With the ushering in of the cool fall air in the northern half of the country often comes record shattering numbers on the race track, and with perhaps unseasonably cool weather over the weekend at the NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky — paired with NMCA prep wizard T.J. Bailey’s magic formula on the racing surface — came just numbers in every category. And while it’d be difficult to narrow down the single most impressive run clicked off all weekend — as records were blown away in almost every category — we’d say none were bigger than Phil Hines’ incredible shot in Street Outlaw qualifying.
Hines, locked in a tight championship battle with John Urist, absolutely unloaded on the Street Outlaw field during Saturday’s qualifying rounds, ripping off far and away the quickest pass the class has ever seen with a 6.879-second, 202.83 mph lap that out him WAY up into the No. 1 qualifying spot. Urist, running in the other lane, ran a career-best 6.95 and wasn’t even in the same county as Hines.
The previous best in the category, by our records, had been a 6.97, meaning Hines obliterated the performance marks by a full tenth of a second, proving just how much power is behind the ProCharger F-1X-12-fed 430 cubic inch BES beast in his Ford Mustang.
Unfortunately for Hines, his record-shattering run proved to be the highlight of the weekend. Lined up on the same side of the ladder as Urist, the pair squared off for all the marbles in the semifinals, where Hines’ machine drifted out of the groove and skimmed the guardrail as Urist sailed into the final and on to his ninth class championship.
Despite the unfortunate end to the weekend and the racing season, there’s no denying Hines and company showed everyone know what they’ll need to bring to the fight next season if they want to compete.
Video Credit: Dirt Hicks Videos