Mustang NMRA Race - World Ford Champion

The hype and expectation this car drew in the off-season wasn't met until Randy Eakins backed it out of the trailer at the Columbus, Ohio, NMRA race. What was all the fuss about? Well, for starters, it's becoming more rare these days to see a new Pro 5.0 car of such quality and potential. And, Randy is a well-established racer in heads-up, street car-style drag racing. Besides that, he was jumping ship, having left his NSCA Modified Street Corvette for the low-slung Pro 5.0 ground-pounder you see here.

There were a few similarities between the cars. Namely, both the Vette and the Mustang are turbocharged and have clutchless Liberty five-speeds onboard. Was Randy going to walk into Pro 5.0 using the knowledge and skills he had garnered through 10 years of Brand-X racing and show the Blue Oval boys what's up? He sure did at WFC5!

While Randy would like to have you believe he won the Pro 5.0 class at this year's WFC "by luck only," one has to appreciate how experience wins races. The car qualified in the number-four position with a respectable 6.91-second e.t. at 197 mph. Randy had downed Brit Floyd and Charles Samuel before getting a bye run in the semifinals. But that bye run left everyone in attendance breathless, as the car careened violently past the finish line, with most observers thinking it had crashed. As it turned out, the steering wheel had come off in Randy's hands, leaving him with no directional control of a 200-mph race car. Somehow, he was able to correct and stop the car, and only his nerves suffered from the drama.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ladder, Billy Glidden was also having an unlucky weekend with obvious nitrous-system problems. Earlier, and on his own semi-final bye-run miscue, Billy sent 30-foot fireballs belching from the intake. Randy, as steady as could be, lined up his turbo-charged warhorse, forcing Billy to work for the prize. As it turned out, Billy went up in fire once more, while Randy went on to take home $35,000 from George Gonzalez with a 7.38/192.5 mph in the 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords-sponsored Pro Mod 5.0 class.

Capturing the WFC Pro 5.0 crown is a dream not yet realized by the majority of Pro 5.0 drivers, both past and present. Randy's victory in his rookie Mustang season only hints at this team's potential. You can find Randy and his Precision Turbo team at FFW, NMRA, various Pro 5.0 invitationals, and-we're willing to bet-at next year's WFC.