The season opener in Bradenton is the undisputed biggest race of the NMRA racing season. It is where 2010 records fall and new cars are unveiled. Also, this is the place that sets the tone for who will be on top in 2011. Nearly all the records in every class were broken last year – will it happen again? Stay tuned all weekend as we bring you updates from the first race of the 2011 NMRA racing season.

Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com

Sun — I woke up this morning to a wet ground, but luckily it was not raining. It looks like we might be clear of the rain for the rest of the day and the crew almost has the track prepped and ready for racing.

Sun2 — At about 11am all the heads up cars started rolling out of their trailors and getting ready for the first round of eliminations today!

Sunday’s First Round of Eliminations

E2-7 — Despite Mitchell’s brief tire spin off the line, he was able to beat Renegade newcomer Bryan Muth on a hole-shot victory with a 8.902 @ 156.44 to Muth's 8.882 @ 150.75.

E2-10 — Chris Van Gilder showed A.J.Wyce why he wears the number one on the window with a 9.184 @ 136.59 to Wyce’s 9.787 @ 142.81. Bart Tobner would take a bye into the semis.

Q3-24 — Jimmy Wilson took the Pure Street semi final victory over Kris Clark with a 10.225 @ 132.23 over Clark’s 12.196 @ 109.48. Brandon Alsept took the bye to the finals against Wilson

E1-2 — A little starting line wheel spin and being late on the tree was all it took for John Leslie to loose against Rick Walsh in Factory Stock. Walsh would narrowly beat Leslie at the stripe with a holeshot 11.413 @ 117.52 to a 11.401 @ 119.63

E2-32 — Brian Campell would take the win over Chris Creadeur with a 11.549 @ 118.96 to Chris’ 12.305 @ 115.88. Carlos Sobrino would take a bye to the finals

E2-24 — Only two cars showed up for Real Street and those were veterans Bruce Hemminger and Tim Matherly. In the end, it would be Hemminger with the 9.414 @ 143.10 mph win as Matherly had problems getting the car into fourth gear.

E2-21 — Enzo Pecchini would still have starting line problems but would still have what it takes to run down Andy Manson with a 7.802 to Manson’s 7.832

E2-22 — Jason Lee was able to keep the wheels down against Daniel Pachar and run a respectable 7.654 @ 180.43 to Pachar’s lifting 8.894. Sean Lyon got the bye into the semis.

E2-14 — Don Bowles had a hard time getting his car in reverse and had to be pushed back to the line to pair up against Charlie Booze, who took the win with a 8.548 @ 152.69 to Bowles’ 8.692 @ 154.32

E2-19 — Timmy Eichhorn took a solo hit into the semis since Fred Ferrante did not make the call. Robbie Blankenship would still have problems with wheel spin off the line and would loose to Jared Johnston with a 8.785 @ 154.98 to Blankenship’s 9.081 @ 153.55

Q3-4 — Another guy that is having new engine blues is Johnny Mac. He would get defeated by Phil Hines with a 7.600 @ 185 to Mac’s 8.073 @ 153.97. John Urist would run a 7.47 on a bye.

Q2-42 — While Chris Tuten shocked the crowd Friday with his record breaking pass, he has been having a hard time putting down a fast past sense. Kenjo Kelly would take out Tuten in the first Sunday round of SSO with a 7.444 @ 191.65 to Tuten’s lifting pass.

Semis and Finals

Due to Dwyane James' engine mishap during qualifying yesterday, it was down to Tim Essick and Conrad Scarry in the finals of Pro Outlaw 10.5W. Conrad's Mustang would leave really lazy while Tim Essick went up in smoke at the 60 foot mark. Essick would have time to regain the car before Scarry would get completely power and take the victory with a 7.562 @ 201.43

Kenjo Kelly would face champion John Urist in the semi final round of SSO. Urist would strike the tires, tried to regain, but then got too far out of the groove, prompting a shut off. Kelly would make a straight blast out the back door to a winning 7.640 @ 188.04. Phil Hines would take a bye run to the finals

FriQ1-37 — Kenjo Kelley would take the win over Phil Hines, who spun the wheels off the line. Kelley won with a 7.579 @ 189.99 over Hines' 7.803 @ 186.29

It would be a great side by side race for the semi final match up between Chris Van Gilder and Bart Tobner for the final round match with Brian Mitchell - Tobner would come up on top with a 8.574 to a 8.766. In the finals, it would be Mitchell with the win over a spinning Tobner.

