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2012 NMRA and NMCA Atlanta - All OutThe NMRA and NMCA share the spotlight in Commerce, Georgia. From the September, 2012 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By Michael Johnson
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The Atlanta area is ideal for a drag race. In a world all about location, location, location, Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, might as well be in the middle of it all. It makes sense for the NMRA and the NMCA to come together for one big race in this Mustang hot bed. The 4th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals was the place to be as the biggest names from each sanctioning body battled it out for drag racing supremacy. For NMRA racers, it presents an opportunity to beat up on the bad guys from the NMCA and run cars other than Mustangs. The All-Star race also presents racers a chance to get their year started if they were unable to make the Bradenton race. Some guys aren't able to make the Bradenton opener because of cars not being ready. Many use Bradenton as their throwaway race, and start their year in Georgia, which is more centrally located. And, what a race to start the season with. From a fan's perspective, if you like drag racing, this race is a must-see. You get to see quality cars from both the NMRA and NMCA side of the fence. Best of all, we get to see Mustangs beating up on Brand X cars. That's worth the price of admission.  With the fold of Pure Street...  With the fold of Pure Street into NMCA's Mean Street, that class has become flooded with even more Mustangs. The Gillam brothers used to be the dominant Mustang in the class, but now they have company. The last Pure Street champion, Brandon Alsept made the move over to Mean Street, and has picked up where he left off. Utilizing a BES Racing Two-Valve with a carburetor, Brandon qualified in the top spot and rode that performance all the way to a win over Jeremy Gillam in the final.  Matt Amrine took off from...  Matt Amrine took off from Factory Stock for 2011, allowing Brian Campbell to run the car in the process. At Atlanta, Matt proved he was back with a runner-up finish to race-winner Carlos Sobrino. Matt runs a Two-Valve in Factory stock, and at Atlanta had to rig up a between-round system to keep everything cool and fast. With his runner-up finish, Matt is going to make a run for the rest of the races at the Factory Stock championship.  MPS Auto Salvage isn't far...  MPS Auto Salvage isn't far from Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, home of the All-Star Nationals. Hence, the MPS guys throw all the parts they can fit in the trailer and head on over. We even had the opportunity to do some shopping prior to the race and gather a few parts for Project Roadkill. Remember that car? We were trying to use '03-'04 Mach 1 electronics but never could get all the needed harnesses, so we sourced a '97 Cobra computer and harnesses for the car, shipping them right away to JMS Chip & Performance to get the car running once again. Hopefully with help from MPS, we can get Roadkill back on track to being done. And yes, MPS is truly a Mustang enthusiast's shopping mall.  Adam Cox runs out of Louisville,...  Adam Cox runs out of Louisville, Kentucky, with Jacob Lamb and the boys. We won't hold that against Adam since his Mustang's pretty nice. Adam's 'Stang runs a carbureted Four-Valve and has one of the cleanest engine compartments we've ever seen for a racecar. Adam usually runs in the 11.0 range; at Atlanta, he was taken out by eventual Modular Muscle winner Randy Mounce in Round 3.  Pro Outlaw 10.5: Thanks to...  Pro Outlaw 10.5: Thanks to the Atlanta race being of the All-Star variety, Pro Outlaw and the NMCA's Super Street classes were thrown in together to battle it out. That meant NMRA regulars Mike Murillo, Jim Monson, and Tim Essick had bad company on the qualifying ladder. Jim Monson redlit his way home, wasting a 6.94 pass in the process, so that left Mike and Tim, but when they met in the semis, Mike took the win. In the final, he had Mustang turncoat Eric Leferriere in the other lane at the wheel of a Malibu. Thankfully, Mike showed Eric the fast way down the track with a 0.421 reaction time combined with a 6.70 at 222 mph to a losing 6.73 at 221 mph.  Super Street Outlaw: When...  