliminations in the second round with a 9.77.
Soon after, he headed to the Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming presented by Anderson Composites & Saturday TransTec Thrill Festival in early June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, where he qualified in the seventh spot with a 9.81 out of 14 racers, but had trouble that prevented him from pulling into the beams for the first round of eliminations.
“My car shut off in the burnout box in the first round of eliminations,” said Worstell. “The fuel pump broke. It was just old, and did not owe us anything. It was unfortunate timing, but we ordered a new Holley EFI pump right after that.”
Worstell is now ready for the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals tour, the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival, July 19-21 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. He is currently holding down the fifth-place in points but is aiming to go even higher.
“We want to get back out there and try to make up for not making first round in Ohio,” said Worstell. “As always, it will take consistency, maintenance between rounds and making sure everything is 100 percent right. If you are not 100 percent right, one of your fellow competitors will be. That is just part of the ultra-tight racing that we love. I’m grateful to have support from my dad, Bill, who lines me up, Chad and Damien Stephens of Team Dirty Bird, among other friends, and PEM Driveshaft, HPJ Performance and Late Model Restoration."
Photos by NMRA
Aaron Worstell went through a lot of clutches while exploring exactly what his car wanted when he began competing in NMRA Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock a few years ago.
He was revved up to rocket off the starting line pass after pass in his Mustang with chassis work by GS Performance, a Gen III Coyote engine, G-Force G101A four-speed, Advanced Clutches clutch and Team Z Motorsports suspension components, and finding the sweet spot for clutch base pressure was problematic.
But Worstell was not going to give up, and he is now where he needs to be.
After an impressive fifth-place finish in points in 2023, Worstell prepared for the 2024 racing season with help from his crew chief, Grant Scott of GS Performance, and his father and fellow racer, Bill Worstell.
“We went over everything, and we sent the clutch to Advanced Clutches to have it ground, and then we reinstalled it to the correct height,” said Worstell.
When the work was done, they made their way to the first Holley NMRA Ford Nationals race of 2024, the 30th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout & Saturday Thrill Festival in February at Gainesville Raceway in Florida. Worstell qualified in the fifth spot with a 9.66 out of 16 racers and exited eliminations in the second round with a 9.90.
“After the winter break, it is always anyone’s guess as to how the car will run, but we were very happy to run well right off the trailer in Florida,” said Worstell. “We recorded every ounce of data we could, and we paid attention to what we would need to do to be ready for the conditions.”
From there, Worstell qualified in the fourth spot out of 14 racers with a 9.67 and exited eliminations in the second round with a 10.08 at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance & Top of the Rock Thrill Festival presented by Innovation Performance Technologies in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.
“Because our car had some issues at the past events in North Carolina, we were anxious to see how it would do at this event, and it did well,” said Worstell. “It was consistent, and that is crucial.”
The next race on the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals tour was the NMRA/NMCA Race for the Rings & Saturday Thrill Festival in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. Worstell, of nearby Sullivan, Missouri, considers World Wide Technology Raceway his home track, and was happy to have more family members and friends with him that weekend. He qualified in the fifth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.77 and exited eliminations in the second round with a 9.77.
Soon after, he headed to the Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming presented by Anderson Composites & Saturday TransTec Thrill Festival in early June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, where he qualified in the seventh spot with a 9.81 out of 14 racers, but had trouble that prevented him from pulling into the beams for the first round of eliminations.
“My car shut off in the burnout box in the first round of eliminations,” said Worstell. “The fuel pump broke. It was just old, and did not owe us anything. It was unfortunate timing, but we ordered a new Holley EFI pump right after that.”
Worstell is now ready for the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals tour, the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Nitto Tire & Saturday Thrill Festival, July 19-21 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. He is currently holding down the fifth-place in points but is aiming to go even higher.
“We want to get back out there and try to make up for not making first round in Ohio,” said Worstell. “As always, it will take consistency, maintenance between rounds and making sure everything is 100 percent right. If you are not 100 percent right, one of your fellow competitors will be. That is just part of the ultra-tight racing that we love. I’m grateful to have support from my dad, Bill, who lines me up, Chad and Damien Stephens of Team Dirty Bird, among other friends, and PEM Driveshaft, HPJ Performance and Late Model Restoration."