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2011 NMRA Milan Race - Sunday BestNMRA—and the Sun—Shine on the Seventh Day From the January, 2012 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By KJ Jones
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We dig seeing brand-new just-finished... We dig seeing brand-new just-finished project ’Stangs at NMRA events, especially when they look as good as Kevin Sopoliga’s turbocharged ’03 Cobra. Kevin’s turbo’d (76mm) Terminator, the flagship of Team Detroit Racing’s armada of serious street Mustangs on display, is so fresh that it hasn’t been dyno’d or dragstrip-tested yet. However, based on its sickeningly clean, ultra-detailed engine compartment and the beast that sits within it, we’re pretty sure performance will mirror appearance with this Mustang. Sometimes, despite every good intention that a race promoter has for holding a successful event, “forces” of whatever sort seem to always have some type of negative influence on said event. At drag races, on-track maladies such as oil-downs or accidents that usually involve race cars making contact with the wall, unfortunately happen fairly often, and delays that result from these incidents usually wreak havoc on an event’s smoothly running timetable. Our first encounter with lengthy delays in 2011 came at the NMRA/NMCA combo event in Commerce, Georgia (“The Long Run,” Sept ’11, p. 120), where situation after situation (most of them brought about by Brand-X cars, of course) prolonged eliminations for what seemed like an eternity. However, despite the delays racers in both sanctions and the staffs of ProMedia and Atlanta Dragway ultimately prevailed and the race did finish on Sunday—albeit late in the evening. We dig seeing brand-new just-finished... We dig seeing brand-new just-finished project ’Stangs at NMRA events, especially when they look as good as Kevin Sopoliga’s turbocharged ’03 Cobra. Kevin’s turbo’d (76mm) Terminator, the flagship of Team Detroit Racing’s armada of serious street Mustangs on display, is so fresh that it hasn’t been dyno’d or dragstrip-tested yet. However, based on its sickeningly clean, ultra-detailed engine compartment and the beast that sits within it, we’re pretty sure performance will mirror appearance with this Mustang. Unlike most points races on the NMRA schedule, the NMRA Ford Nationals—held at Milan Dragway—is run as a two-day event, Friday and Saturday, which gives racers and fans the rare opportunity to be back at home, or on their way to wherever home is, early Sunday morning. Coming all the way from the West Coast to cover the race, your author definitely digs the two-day idea, and makes travel arrangements that ensure he’s pulling in the driveway in plenty of time to watch whatever professional race event (NHRA, NASCAR, and so on) being broadcast on television. After all, Sunday is race day. Mother Nature changed everyone’s plans at the eighth running of the Roush Yates-sponsored race, when stifling heat and humidity on setup day gave way to torrents of rain on Friday and several sporadic monsoons on Saturday, which ultimately washed out any chance of completing eliminations/the event on time. However, before the final stoppage and thanks to hustle on everyone’s part (round calls came much sooner than usual; racers understood why and were compliant) when the weather permitted racing, all classes were narrowed down to quarterfinals (eight cars remaining), which race directors elected to run off on Sunday. Super Street Outlaw With... Super Street Outlaw
With the Pro Outlaw 10.5 class on hiatus for Milan, Super Street Outlaws took center stage as the event's premier class. John Urist took full advantage of the spotlight, locking down the pole position in qualifying, and gaining ground on championship number seven with a win over John Kolivas. So, despite a one-day extension, the event was completed under a sunny, cloud-free Michigan sky. With racers making strong moves toward capturing champion-ships in several classes. We begin our coverage with pictorial highlights of on-, and off-track activity that was captured between the storms, followed, of course, by photos of the racers who persevered, returning to Milan to race—and more importantly—win on Sunday. Horse Sense: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” With the 8th Annual NMRA Ford Nationals finally wrapped up and in the history books, we’re pretty sure that all of the racers, fans and NMRA officials who endured the 2011 Marathon at Milan now have a greater appreciation for that prophetic statement.  With Max Gross shoeing his...  With Max Gross shoeing his own Hot Street coupe at Milan, Rob Valden was called in to jockey Team Powerhead’s Pony. Rob’s wheelstand during qualifying was a moonshot that carried the SAM-sponsored coupe well beyond the 100-foot mark before the front wheels came down to earth.  The addition of Lysholm’s...  The addition of Lysholm’s 3.3-liter supercharger, and the 700 it helps generate at the wheels of the ’10 Shelby GT500 seen in the foreground of this photo, prompted a driver change at Espeut Performance. The GT500 originally belonged to Pete Espeut’s wife, Corinne. However, when the big steam and stick trans became less appealing for Corinne’s daily use, Pete took over the 10-second Shelby and put Corinne in a supercharged ’11 GT—which already runs 11s, by the way.  