Nitto Tire King Of The Street It's the May issue, and you know what that means! It's Nitto Tire King of the Street time. Each year at the NMRA World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway, we hold the annual King of the Street competition.inline_mediumwraptextright28297168/eventcoverage/m5lp_1005_2009_nitto_tires_king_of_the_streetm5lp_1005_01_o+nitto_tires_king_of_the_streets+burning_rubber.jpgTrue

Horse Sense:
If you've checked out the '10 schedule, you noticed that there's an additional non-points race on the calendar. This race brings all-Ford action back to the Mustang stronghold of Georgia, so we're expecting some big crowds in Commerce, Georgia.

Horse Sense:
Though it was an LRS party, the company invited several other vendors to help them blow out the candles. They included Auto Etc. Neon, B&M/Hurst, DiabloSport, Ford Racing Performance Parts, Gunter Specialties Mobile Dyno, Hawk Brake, Nitro Daves Nitrous Outlet, Mr. Gasket, Powerslot, Professional Products, Sykora Family Ford, the Ford Powerstroke Team, and TMI upholstery.inline_mediumwraptextrightPam Reich works at LRS. Her husband, Danny, brought out the family '92 Mustang and lifted the front wheels on every pass en route to a 9.97. He used LRS parts to build his all-motor 408.27954361/eventcoverage/m5lp_1004_lrs_10th_anniversary_celebrationm5lp_1004_01_+lrs_anniversary_celebration+1992_mustang.jpgTrue

Horse Sense
NMRA staffer Greg "Donut" Acosta agreed to let the first racer who cut a perfect light in the Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing shave his head bald. The lucky shaver was none other than Super Street Outlaw racer John "Fireball" Urist. Thank goodness, too, because the Donut was rather hairy.inline_mediumwraptextrightThe only man to pilot Editor Turner's Project Real Street down the track, Mark Anderson was at the wheel of dad Ron Anderson's usual Pure Street whip at Joliet. Thursday night when Ron saw Ryan Hecox's engine troubles, he offered the car to Ryan if his car wasn't repaired in time. That wasn't needed, and Mark qualified the coupe in the fourth spot with a 10.48. Mark made it past Shawn Johnson in Round 1, but eventual winner Brandon Alsept came calling in Round 2, and Mark was unable to make the connection to get the win.32145318/eventcoverage/m5lp_0812_2008_nmra_ford_nationals_joliet_illinoism5lp_0812_02_+nmra_ford_nationals+racetracks.jpgTrue

Columbus, Ohio
Though we still enjoy warm temperatures at and around our Tampa, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, offices, many parts of the country start feeling the effects of fall.inline_mediumwraptextrightDrag Radial racer Steve Thompson is definitely going against the grain these days. When Chris Little dominated this class, he used the straightforward combo of juice on a button. Now blowers and turbos dominate the class. Bringin' back the juice, Steve has steadily stepped it up for the '09 season. At Columbus, it all came together. His qualifying attempt wasn't the greatest, but as soon as eliminations started his e.t.'s took a plunge. Steve's 8.26 in Round 1 proved he was heading in the right direction. He then busted out an 8.13 against Dave Guy, but Dave redlit so that race was over at the start. In the semifinal, Steve ran another 8-teen with an 8.15 against Enzo Pecchini, but he wasted it with a redlight start. The front bumper cover sticker isn't for show; Steve relies on the boys from Panhandle Performance for power. He got started with Panhandle with the purchase of a pair of cylinder heads, and the relationship has grown from there.27731761/eventcoverage/m5lp_1003_2009_ford_national_series_nmram5lp_1003_02_o+2009_nmra+steve_thompson.jpgTrue

