It’s been a heck of a season for our friends over at the NMRA; their race classes have shown a strong resurgence during the 2013 calendar year, and they’re heading into this weekend’s upcoming NMRA World Finals with a vengeance. 

The AFCO Racing Street Outlaw class is all-new this year, but it’s been a surprise to not see perennial champion John Urist not at the top of the points chase heading into the final race. Instead, longtime competitor Phil Hines is leading the NMRA’s top dogs into the final stanza of the season with a healthy 510 point lead over Urist. Bowling Green is a double-points event, so anything can happen there. There are a number of other racers in the mix as well; Sean Ashe has been on fire lately and you can never count out Chip Pike, Jason Lee, and Dwayne Barbaree. We’ve also heard rumors of John Kolivas looking to show up and spoil the party. Whatever happens, it’s sure to be a race that’s talked about by the Ford faithful for a long time.

Brian Mitchell has the Edelbrock Renegade class championship locked up heading into Kentucky, but the race for second is still very much in play with five competitors well within striking distance. Valerie Clements has a healthy lead, but AJ Wyce, Adam Arndt, Tim Matherly, and Scott Grove are all within 75 points of each other and about 400 back of Valerie. As we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen in Kentucky, and none of the contenders will be laying down. We’ve heard Arndt boast of potential 8-teen elapsed times, which would be a class record by far. Stay tuned to our same-day coverage to find out what happens – or make your way to beautiful Beech Bend Raceway Park to find out in person!

Matt Amrine’s got a pretty tight grip on the Nitto Tire Factory Stock points lead, but John Leslie, Jr. has a longs-hot chance to take home a championship if all of the chips fall in his favor. He’ll need a lot of chips, but that’s what racing’s all about. Amrine has simply dominated the competition this season with three wins in five races, but Leslie took home the win at the last event in Joliet, Illinois. 

What can we say about Shane Stymiest? Well, that he’s without a doubt the Strange Engineering Coyote Stock class champion for 2013. With four wins and a runner-up in five races, it’s impossible for Jacob Lamb to catch him. A 1,385 point lead heading into the Bowling Green event assures Stymiest a championship ring in his first full season of competition – a testament to hard work, surrounding yourself with a crew chief like Charlie Booze, Jr., and spending lots of time testing. Congratulations on your championship, Shane, but we think your competition won’t be laying down too easily in Kentucky, so be on your game!

We’ll know all of the winners by the end of the weekend; make sure to stay tuned to our Same-Day coverage all weekend long, only here on StangTV.com!