2009 NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals - Carolina Fire

Need a little extra room for the intake elbow on your Mustang racer? Check out the Scarry Crew's solution. Remember the Laser/Talon cars with the hump in the hoods to clear the DOHC 2.0 cam cover? Does it look familiar? It should, because that's what the crew used to clear the top of the twin-turbocharged, big-block engine. Evidently, the scoop does its job, allowing the engine to make use of every horsepower on the way to 6-second e.t.'s. Conrad qualified right on the heels of Dan Millen with a 6.96 at 208 mph. In the final, Conrad matched Dan Millen's reaction time, but as the two got down track, Conrad's ride got a little loose, forcing him to get out of the gas.

EFI Renegade
The Carolina heat wasn't doing any favors for the supercharged crowd, so we assumed zMax provide an opportunity for the nitrous guys to snake a victory or two. South Carolina's Brian Tuten is used to racing in the heat, but his qualifying effort was a little off with an 8.70 at 156 mph. Evidently, Brian had the rest of the EFI Renegade class a little startled. Either that or there really was something to the popular theory that the reflection from competitors' front wheels were causing red-light starts. It seemed every racer in the left lane suffered a red-light start, but Brian chose the right lane and sure enough, his competition redlit each round, including the final.

Enzo Pecchini has been sneaking up on the tune-up with his Fox coupe for a few races now, but he and Tim Lyons had to work double time to figure out the track at zMax. For Sunday's eliminations, the two had a better handle on the launch, and a first round 8.35 pass to get past Sean Lyon showed promise. An 8.23 against Matt Bell in Round 2 showed the team was heading in the right direction. However, they went a tad far with the tune-up in the final, handing the win to Dave Guy.

Larry Hourcle's qualifying effort was also an 8.70, but it was with a 4, while Brian Tuten's 8.70 came with a 6. While Brian runs with the juice, Larry utilizes a Vortech supercharger to make the power. Larry made it out of the first round against Chad Almandinger thanks to a red light and got past Bart Tobener in the semis. However, the red-light bug bit Larry in the final, handing the win to Brian Tuten.

Drag Radial
Another first-time winner came in Drag Radial where Dave Guy was able to rebound from his Milan crash and take the victory. The Drag Radial cars had a tough time getting down the green track, and some really had to dial down the power out of the hole or as they went down track, but the one who was able to get it down the track with the most consistency was Dave Guy. Dave and his modular-powered, single-turbo SN-95 car were almost gone in Round 1 thanks to sleepy reaction time, but he was able to regroup and move on. After a first-round wake-up call, Dave ran consistent 8-teens to take his first win.

Real Street
Bruce Hemminger took advantage of the heat in Real Street. While the blower cars were busy taking in hot air, Bruce brought his own dense oxygen to the foray, and showed the other racers in our favorite class the fast way down the track with a 9.43 to qualify in the top spot. Bruce ran in the 9.50s on several runs, which were enough to get past Jim Breese in Round 1, and Paul Wiley in the final.

Hot Street
Robbie Blankenship qualified behind Charlie Booze in Hot Street at zMax with an 8.76 at 154 mph. As is always the case, no one in Hot Street was an odds-on favorite, and every race is won and lost at the tree. Case in point, Robbie's first-round opponent Jim Sutterlin really took a nap at the tree with a 0.708 reaction time, while Robbie blasted out with a 0.441 light. Jim's time didn't match Robbie's, but the race was over right out of the gate. In Round 2, Max Gross had a heartbreaking -0.004 red light. In the final, Robbie once again had a stellar light with a 0.417 reaction time, while his opponent Don Bowles was just a tad off that number with a 0.478 reaction time. However, the damage was done, and Don couldn't catch Robbie, even with an 8.86 to Robbie's 8.88.

Paul Wiley must really love Real Street-he's been racing the class pretty much since its inception. At zMax his performance showed promise, and he is heading in the right direction. The heat wasn't doing Paul any favors, but he was still running consistent 9.80s, which is half the battle. His consistency kept him going rounds, getting past Dave Ginter and Tim Matherly on the way to the finals. However, knowing he had to pull out the run of his life against Bruce Hemminger, he got anxious and redlit, speeding up the inevitable.

In a sea of Mustangs, Don Bowles' Maverick stands out in the crowd. The eye-searing yellow paint also raises its profile, but one thing's for sure, Don's fellow Hot Street racers don't like to see the horns in the other lane. Don uses a Roush Performance-built 360ci combination when many others in the class choose to go with a 400ci engine. The combo works for Don, and it's probably the only Maverick to ever appear regularly in 5.0&SF. Then again, it could be one of the few Mavericks capable of running in the 8s. I know my grandparents' '71 Maverick couldn't run 8s in the eighth-mile-not even close. Don had a bye run in Round 1 when Richard Preiser didn't show, but Don was right on his game in Round 2 against Charlie Booze with an 8.72 in the heat against Charlie's 8.80. In the final, Don just didn't have the reaction time to stay with Robbie Blankenship.