NMRA Event Michigan 2006: Miracles in Martin

Leo Johnson jockeyed Raggdoll Racing's flagship coupe to the Hot Streettitle, setting off a celebration we're sure could be heard back in thepopular driver's hometown of St. Louis.

Horse Sense: "Night" racing(after 8 p.m.) at US 131 Motorsports Park goes down in near broaddaylight during the summer. Martin, Michigan, is roughly 70 miles awayfrom the imaginary line that separates the Eastern and Central TimeZones, and true nightfall doesn't set in until almost 10 p.m. Eternallight, indeed.

Racers, fans, and even a few dignitaries from Ford Motor Companyconverged on Martin, Michigan, to take another shot at getting the ToyoTires NMRA Ford Nationals completed at US 131 Motorsports Park.

A mixture of rain, wind, and snow put a premature kibosh on the secondrunning of the event in April 2005, and our Florida-bred editor, SteveTurner, scrambled back to warmer climates. Hopes were high that badweather would stay clear of the Martin area during the '06 edition ofthe NMRA 'Stangfest at the beautiful, small-scale motorplex.

Don Bowles introduced his new "Coal Digger" '06 'Stang at Martin. TheRoush Industries-backed GT is a 9-second player in Modular Muscle,thanks to its Ford GT powerplant and Jerico four-speed transmission andthe 67-year-old's driving skills. Don does kick the clutch pedal betweenshifts, which earned him low-qualifier honors in the always-tough class,with a 0.500 reaction time backed up by two other sub-0.520 lights,proving the double-zero was no fluke.

With clear skies, bright sunlight, and low-to-mid-80-degree temps, wehad no doubt the race would run in its entirety, and every competitorwas ready to prove that the NMRA's decision to reschedule the race tothe middle of the summer was a good one. The racing action was exciting,despite relatively small car counts in some of the premier heads-upcategories, with first-time (for 2006) finalists and first-timeNMRA-event winners in several classes.

Unlike last year, where racers such as Manny Buginga, Charlie Booze Jr.,and Gene Hindman were dominant points leaders in their respectiveclasses at mid-season, the same can't be said about competitors in anycategory at the '06 season's intermission point, which tells us thatthus far we have experienced some of the hottest, all-around 'Stangbangcompetition and personal-best performances we've seen in a long time.

The madness at Martin was great from start to finish and we're willingto bet the remaining four NMRA events will be even better, as racers andrace teams start making big moves toward earning championship jacketsand rings.

This awesome assemblage of the latest Mustang and Ford muscle was parkedin the midway throughout the course of the weekend, and the Shelby GT500s were occasionally tooled around the pits by NMRA honchos. Ford'sAndy Benedict and John Torvinen also treated race fans to tire-blazingexhibition passes on Saturday and Sunday, that would have fared prettywell in the burnout contest if they had entered.	"We speeded it up a little bit," was the word from Tommy Sanders whenasked about the readiness of his Motive Gear-sponsored, '03 'Stang goinginto round one of Pro 5.0 eliminations. Tommy wasn't kidding. Despite ared-light start, driver Joe Morgan's 6.64/212 mph statement (the 6.64was the lowest e.t. for the class at Martin) put the class on noticethat the team's once-struggling big-block/nitrous combination is dialedand plenty capable of leading the Pro 5.0 pack.	A view from the bridge. Here's a rare look at the action inside NMRARace Control tower. Dr. Jamie Meyer (left) and Tim Johnson (center)provide commentary on the racing action, while Race Director GeneBergstrom choreographs the entire event via two-way communication withthe NMRA staff.
While many teams had to put in overtime to fix broken race cars betweenFriday and Sunday (transmissions were high on the list of broken partsall weekend), the Halfacre brothers win the unofficial Best Thrash awardfor the Martin race. On Saturday, the intercooler in Jarrett Halfacre'sYellow GT-turned-LX exploded during the second round of qualifying,putting a huge split along a side seam on the tank and blowing a hole inthe rear Lexan hatch panel. "It sounded like a gun went off inside thecar," Jarrett said. By Sunday morning, the team had the 'cooler repairedand Jarrett proceeded to go three rounds before losing in the semis toJohn Urist.	Three-time Pro 5.0 champion crew chief Chris Tumpkin found himself inthe seat and behind the wheel of Trilogy Motorsports' blown andnitrous-injected '03 Marauder, on a mission to make his first-ever10-second pass. It's hard to believe one of the main shot-callers forDonnie Walsh Jr.'s 6-second 'Stang had never driven anything quickerthan his low-11-second Capri, but Chris easily recorded the newpersonal-low e.t. and probably has his sights set on running in the 9snow. He jetted to a 10.86 in a first-round breakout loss in Bracket 1.	Chicago's Darrin Carter rolled his highly anticipated, super-cleanfour-eyed hatchback onto the property at US 131 and had everyone asking,"Is that a show car or a race car?" Although Darrin's Pure Street debutwas somewhat tempered by transmission issues, he was still able to breakinto the 10-second zone in his first time out with the new ride, andhe's optimistic that things will only get better with seat time.