Andrew DeMarco’s four-eyed...  Andrew DeMarco’s four-eyed Fox continues to make steady gains in Super Street Outlaw. In qualifying, the turbocharged ’86 Pony carried Andrew to the number two ladder spot, at 7.26/202. Unfortunately, and despite advancing in eliminations after beating Johnny MacDonald in the first round, a prior commitment on Sunday prevented Andrew from improving on that performance and racing for a win.  Renegade runner-up Chad Allmandinger...  Renegade runner-up Chad Allmandinger packs up his pit as dark, ominous clouds hang over Milan Dragway. The sky unloaded for a final time within seconds of this photo being taken on Saturday, bringing rain that sent the race into overtime (eliminations were completed by lunchtime on Sunday).  While getting into the UPR...  While getting into the UPR Products car-show paddock involved passing through standing water that was ankle deep, we were impressed with the Mustangs and Fords of the Motor City area, as well as with their owners, who worked relentlessly to make sure the whips were spotless during the dry periods.  Xtreme Drag Radial On a...  Xtreme Drag Radial
On a day where luck played a bigger role than speed, Jason Lee returned to the NMRA winner’s circle after a one-race absence from that hallowed territory. With low-qualifier Sean Lyon (on the opposite side of the ladder) gone in the first round, and Jason’s first-three opponents experiencing mechanical or driver failure (or errors of varying sorts), Joliet-winner Andy Manson posed the only challenge in eliminations but wasn’t able to fight off Jason’s top-end charge in the final round.  EFI Renegade Alton Clements...  EFI Renegade
Alton Clements is making a serious effort to win a second EFI Renegade title. This year’s Milan event marked Alton’s third trip to the final round in 2011 and second victory of the season.  Hot Street Robbie Blankenship’s...  Hot Street
Robbie Blankenship’s win over perennial Hot Street nemesis Charlie Booze Jr. gives Robbie a three-to-one edge over Charlie in their final-round meetings of 2011. Despite the advantage, Robbie knows he has to keep the hammer down and reach the finals or score victories in the remaining two events if he wants to earn another points title in the ultra-competitive class.  Real Street Once again Bruce...  Real Street
Once again Bruce Hemminger and his nitrous-fed Fox coupe ruled the Real Street roost. Bruce scored another top-qualifier spot and a victory over Tim Matherly (his third of the season) at Milan—a race that Bruce has now won five times in a row.  Pure Street Alan Von Ahnen,...  Pure Street
Alan Von Ahnen, a multi-time NMCA Mean Street winner, continues to impress in NMRA’s Pure Street category as well. Alan put class regulars on notice during qualifying, logging a 10.18 e.t (quickest ever in Pure Street). In the final, Alan drove around Mike Winters (another NMCA rival) and on to his second NMRA victory of 2011, making his record two for two in both sanctions.  Factory Stock Louis Sylvester...  Factory Stock
Louis Sylvester Jr. can now say he has beaten John Leslie two times in one NMRA event. Louis’ path to the win in Factory Stock included taking out both John Sr. (first round) and John Jr. (in the final round), before a broken transmission prevented JLJ from making it to the line.  Modular Muscle The Modular...  Modular Muscle
The Modular Muscle title picture is coming into better focus as Reggie Burnette Jr. defeated Gary “Hollywood” Parker at the Milan race. Reggie’s win comes in his second trip to the finals in 2011 (finished as runner-up at Atco), giving him a slight edge over Hollywood, Susan McClenaghan, Randy Mounce, and Jacob Lamb, who all have also won one race.  Open Comp After qualifying...  Open Comp
After qualifying only 0.0008 of a second away from pole position in a 31-car field that saw five racers post 0.001 reaction times (Open Comp qualifying is based on drivers’ reaction), Larry Geddes and his LX Mustang maintained consistency and wound up in NMRA’s Victory Lane. Larry’s win—over Mike “Double-Duty” Motycka—is the second time Mr. Open Comp has finished on the plus side of a final round in 2011, adding Larry’s name to the list of good racers in strong contention for a championship.  Super ’Stang While the off-and-on...  Super ’Stang
While the off-and-on rainstorms kept Allan Miller plenty busy at the NMRA Ford Nationals (he also manned the BMR Fabrication display/sales trailer on the midway, and had to set up/break down several times on Friday and Saturday), his on-track consistency never wavered. Al used solid reaction times to pick the Super ’Stang field apart and record his second victory of 2011 with a final-round win over Larry Firestone.  Truck and Lightning After...  Truck and Lightning
After falling to Larry Geddes in the Open Comp final, Mike “Double-Duty” Motycka jumped in Uncle Jesse and wheeled the big ’79 F-100 to a win in the Truck and Lightning class. Are you keeping score? That’s two finals in two classes at his home-track race. (Mike and the racing Motycka family are from Mattawan, Michigan.) We’d say Mike had a pretty good day. 5.0
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