Dave Guy showed everyone that...
Dave Guy showed everyone that his '96 'Stang made a full and robust recovery from its confrontation with the wall during the Milan race. At the Super Bowl, Dave and his red rocket made running 7s on BFG 325/50-15 drag radials look easy, and put up a new e.t. record of 7.973 (at 182.72 mph) in the process.
Every year, racers from ProMedia's NMRA and NMCA heads-up drag-racing sanctions converge on Route 66 Raceway in Joliet ("Chicagoland"), Illinois, for what has become somewhat recognized as one of the hottest events of either season: the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing.
While we acknowledge the thought...
While we acknowledge the thought that a photo of an NMRA Mustang leaving hard against a Brand-X or other NMCA race car would probably be an appropriate choice as a lead for a story about the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, we just couldn't bring ourselves to publish a non-Ford race car in 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords. With that said, we give lead-shot love to the collective group of contestants in our own Real Street category, as they're signaled to the starting line from beneath the massive tower structure at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois.
"Hot" is more than just a simple figure of speech in this case, as broiling temperatures, barely moving air, and many other poor weather conditions that can inhibit drag racing (rain storms and so on) have been somewhat synonymous with the drag-racing Super Bowl ever since the NMRA/NMCA mega-event was conceived back in July 2004. Five years later, let it be known that the 2009 edition of the long-standing sibling rivalry definitely bucked "tradition," if you will, in every sense of the word.
The record-setting low July temperature of 56 degrees helped produce record-setting e.t.'s in several NMRA and NMCA heads-up classes at the Super Bowl. A perusal of the NMCA staging lanes during its qualifying sessions found more than a few NMRA racers had jumped over to the other sanction for this event to match their 'Stangs against non-Ford race cars of the NMCA. While the event is essentially a same-time/same-place deal, with basically two separate races being held, winners from each NMRA and NMCA heads-up class actually do clash. They face off against each other in the event-closing showdown, which awards each member of the winning team-based on the team's total number of wins-Nitto's coveted Diamond Tree rings.
FYI
NMRA Hot Street regular...
FYI
NMRA Hot Street regular Ben Mens crossed over to the NMCA side and competed in the NMCA's Pro Stock class at the Super Bowl. The sticky racing surface at Route 66 Raceway had Ben's 'Stang leaving home hard and shooting the fronts skyward during qualifying.
Of course, our primary objective at a monster mix like this is to make sure we're on top of all things that are associated with the NMRA side of the event (the racing, the car show, pit scuttle, and more). As you'll see in the accompanying photos and captions, we definitely accomplished that. However, while there are no supporting pics or text for our claim that we also kept a close eye on how Brand-Xers and their cohorts did on the NMCA side, you still can bet good money that we did!
Filled and smoothed inner...
Filled and smoothed inner fenders and firewall, tastefully done bling and body-color treatments on the engine, and mirrors in the perfect place for showing it all off makes this Fox coupe's engine compartment a true show-stopper.
So you're wondering, just...
So you're wondering, just how big is the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing? Here's a sky view of the racers' pits, which were packed solid over the entire length of the facility (nearly a half-mile).
Don't let anyone tell you...
Don't let anyone tell you differently-the hot deals on Mustang parts can always be found in the manufacturers' midway and swap-meet areas at NMRA events. We drooled over this brand-new turbocharged stroker and Tremec TKO 600 setup, which was being sold for a song in the swap meet, and we were sick that the seller wouldn't take plastic!
In addition to individual...
In addition to individual round wins, this Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Champion's ring is the prize that every racer at the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing wants to win. This year rings were awarded to all of the members of the collective team (NMRA or NMCA) that won the most rounds in the final shootout-when the winners in the two sanctions run against each other using handicaps based on e.t.'s. When it was all said and done, the NMCA prevailed as Super Bowl Shootout champions, but we're confident Team NMRA will be back in winning form next year.
The Chitown Mustang Club served...
The Chitown Mustang Club served as hosts for the NMRA's side of the car-show area, which featured several tricked-out Fox, New Edge (there weren't many SN-95s at this show), and S197 Ponies. The club's officers encourage Windy City-area 'Stangbangers to join their ranks, so dial up www.chitownmustangclub.org if you're interested in joining the stampede.
Reigning BFGoodrich Drag Radial...
Reigning BFGoodrich Drag Radial champion John Kolivas can now be called the biggest man on "little" drag radials. After a bit of controversy about the legality of using 325/50-15 DRs in NMRA's Super Street Outlaw class, John strapped a set of much smaller 275/60-15 Mickey Thompsons on his turbocharged 'Stang, and proceeded to set, reset, and finally obliterate the SSO e.t. record with a 7.36 at 194 mph. The record shot puts John atop the list of all other nationally recognized e.t. benchmarks for cars running on the 275s.