Super Street Outlaw: When John Urist's usual crew, Mike King and Mike Rousch, a.k.a. The A-Team, weren't scheduled to arrive at the track until Friday afternoon, The Fireball had to scramble to find a couple crew guys to help get the car ready for action. Unfortunately for John, your favorite Associate Editor (that would be me, right?) and FordRacingNation.com's Chad Houghton stepped in to become the C-Team. The B-Team is Dwayne James' crew so that name was already taken. Chad and I were able to help get the car ready and string things along until Mike and Mike made it to the track. With everyone's mind at ease, and proving anyone can "work" on a Super Street Outlaw car, John was able to qualify in the top spot and get past Filthy Phil Hines in the semis, followed by Kenjo Kelley in the final round thanks to a redlight start by Kenjo. Horse Sense: We ran into a couple familiar faces at Atlanta--Vic and Jimmy Keen, who run in the NMCA's Pro Street class. Another familiar face, Jay Scranton was chipping in to help get the car dialed in. The Keen brothers, Jay, and his brother Matt were all pioneers in the Pro 5.0 scene back in the day. It's good to see they're still in the game, but it would be nicer to see them at the wheel of a Mustang.  EFI Renegade: Brian Mitchell...  EFI Renegade: Brian Mitchell continues to be a force to be reckoned with in Renegade. The multi-time champion put his Vortech-supercharged Mustang at the front of the class, and Alton Clements was unable to put up much of a fight in the final. So far, the modular-powered Mustangs of Jim Breese and Tim Matherly have struggled, even with Jim's final-round appearance at Bradenton. Jim and Tim are still learning, and other Renegade racers have gone the modular route with success, so we hope they're able to get in the mix soon.  Hot Street: With the NMCA's...  Hot Street: With the NMCA's Pro Stock folded into the NMRA's Hot Street class in Atlanta, it was Ford against Chevy with the NMRA's Robbie Blankenship and Don Bowles to do battle with Don Baskin's Chevy II. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good weekend for the good guys as Don Baskin got the win. Robbie Blankenship redlit in the final to hand the win to Don Baskin.  Drag Radial: Jason Lee has...  Drag Radial: Jason Lee has come out in 2012 swinging for the fences, and so far he's hit nothing but home runs. With the new ProCharger F-1X supercharger on board, Jason has so far made it look easy. At Atlanta, with it being a combo race with NMCA competitors in Drag Radial as well, he had a few more cars to take down. We're glad he was able to take out Michael Fratena's Camaro in the semis, and then Dan Kroll's Chevy-powered Fox coupe in the final. For that we say, "Thank you, Jason."  Coyote Stock: Once again,...  Coyote Stock: Once again, Joe Charles and Joe Guertin were the only Coyote Stock racers at Atlanta, but Joe Guertin had swapped over to a C4 for more consistency. It worked for him. He was more able to put up a fight, but Joe Charles, still running a stick, was able to get the win despite a stellar 0.410 light from Mr. Guertin. Joe Charles' 11.041 was just enough to beat the other Joe's 11.178. Internet chatter is picking up about Coyote Stock, and hopefully more racers will be out soon.  Coyote Stock: Once again,...  Coyote Stock: Once again, Joe Charles and Joe Guertin were the only Coyote Stock racers at Atlanta, but Joe Guertin had swapped over to a C4 for more consistency. It worked for him. He was more able to put up a fight, but Joe Charles, still running a stick, was able to get the win despite a stellar 0.410 light from Mr. Guertin. Joe Charles' 11.041 was just enough to beat the other Joe's 11.178. Internet chatter is picking up about Coyote Stock, and hopefully more racers will be out soon.  Modular Muscle: With a supercharged...  Modular Muscle: With a supercharged Three-Valve under the hood of his '05 Mustang GT, Randy Mounce pounces on his Modular Muscle opponents every chance he gets. At Atlanta, Randy was unstoppable, even in the final against Gary Parker, who had defeated defending class champion Reggie Burnette Jr. in Round 2. Gary was unable to beat Randy in the final as both guys broke out, but Randy got the win.  Super 'Stang: With Terry...  Super 'Stang: With Terry "Beefcake" Reeves the talk of Super Stang with his car's much-improved performance, Larry Firestone stole the show with consistent runs close to his 13.09 index. His reaction times were also spot-on, and he was even able to beat defending Super Stang champ Al Miller in the final to get the win..  Open Comp: All the heavy-hitters...  Open Comp: All the heavy-hitters in Open Comp showed up to do battle at Atlanta, but when the tire smoke cleared it was Randy Conway getting the event win. Randy races one of the quickest cars in the class, which is hard enough to keep consistent, but using 410 ci of small-block power, Randy was able to consistently get the job done round after round to put everyone else on the trailer.  Truck and Lightning: At Atlanta,...  Truck and Lightning: At Atlanta, Fred Wade had his ‘04 Lightning figured out. Running on a 10.33 index, Fred doesn't have to use the brakes at the top end of the track to keep from breaking out. He only does so when he has beat the brakes off his opponent. That didn't happen often at Atlanta since the competition was so close. However, Fred's reaction times and e.t.'s were on point, earning him the event win.
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