16th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA Spring Break Shootout Exclusive Photos

Factory Stock
In talking to Tommy Godfrey a week before the Bradenton race, he said he wasn't going to make it. However, sponsorship money came in, making it possible to start out the year right. JPC Racing's Eric Holliday drove Tommy's truck and trailer to Florida from Maryland, only to get side-swiped in North Carolina, tearing up the side of Tommy's truck and one corner of the trailer. With a Rich Groh Racing engine on board, Tommy blasted a 10.96 in qualifying to put every other Factory Stock racer in a bad mood. On Sunday, in warmer weather, he blasted out a 10.89 against Alan Cann in round 1. We thought for sure he would settle back into the 11.0s. Tommy would once again face John Leslie Jr in the final, and Tommy would once again get the win light with a 10.92 at 122 mph.

A common theme to John Leslie Jr's weekend was seeing him under the hood of his Factory Stock ride. He was of the mind that his car was down some 40 horsepower, and he was trying to find it. However, he was unable to find it at Bradenton, so he had to play second fiddle to Tommy Godfrey.

Modular Muscle
Reggie Burnette Jr. picked up where he left off from last year. He closed out 2009 with a win at Bowling Green, and he's out of the gate with a win at Bradenton to defend his Modular Muscle crown. Reggie faced tough competition at Bradenton, but at the end he had consistent lights combined with dead-on runs at the top end.

Open Comp
Making the move up from Miami in his '95 Mustang, Brandon Shackleford qualified mid-pack in the robust, 24-car strong Open Comp class. In OC you qualify on reaction time, and there are some quick cats on the tree. Brandon's stout .027 only put him 10th on the list! Of course running the number consistently is the name of the game. As the rounds went on Brandon got sharper and come finals time he clicked off a 10.61 on a 10.62 dial-in, while his foe Wesley Dalrymple matched with a 10.70 on a 10.71 dial. The win was at the tree, as Brandon got the jump (.011 to .022). That's a close race.

Trucks
If your namesake is a Ford truck, then it just seems right to win the Truck class. Another Open Comp-style category, Truck's qualifying is all in the reaction time. Johnny chalked up a .028 to take the fifth spot. Steady through the rounds, Johnny was money in the final getting a late leave, but nailing a 10.05 on his 10.10 dial to take the win from Jim Roberts (13.37 on a 13.47 dial).

Super 'Stang
A card-carrying member of the Michael Johnson fan club, Dyno Joe Cram overcame a bit of adversity to take the first win in the all-'05-and-up class. Just days before the Bradenton race, Joe popped the built Three-Valve in his Edelbrock-blown '06 GT. To make the race Joe swapped the stock Three-Valve back in and backed the boost down to 6 pounds. That would mean that Joe wouldn't be wowing the crowd with his usual mid-9s. Instead Joe locked the cruise on the high-10s and low-11s and hoped for the best. In the final, Joe laid down an 11.07 on an 11-second dial to knock out Mike Sulzbach's '10 GT for the win