After torching a cylinder...
After torching a cylinder head in qualifying, John “Johnny Mac” McDonald and his team hustled home to Michigan (an 8-hour drive from Bowling Green), made repairs that included creating a valve seat from scratch, and returned to Beech Bend Raceway Park in time to have Johnny’s ProCharger-blown ’01 GT in the lanes for the first round of eliminations. Despite the yeoman’s effort, another engine failure in Round 2 ended Johnny’s race day, and dashed all hope of him winning the Super Street Outlaw points title.
It’s a wrap! While it’s common knowledge that the Nitto Tire World Finals marks the end of each Mustang racing season, the close of 2010’s schedule brings another bittersweet ending of sorts for the NMRA. The sanction’s Pro Outlaw 10.5 class will have a limited schedule in 2011. However, the void brings the always-exciting Super Street Outlaw class to the forefront as NMRA’s flagship eliminator, which, along with other changes in the organization’s class structure, has us looking forward to all the exciting wheels-up action that’s sure to come in 2011!
Victory is every racer’s number one objective when he or she brings their Mustang to the starting line. And, in a drag race, finishing on top is the direct result of eliminating, or in basic racerspeak, taking out all opponents.
Despite admittedly being one...
Despite admittedly being one of the underdogs in Super Street Outlaw, Chip Havemann ultimately proved to be the biggest take-out artist at the 12th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals. Using a transmission borrowed from John Urist, Chip’s stunning first-round upset over Sam Vincent and semifinals victory against John McDonald (broken/failed to show) helped “teammate” John earn the event win, and more importantly, his sixth SSO world title.
Methods of achieving take-out success on the dragstrip are varied. Of course, simply beating the brakes off the ’Stang in the other lane is the most-preferred tactic. However, wins can also come as the result of a competitor’s driving error, a problem with his car, or even through alliances made with other racers (blocking), in an attempt to help clear a path in eliminations that eventually leads to the Promised Land.
The 5.0 Mustang & Super Ford team witnessed all of the above at the 12th Annual Nitto Tire World Finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, last October, as event titles and NMRA class championships were earnedand lostby racers who pulled out all the stops to win the ultimate prizes in all-Ford drag racing. We salute each World Finals winner and 2010 NMRA champion.
Through the following photos and captions, we offer a small glimpse of some of the hot happenings that went down in Bowling Green. For more images from the most-exciting weekend in all-Ford drag racing, please visit our website www.50mustangandsuperfords.com.
After several years away from...
After several years away from the NMRA scene, Former ProCharger president Dan Jones returned to Bowling Green to say a few words of remembrance about the late Jim Summers.
In the first round of Real...
In the first round of Real Street eliminations, Dave Ginter must have been eager to take out Craig Baldwin. Dave dropped the hammer and immediately put his SN-95 in the air. He tried to ride it out through Second gear, but once he bailed out of the throttle, the car came down hard and took out a shock and a caster/camber plate.
Associate Editor Mike Johnson’s...
Associate Editor Mike Johnson’s shades provide a cool perspective of our King of the Street contestants. The 2010 KOTS competition featured nine of the baddest street Mustangs on the planet. See the story on page 42.
How many track officials does...
How many track officials does it take to change a lightbulb in a Christmas Tree? At the NMRA World Finals, a bulb malfunction required replacing the entire ‘tree. The fix proved to be ineffective and ultimately led to eliminating the green bulbs on both sides, bringing new meaning to the saying, “Leave on the last yellow!”
Scoring hot Mustang deals...
Scoring hot Mustang deals on the Internet is one thing, but the swap meet area at the NMRA World Finals is really the place to find outrageous bargains on cars and killer parts. We caught this crew as it wheeled a mostly finished, 25.5-certified New Edge roller into the trailer—soon to become a new SSO or Drag Radial car, we’re sure.
Farmer Steve Gifford reviews...
Farmer Steve Gifford reviews video of the wild ride he had in the first round of eliminations. A blown engine sent oil spraying and Steve’s ’98 Cobra spinning. It tagged the wall a few times, and ultimately removed Steve from contention for the Pure Street point championship.