It would be a classic drag radial battle of Sean Lyon versus Enzo Pecchini to choose who raced Jason Lee in the final. It would be Lyon with the win on a 7.630 to a 7.730. In the finals Lyon would be too early on the tree and Lee would have to ride out yet another wheel stand to take win with a lifting 11.364

Tim Eichhorn would square off against Jared Johnston in a Hot Street semi final duel. Though Johnston was quicker on the tree with a .006 light, Eichhorn would have the power to nudge out Johnston with a 8.621 to a 8.764. In the final Eichhorn would be too quick on the tree and hand the final round win over to Charlie Booze with a quick 8.494 pass.

Carlos Sobrino continued his dominance in Factory Stock with a win over Brian Campbell in the semi final round with a 11.159 to a 11.557. Carlos followed up with a final round victory against Rick Walsh with a 11.013 to a 11.375 The season opener in Bradenton is the undisputed biggest race of the NMRA racing season. It is where 2010 records fall and new cars are unveiled. Also, this is the place that sets the tone for who will be on top in 2011. Nearly all the records in every class were broken last year – will it happen again? Stay tuned all weekend as we bring you updates from the first race of the 2011 NMRA racing season. Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com Last year Daniel Pachar came to Bradenton in Super Street Outlaw; converted from the former Outlaw 8.5 setup. A new year equals a new setup for Daniel as he has once again switched classes to the new Xtreme Drag Radial class. Furthermore, the F2 ProCharger that was previously on this mod motor combination has been substituted for a turbo. At Bowling Green last year Factory Stock racer John Leslie Jr. was seen driving something different than his typical red pushrod fox body combination. John got an offer to drive a new car and he took it - a 2-valve powered fox body. At the Bowling Green finals, Leslie was able to run the second fastest time in Factory Stock and the fastest time ever for a modular combination, a 11.00 @ 121 mph. Leslie states that this car is producing better times after the 60 foot mark compared to last year, but has been struggling this weekend with getting it off the line. Also the installation of a line lock has been deemed necessary to keep the Mustang from rolling in the burn out box. Qualifying Round 2 Notes John Leslie Jr. was just talking about hooking up this morning is all he needed to run a good time, and during the second round of qualifying, he got his wish. Leslie took away the number one qualifying spot from Carlos Sobrino with a 11.128 @ 119.95 mph pass. There is no doubt that the track is hooking this round! Jason Lee went up into a wild 400 foot long wheel stand up on the bumper and then back down hard. The damage consisted of a smashed oil pan, headers, and a banged up K-member. Sam Vincent was on his way to Bradenton when his truck suffered from a massive engine failure. Still needing to get to the track and not having the time to get the truck fixed, Vincent bought a brand new F-350. He suffered from wheel spin during his first attempt during qualifying round two Bryan Muth hung the wheels high during the second round of Renegade, slamming down and doing some minor damage to the rack. It was a wheels up round of Hot Street with no changes made to the top of the ladder. Charlie Booze put it up pretty high and was not pointed straight, prompting him to lift early and navigate from the wall. Also Don Bowles had a nice wheel stand in his ’72 Maverick. Robbie Blankenship finally got hooked up and bumped up to the second spot with a 8.535 @ 156.44 mph pass. on Lamana had a bit of a oil mess on the starting line. Luckily the crew caught it before leaving the line Xtreme Drag Radial new comer Andy Manson let the veterans in the class know that he not playing. Manson stole the number one spot in XDR with a 7.625 @ 177.93 pass. Sean Lyon is at a close second with a 7.641 @ 187.77 -- 8 mph faster at the stripe than anyone else in the class. Bruce Hemminger had a nice wheels up stand during the second round, though as he went to grab second