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Once a year the NMRA and NMCA converge simultaneously in Joliet, Illinois for their main event. More than just another points race, this race is known as the Super Bowl of street legal drag racing. This race not only pits competitors from each sanctioning body against one another, but also the fastest cars in four separate classes from each sanctioning body will face off for the title win, in a separate event Sunday. The weather is fair, the competition is fierce, and we’ll be here all weekend bringing you the latest coverage from the event.
You might remember this car, which was built by DynoJoe Performance in Texas for owner David Witt as a Cobra Jet clone. Witt purchased the body from another racer and proceeded to strip it and build it to Cobra Jet specs, right on down to the Cobra Jet engine (which was a factory leftover) and the Watson Racing-spec rollcage. The car sports wiring harnesses from Dunne-Rite Performance, who crafted the harnesses for the factory cars, and Witt is driving it for the first time this weekend. He was quick to credit the help from Joe Cram of DynoJoe and all of the folks at Ford Racing for the help in assembling his CJ clone. He’s running in Modular Muscle this weekend and has plans to hit the Renegade class with the car in 2013.
Left - New Mexico's Chris Groves is here this weekend racing in the Street Outlaw class, which has been combined with both the NMRA and NMCA sides of the show. Groves has been in the 6.90's with this car on the West Coast and decided to caravan in with John Urist. He was swapping superchargers this morning after an on-track mishap. Right - The winner of the long-haul award has to go to the team from MMR. Driver Greg Seth-Hunter and MMR owner Mark Luton brought their Pro Street car in from Camarillo, California, and will be running in NMCA Pro Street competition. The twin-turbo machine has been 6.08 in California competition.
It’s nice to see Factory Stock racer Alan Cann back in the class. He took the first few races off this year before showing up in Norwalk last month. The car has a fresh AOD transmission in it this year, and while it has become more consistent, Cann says he’s thinking of switching back to the stick, as while letting go of the transbrake on the AOD is fun, the car’s not nearly as much fun to drive down-track.Â
Former NMRA Pure Street champion and current NMCA Mean Street champion Brandon Alsept is pulling double-duty this weekend. Not only is he behind the wheel of his Mean Street car (on the left), he’s also shaking down Derek Kernodle’s brand-new Coyote Stock machine (on the right). Kernodle, a longtime Modular Muscle competitor, made the switch to Coyote Stock and enlisted Brian Campbell’s Finish Line Automotive in Milford, Ohio (where Alsept is one of the technicians) to perform the swap. Part of the deal was that Alsept would be behind the wheel – for now. Knowing Derek, he won’t be able to sit on the sidelines for long.
Michael Biehle has one of two Mike Moran-designed Ford Mustangs here competing in Pro Street – the other belonging to Jim Bell. The car you see here is the very one that Moran made headlines for developing in recent years.Â
Brad Medlock hazed the tires early in his test hit but collected it up and sailed through the boards to a 7.83 in his turbocharged Street Outlaw Mustang.
West coast racer Eric Gustafson, a regular on the NMCA WEST trail, recently purchased the Mustang formerly campaigned by Matt ‘Skinnyman’ Mungall in the X275 ranks, and came out to test the car on the 1/4-mile in Street Outlaw.
Shifty Shane Stymiest has it goin’ on over the rest of the Coyote Stock field after the first round of qualifying. He tossed up a 10.55 in the second session to take the top spot over 2012 champ HiPo Joe Charles, who qualified with a 10.66 in the second session.
Left - Joe Charles changed a number of things leading up to the event including the clutch and a number of other things underneath his MV Performance-backed Coyote Stocker - and found more power in the process. Left Middle - The clutch appears to be the biggest struggle for the spec-engine Coyote Stock class, as Kermit Buffington's also made some changes leading up to this race. He's qualified fifth with a 10.92. Right Middle - Jacob Lamb is qualified third in Coyote Stock with a 10.74, one of six competitors in the ten-second zone. He improved two tenths in the night session. Right - Drew Lyons is also starting to get a handle on his CS car as he snuck into the 10's with a 10.88 in round two. There are nine competitors on the property including a trio of Joes - Guertin, Marini, Jones to go along with Alsept in Kernodle's machine.
Matt Amrine’s stranglehold on Factory Stock continues – his Finish Line Performance-backed Modular-powered machine turned in a 10.82, over a tenth better than number-two qualifier Louis Sylvester, Jr. in the first session.
The curse of the #1 continues to plague Carlos Sobrino – although he was atop the field all last season, he’s struggled this year with issues after issue. Today he mustered up a 11.09 in the first round of competition.
We chatted with Sondra Leslie earlier this morning, and she mentioned that she and crew chief Sarah Asche have made a bunch of changes prior to the weekend, most notably a set of 275/50/15 BFG tires. rather than the taller 60’s she was running. Unfortunately the change has her running out of gear at the top end, and she’s not sure how much higher tuner Ken Bjonnes of Lund Racing can safely raise the rev limiter.
During the first round of Renegade qualifying, Tim Matherly hammered the track in his 2010 Mustang to an 8.58 at 156 MPH to take the fifth spot heading into tomorrow.
Charlie Cooper had a great showing in round one in his Cobra Jet. The Johnny Lightning Performance-tuned car cracked off a stout 8.53 at 161 MPH in the second session.
AJ Wyce hammered the tires hard on the launch during his first-round qualifying attempt. The New Jersey resident is currently positioned eighth in the eleven-car field with an 8.82 in round one, and did not improve in round two.
How about the return of the Swill Machine? Well, not the original Swill ride, as Alton Clements rolled that car to the number two finish last year, but former class champions Swill Racing – Scott Lovell, Pat Carroll, and Dale George – have assembled this new ride. A shakedown pass this afternoon netted a 10.69 shutdown number to get Lovell into the Renegade field.
Little sister Valerie Clements bested big brother Alton in their Renegade efforts this afternoon. She clicked off an 8.50 in the second round to land the second spot, while Alton sits sixth with an 8.77.
Adam Arndt rocked the field in round two with an awesome 8.45 at nearly 164 MPH to take the top spot heading into tomorrow’s last session of qualifying.
Brad Medlock (L) topped the qualifying ladder in the single session of Street Outlaw today with a strong 7.41 at over 192 MPH. Nicole Priola (R) broke and shutdown just past the traps in the left lane before being towed off the track in her Camaro.
Left - Dan Pharris is making his debut here with the NMRA and NMCA. The Missouri resident normally runs at Holly Springs in Mississippi and has his 427-cube turbo machine qualified seventh with a 7.69. Right - Former NMRA Renegade champ Aaron Stapleton put his Fast Forward Racecars-built Mustang into the field with an 8.27 to land 12th in the single session today.
Jason Lee landed third in the qualifying sheet with a 7.51 from his Vortech-supercharged machine. Lee has his work cut out for him if he’s going to dethrone Medlock and Phil Hines during tomorrow’s two sessions.
John Urist (L) and Sean Ashe (R) placed fourth and fifth during today’s lone Street Outlaw session. Urist scored a 7.52 at 194.07 MPH,while Ashe sits in the fifth spot with high MPH of the session at 194.72. Ashe has been in the 7.0’s and Urist in the 7.teens, so we expect to see both of them step it up big-time tomorrow.
