Michael Washington is the last NMRA racer to hold a winning streak throughout the NMRA season. He's working to outdo teammate Justin Burcham's '02 FS run. It began a little rough for Michael, however. He busted a T5 in qualifying, but he's used to putting out fires, so the team quickly swapped in a new T5 (it helps to have Latemodel Restoration Supply as a sponsor) and made the next round. He still qualified in first with an impressive 11.92/113 run in the brutal Texas heat. Eliminations couldn't have been easier for Michael unless all his competitors had left the track. In round one he had a bye, and Jamie Holten lit the red bulb in the finals.
Misery loves company, and Jamie Holten might want to give Gene Hindman a call so they can come up with a way to defeat their respective nemeses. Jamie is sick of seeing Michael Washington in the finals, but at Ennis he had to go only one round to get there. After qualifying in the second spot (12.06/113), Jamie squared off against Chris "Noodles" Hemmeter in the first round. Despite getting Tree'd, Jamie was able to run down Noodles. In the final, Jamie tried a little too hard to get the jump on Michael and he redlighted, handing Michael an easy win.
In open-comp style modular racing, consistency-not quickness-is the name of the game. When Lupe Davila is playing that game, he's always a threat to win. After Robert Hindman fell out in round two, Lupe looked to have clear sailing. He easily ran within a tenth of his 12.41 dial-in, and in the finals against Shane Williams, Lupe coupled a killer reaction time with a 12.42 for the win.
Texas is like its own country. Its antilitter slogan is Don't Mess with Texas, but that's taken on a greater meaning for Texas residents. You simply don't mess with Texans or their state. So when Mark Morales rolled in with a big points lead in Truck and Lightning, he seemed the favorite. Not so fast-Paul Gamino of Sweeny, Texas, went rounds and landed in the final, where Mark ran a little too quick, and Paul walked away with the win.
We don't make it to Texas often, so we were scoping out the Auto Show for potential feature cars. We found a few pretty rides, but when we had to select an Editor's Choice award, the easy winner was Larry Couture's '99 Saleen. It features the upmarket BASF paint option, but Larry took the Saleen to the next level with a generous dose of chrome underhood and boom inside. Nice ride.