gear, the transmission let go and stopped at the 330 foot cone. Final Qualifying Update Carlos Sobrino was able to edge out John Leslie Jr for the number one spot in Factory Stock with a 10.983 @ 122.31 mph blast. If Carlos can back it up, it will be good for a new Factory Stock ET record Jared Johnston had a heck of a ride on Hot Street when the Sam Racing sponsored Mustang cut to the right as soon as it launched, narrowly missing the 60 foot cone. Tim Essick had a sweet wheels up launch during the last round of qualifying had it was enough to take over the number one qualifying spot in Pro Outlaw 10.5W with a 6.850 @ 210.13. Final Qualifying Order Compulink StarTrak TURBOSMART PRO OUTLAW 10.5 Qualifying for 3 entries Low ET 6.850 1003 TIM ESSICK Top Speed 215.36 1 1003 PRO 03 MUSTANG 430 TIM ESSICK BRANDYWINE MD 6.850 210.13 210.57 1 PRO 04 MUSTANG 550 CONRAD SCARRY DEERFIELD BEACH FL 6.942 215.36 215.36 3 PRO 03 COBRA 440 DWAYNE JAMES ALBUQUERQUE NM 7.151 194.09 194.09 Compulink StarTrak PROCHARGER SUPER STREET Qualifying for 9 entries Low ET 7.207 2023 CHRIS TUTEN Top Speed 201.38 2023 CHRIS TUTEN 2023 SSO 87 MUSTANG 363 CHRIS TUTEN PELION SC 7.207 201.38 201.38 1 SSO MUSTANG 420 JOHN URIST ALBUQUERQUE NM 7.365 192.18 192.18 2 SSO 01 COBRA 406 JOHN MACDONALD WHITE LAKE MI 7.402 192.06 192.06 2000 SSO 98 MUSTANG 427 KENJO KELLEY BRAZORIA TX 7.429 192.06 192.06 4 SSO 01 MUSTANG 423 PHIL HINES LEBANON OH 7.450 189.71 189.71 2554 SSO 03 MUSTANG 413 TERRY ELAM IRMO SC 7.575 188.40 188.40 7 SSO 86 MUSTANG GT 414 ANDREW DEMARCO MALDEN MA 7.771 185.37 185.37 2142 SSO 90 MUSTANG 427 BILLY DRISCOLL WESLEY CHAPEL FL 7.947 162.83 162.86 2077 SSO 88 MUSTANG 458 SAMUEL VINCENT CENTRAL CITY FL 10.883 55.42 86.88 Compulink StarTrak BLOW-BY RACING EFI REN Qualifying for 5 entries Low ET 8.518 4214 BART TOBENER Top Speed 161.60 2 BRIAN MITCHELL 4214 REN 92 MUSTANG 336 BART TOBENER WINDER GA 8.518 159.63 159.63 2 REN 03 COBRA 310 BRIAN MITCHELL CHADDS FORD PA 8.554 161.60 161.60 1 REN 90 LX 309 CHRIS VAN GILDER QUNKERTOWN PA 8.694 157.48 157.48 7 REN 00 MUSTANG 306 BRYAN MUTH WALNUTPORT PA 9.060 143.35 143.35 4320 REN 89 MUSTANG 316 A.J. WYCE HAMMONTON NJ 9.192 147.34 147.34 Compulink StarTrak EDELBROCK HOT STREET Qualifying for 6 entries Low ET 8.469 3398 CHARLIE BOOZE JR. Top Speed 157.45 3131 TIMOTHY EICHHORN 3398 HS 92 MUSTANG GT 419 CHARLIE BOOZE JR. MARION PA 8.469 154.18 154.18 3 HS 04 MUSTANG 420 ROBBIE BLANKENSHIP HUDSON FL 8.491 156.46 156.49 3131 HS 89 MUSTANG 420 TIMOTHY EICHHORN BOYNTON BEACH FL 8.602 157.12 157.45 2 HS 72 MAVERICK 420 DON BOWLES MADISONVILLE KY 8.655 149.57 150.05 3098 HS 89 MUSTANG 420 JARED JOHNSTON RAYMORE MO 9.276 125.15 155.87 3750 HS 90 MUSTANG 365 FRED FERRANTE RUSKIN FL 19.682 00.00 00.00 Compulink StarTrak AFCO XTREME DRAG RADIAL Qualifying for 9 entries Low ET 7.625 10088 ANDY MANSON Top Speed 187.77 4 SEAN LYON 10088 DR 96 COBRA 325 ANDY MANSON WOODBRIDGE VA 7.625 177.93 177.93 4 DR 93 MUSTANG 353 SEAN LYON PANAMA CITY FL 7.641 187.77 187.77 1 DR 86 MUSTANG 361 JASON LEE MAUMEE OH 7.677 179.39 179.42 2 DR 88 MUSTANG 355 ENZO PECCHINI WOODBRIDGE ONTARIO 7.703 174.62 174.62 10000 DR 04 MUSTANG 284 DANIEL PACHAR ORANE TX 8.002 175.57 175.57 8 DR 91 MUSTANG 330 BRIAN TUTEN LEXINGTON SC 8.143 176.36 176.36 10099 DR 99 MUSTANG 6.2 RONNIE DIAZ ELIZABETH NJ 8.254 163.04 163.04 10002 DR 88 MUSTANG 427 JAMES URBAN BRADENTON FL 8.725 160.97 160.97 10003 DR 88 MUSTANG 339 DON LAMANA HUDSON FL 8.832 167.25 167.25 Compulink StarTrak STEEDA REAL STREET Qualifying for 2 entries Low ET 9.448 2 BRUCE HEMMINGER Top Speed 144.76 1 TIM MATHERLY 2 RS 86 MUSTANG 311 BRUCE HEMMINGER BURNHAM IL 9.448 143.12 143.81 1 RS 01 MUSTANG 284 TIM MATHERLY STATHAM GA 9.478 143.44 144.76 Compulink StarTrak EIBACH SPRINGS PURE STREET Qualifying for 3 entries Low ET 10.232 3 BRANDON ALSEPT Top Speed 132.68 5119 JIMMY WILSON 3 PS 98 MUSTANG 289 BRANDON ALSEPT CINCINNATI OH 10.232 130.52 130.52 5119 PS 88 MUSTANG 311 JIMMY WILSON GAINESVILLE FL 10.240 132.68 132.68 5000 PS 93 MUSTANG 302 KRIS CLARK LAND O’ LAKES FL 12.309 111.01 111.01 Compulink StarTrak BFGOODRICH FACTORY STOCK Qualifying for 10 entries