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2009 NMRA World Finals - Final Draw2009's Final Stop At Beech Bend Raceway From the March, 2010 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By Michael Johnson, Steve Turner Photography by Michael Johnson, Paul Rosner, Steve Turner
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Another NMRA World Finals... Another NMRA World Finals means another King of the Street competition in the books. We had yet another over-achieving group of Mustangs ready for judgment and several firsts this year. We had our first 1,000hp Mustang, our first 9-second competitor, our first competitor to suffer a damaged car (and not at the hands of Associate Editor Johnson!), and our first car to eat itself not once, but twice. Oh yeah, and we almost had our first KOTS fight, but thankfully, a jawin' session turned out to be the extent of it. This car, owned by Britten Gilbertson and built by Dan Schoneck, was a Johnson favorite. It looks just like Johnson's Cobra back home, give or take fresh paint-and about 500 extra hp. Get your calendars set-the 2010 NMRA World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is set to take place September 30 to October 3, 2010. As such, our annual King of the Street competition will most likely take place September 30 and October 1. Get your Mustangs ready! See More At 50mustangandsuperfords.Com Bowling Green, KY
With most sports, you go through a full season before reaching a playoff; then a final game to decide a winner. There is the NFL's Super Bowl, the NHL's Stanley Cup, Major League Baseball's World Series, the NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament, and soccer's World Cup, just to name a few. Even NASCAR has a "playoff" system to garner more excitement for that sport. (It's too bad we can't talk about college football's playoffs, but that's a debate for another magazine.) The NMRA doesn't really have a playoff system like these sports-its season is similar to stick-and-ball sports. Racers go through a season trying to pile up points by getting tech'd in, qualifying number 1, setting records, and winning events. But similar to all the mentioned sports, the NMRA season comes down to its World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Though some racers pile up enough points to clinch a championship prior to the World Finals, that's usually a pretty rare occurrence, and happens in maybe 1 or 2 classes out of the NMRA's 12 points-based classes. As is also the case in many sports, there are those that are always at or toward the top of their respective games. That is also the case with the NMRA. Racers like Dan Millen, John Urist, Don Burton, Conrad Scarry, Don Bowles, Robbie Blankenship, Chris Tuten, Tim Matherly, Bruce Hemminger, Ryan Hecox, Tommy Godfrey, and any of the Motycka boys are always there fighting for a championship at the end of the season. The same was true of the 2009 season, and we were there to document it for the history books.  We saw our old friend Chip...  We saw our old friend Chip "Chris" Havemann in Super Street Outlaw at Bowling Green. Although it wasn't his greatest outing, he has purchased Dwayne James' Calypso Green coupe for the 2010 season. The car sports a Behind Bars Race Cars chassis and cage, and a big single turbo. We look forward to seeing Chip, a former Fun Ford champion who's been racing for years, race in 2010.  Dan Millen finished second...  Dan Millen finished second in points last year in 10.5W, but he rebounded in 2009 to take the Turbonetics Pro Outlaw 10.5 championship. Dan and the Livernois Motorsports' team worked hard at figuring out the car's clutch, which really held back the car's consistency at first. In 2009, we don't remember too many off-pace passes; most of his passes were in the 6-second zone. Though he didn't do well at Bowling Green with a second-round exit, Dan was far enough out front in points to take the championship. We can't wait to see what the Livernois Motorsports' crew does for an encore.  At Bowling Green, AJ Powell...  At Bowling Green, AJ Powell was back at the wheel of his familiar Super Street Outlaw coupe. AJ drove the former Jason Smith, ProCharger-equipped ride to a 7.60/181-mph pass to qualify in the seventh spot, but he wasn't able to make it past Round 2 of eliminations. We recently learned that AJ's eyesight has failed to the point that he's unable to compete anymore-a result of AJ's ongoing battle with diabetes. He had both his cars and all race-related hardware up for sale. We send our best wishes out to AJ!  JPC Racing had Robert Fortin's...  JPC Racing had Robert Fortin's twin-turbocharged '05 Mustang GT at Bowling Green, but because of its combination, it was a bit out of its element racing in Pro Outlaw 10.5. Constructed at JPC Racing, the "sTreet car" features a Rich Groh Racing-built 322ci Three-Valve via a Ford Racing Performance Parts block, and boasts JPC's own intake manifold. The engine receives boost courtesy of twin Precision Turbo 67mm turbos, while suspension needs are addressed by products from Anthony Jones Engineering (front suspension), and Racecraft and Metco (rear suspension components). Aerospace Components' binders bring the car to a halt after making passes in the high-8-second range.  Pro outlaw 10.5
It wasn't...  Pro outlaw 10.5
It wasn't the way he'd dreamed of taking his first race win in Pro Outlaw 10.5, but a win is a win. In the end, Jim Brown took the win on a coin flip, but he had to do the work to get to the finals to make that possible. It wasn't just his first win, but the first time he's made it out of the treacherous first round. It was a tough road, as Jim qualified in the middle of the pack with only a 7.54/182 pass in his big-block-powered 'Stang. After Dennis Bailey gave him the easy win in Round 1, Jim had to face the music against Conrad Scarry in Round 2; luck was on his side again as the Scarry team had troubles. As the weather delayed the race, Jim and his final-round opponent both had to get home to face the daily grind, so they agreed on the coin flip. Lady luck was in Jim's corner.  After an absence from the...  After an absence from the class, nitrous maven Sam Vincent took advantage of the home-cooking to return to SSO racing at Bowling Green. Sam revamped his 450ci combo with twin Dominators, a one-off sheetmetal intake, and three blasts of Nitrous Express juice. The mods certainly paid off, as Sam was right in the thick of the qualifying action thanks to a 7.48/184 pass. In Round 2, Sam had his first test against fellow local Joel Greathouse. Joel got the jump, but Sam had a 0.2 upper hand at the stripe. Sam rode a bye into the finals against John Urist, but he spun the tires early in the run and it was all over.
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