Low ET 10.983 2 CARLOS SOBRINO Top Speed 128.05 3 2 FS 86 LX 310 CARLOS SOBRINO FAIRVIEW NJ 10.983 122.31 122.31 6 FS 89 MUSTANG 289 JOHN LESLIE JR. DEMOTTE IN 11.128 119.95 119.95 4 FS MUSTANG 308 ALAN CANN RACINE WI 11.293 117.64 117.64 7 FS 90 MUSTANG LX 308 RICK WALSH LAKE PANASOFFKEE FL 11.366 117.83 117.90 6001 FS 98 MUSTANG 289 BRIAN CAMPBELL LOVELAND OH 11.378 120.22 120.22 10 FS 89 MUSTANG 284 ZANE REED TRENTON GA 11.553 116.76 116.92 6666 FS 11 MUSTANG 302 JOHN ZEILINGA BOCA RATON FL 11.698 110.93 110.93 6007 FS 89 MUSTANG 306 CHRIS CREADEUR YORKVILLE IL 11.757 116.59 116.59 6669 FS 11 MUSTANG 302 NELSON WHITLOCK WILMINGTON DE 11.805 117.80 117.80 6018 FS 88 MUSTANG 306 CHARLIE RANKIN MEDIA PA 11.813 115.71 115.71 First Round of Eliminations Due to the possible threat of rain tomorrow, any classes that had over eight cars ran their first round Saturday night, that is until it started raining half way through the round. The heads up classes consist of Super Street Outlaw, Factory Stock, and Drag Radial. Andrew Demarco was down on power during his second and third qualifier. After the last round, he found a damaged lifter and did not have a replacement. This gave Johnny Mac the broken bye win in the first round of SSO with a half track shut down pass. John Urist nearly lost the first round to Terry Elam by having to pedal the car repeatedly, though won it the end with a 7.785 to a 8.185. In other matches Kenjo Kelly won over Billy Driscoll, Phil Hines over a spinning Sam Vincent, and Chris Tuten on a single. What's wrong with this picture? Hint - take a look at the top left of the photo. While Jason Lee had been the man to watch for wheel stands this race, it would be Ronnie Diaz that would put his Drag Radial Mustang on the bumper with four wheels off the ground. Lee would go on to win the match with a 7.640 Enzo Pecchini has had a hard time getting down the track this weekend, though still managed to run down James Urban with a 8.515 to a 8.856. Daniel Pachar wins over Don Lamana with a 7.912 @ 175 to a 8.805 @ 170. Sean Lyon and Andy Manson had competition byes Carlos Sobrino would set low ET of the Factory Stock round with a 11.010 @ 122 mph, backing up his record pass and taking the win over Zane Reed's 11.600 @ 117. The season opener in Bradenton is the undisputed biggest race of the NMRA racing season. It is where 2010 records fall and new cars are unveiled. Also, this is the place that sets the tone for who will be on top in 2011. Nearly all the records in every class were broken last year – will it happen again? Stay tuned all weekend as we bring you updates from the first race of the 2011 NMRA racing season. Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com Friday News From the Pits Ever seen a Real Street car with a parachute on the back? Neither have we, though this could be a sign of things to come in Real Street this year. Hemminger holds the record from last year with a 9.23 @ 144.88 mph pass, though a parachute is required for cars running faster than 8.90 or 150 mph - we will see if the guys will have a reason to use it. The talk of Super Street Outlaw is Andrew DeMarco. Fresh out off the track from testing in Palm Beach, DeMarco went a 7.22 @ 198 MPH, which is the unofficial fastest pass ever in SSO. Eric Dillard and tuning wizard Steve Petty of Proline Race Engines, both of whom were instrumental in the enormous turbocharged horsepower being produced from the 414 cubic inch mill under the hood. Johnny Mac is looking to turn that number two into a number one in SSO with a new engine for 2011. The shiny new powerplant is based upon a World Products block, sporting a set of Edelbrock SC1 aluminum heads and intake massaged by Shaut Heads, along with Victory titanium valves, and Total Seal gapless piston rings wrapped around a set of Diamond Pistons. Smith Brothers push-rods, Jesel rock arms, and a set of Precision Turbo fuel injectors round out the package. The bullet will, of course, be fed once again by a thundering Procharger unit. Sean Lyon has opted to hold onto the 85mm turbo and take the weight break with the new X275-style Drag Radial rules. The big talk is the return of the 88mm turbo, which was banned a few years, after champion John Kolivas left the class. Defending Drag Radial champion Jason Lee is liking the new tire choices in the class. He has been testing between the Hoosiers and Mickey Thompson drag radials. Yesterday Lee blasted off a 7.74 pass, though he feels the number to beat this race will be in the .50s As you probably know by now, the 2011 Mustang 5.0 has been allowed in Factory Stock. The new 412HP 5.0 puts out twice as much power has the original push rod counter parts. With that in mind, the cars have been kept very tight on weight and power rules. Outside of very basic suspension bolt ons, engine modifications are limited to small tube headers, 2.75" cat-back and an air filter. In addition to the Evolution Performance Factory Stock above, Blow By Racing has also joined the class. In the Urist pits we saw Hellion's new 2011 Mustang turbo kit equipped to a BOSS 302 intake manifold. This is the first time we have seen a forced induction combination used with the BOSS intake. Nothing too exciting going on with Test and Tune so far. Most people have had a hard time hooking up off the line or they have been lifting early More Test and Tune Photos Demarco ran a 7.46 during testing on a soft hit - one of the only Super Street Outlaw cars to lay down a decent pass Andy Manson is a X275 racer from the MIR circuit that is here competing in Xtreme Drag Radial. NMRA XDR only varies slightly from the X275 rules, one rule states that Andy needed to put a core support back into the car to compete in the class. It will be a learning curve for Manson as X275 is a eigth mile only class. Round 1 Qualifying Notes Your defending champion in Pro Outlaw 10.5, Conrad Scarry, sits at the top of the three car ladder after the first round of qualifying with a 6.942 @ 215 mph pass. 2010 season runner up Mike Murillo will not make it to the show as he suffered from severe engine failure during a test session on Wednesday. It is a Tim Matherly and Bruce Hemminger show in Real Street. Matherly had suspension problems with his 2010 Mustang last year at zMax and has not fixed it yet, thus returning to his proven 2-valve New Edge Mustang. There are some rumors that Real Street will be getting the new 5.0 four-valve in 2012 and he will ready his 2010 Mustang for that combination if it is accepted. The story of the round goes to Chris Tuten for his amazing, record breaking run in Super Street Outlaw. Tuten was the first SSO driver to break the 200 mph barrier with a blistering 7.207 @ 201.38 mph. If he can back it up, it will be good for a new ET and MPH record. But it hasn't been an easy two weeks for Tuten, who suffered from two massive failures. Two weeks ago during testing, a severe rear end failure sent the driveshaft up and through the tunnel of the car. Once repaired and back on the track this last Wednesday, Tuten suffered another massive failure, this time with the engine. Not even 60 feet out, the engine let go, destroying 80% of the engine, including the entire short block. It shows that determination can pay off, even in the worst circumstances. Charlie Booze pulled a nice wheel stand during the first round of qualifying. Charlie struggled during testing with wheel spin off the line and some mid-track wiggling, though he dialed it in for qualifying and put down a 8.469 @ 154.18 mph pass. Roush racer Robbie Blankenship was having a hard time getting down the track, suffering from off-the-line wheel spin on his testing and qualifying passes. Sean Lyon managed to edge out 2010 champion Jason Lee for the number one qualifying spot. With the revised rules, it was obvious that the record would fall during the first round. Lyon made it there with the first .60 pass in Drag Radial - 7.641 @ 187.77 mph. Number two XDR qualifier Jason Lee road out a nice 250 foot long wheel stand during the first round. Check the gallery for the full sequence. Qualifying Round 1 Ladders – Click the Pictures for Bigger Versions The pits were pretty quiet after the first round of qualifying with no major thrashing to report. Stay tuned for two more rounds of qualifying tomorrow!