2009 Mustang Week Show Winners
Class	Name	Car
Best of Show	Luis Lopez	1994 IndyPaceCar
'64 1/2-'66	JoAnn Stalnaker	1966 I-6
'67-'68	Paul Witalis	1968 Other
'69-'70	John Edwards	1970 V8
'71-'73	Jimmy Davis	1971 Mach 1
'74-'78	Tom McJunkin	1974 Mustang II
'79-'86	Jackie Horton	1986 GT
'87-'93	Jim Broome	1993 LX
'94-'98	Richard Hamilton	1994 Cobra Pace Car
'99-'04	Robert Humbertson	2003 Cobra
2005-2009	Caleb Cripps	2005 GT
Best '93 Cobra	Anna Olinger	1993 Cobra
Best '99-'01 Cobra	John Butler	2001 Cobra
Best '03-'04 Cobra	Charles Daniel	2004 Cobra
Best SVT	Wayne and Cissy Goode	2003 Cobra
Best Lightning	Jeff Southard	2001 Lightning
Best Saleen	Mike Hughes	2006 Saleen
Best Roush	Steve McIntyre	2009 Roush
Best Shelby	Kenneth M. Small	2007 Shelby GT
Best '65-'70 Shelby	Floyd Proctor	1966 Shelby GT350
Best Steeda	Mike Edwards	2006 Steeda
Best Engine	Richard Olinger	1993 GT
Best Paint	Tarren Row	2003 Cobra
Best Low Mileage Original	Carroll S Puckett	2000 Cobra R
Best Boss	Steve McPherson	1970 Boss 302
Best GT/CS	Johnny Brown	2007 GT/CS
Best Mach 1	Scott & Renee Brubak	2004 Mach 1
Best '01 Bullitt	Raymond Winterstine	2001 Bullitt
Best '08 Bullitt	Daniel Dwyer	2008 Bullitt
Most Outrageous	Jim Mazingo	2008 GT
Most Likely to Attract
Law Enforcement	Mike Cormack	2006 GT
Bill Jones Memorial Award	Scott MacWilliams	1964 V8

Every year, racers from ProMedia's NMRA and NMCA heads-up drag-racing sanctions converge on Route 66 Raceway in Joliet ("Chicagoland"), Illinois, for what has become somewhat recognized as one of the hottest events of either season: the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing.inline_mediumwraptextrightDave Guy showed everyone that his '96 'Stang made a full and robust recovery from its confrontation with the wall during the Milan race. At the Super Bowl, Dave and his red rocket made running 7s on BFG 325/50-15 drag radials look easy, and put up a new e.t. record of 7.973 (at 182.72 mph) in the process.26809912/eventcoverage/m5lp_1001_2009_nitto_tire_nmra_nmca_super_bowl_of_street_legal_drag_racingm5lp_1001_04_+nmra_street_racing_super_bowl+1996_stang.jpgTrue

Summer is a hectic season for us at 5.0&SF. From car shows to NMRA events, the calendar is stacked long and deep with potential events to attract our cameras. It's also a busy time for personal vacations, where we actually step away from the Mustang scene for a moment to remember what our families look like. How we've never made the effort to get out to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for the annual Mustang Week event up until this point, I just don't know.inline_mediumwraptextrightMeet 'N' Greet
According to the Mustang Week staff, more than 400 Mustangs and SVTs filled Planet Hollywood's parking lot for the official meet 'n' greet. People were obviously excited about the event, and we met readers from as far away as Florida and New York, so the event's central location obviously helps. This crowd formed to see the unveiling of a project car built as a tribute to Mustang Week staffer Bill Jones, who passed away last year. The car began as a well-worn '95 Mustang GT convertible, owned by Joel Gilchrist, a pastor who is heavily involved in Mustang Week. Joel spent time with Bill's family while he was in the hospital, and spoke at Bill's funeral.25668629/eventcoverage/m5lp_1001_2009_mustang_weekm5lp_1001_02_+2009_mustang_week+planet_hollywood.jpgTrue

Horse Sense:
UPR Products stepped up and inked a five-year deal to keep Ford Fest going at New England Dragway. With this introductory event behind them, it should grow in popularity each year.
See more at 50mustangandsuperfords.com

Horse Sense
We had a chance to go to the top end of the track when the Outlaw 10.5 class ran, and let me say that it's like the world is coming to an end when these cars are coming through the traps at over 200 mph. It was simply amazing to watch. You owe it to yourself and these racers to check out that view from the top end. You will have new respect for the people and the machines afterward.
See more at 50mustangandsuperfords.com

As you can imagine, having a Ford event in the shadows of the motor-city means there's lots of potential automotive competition in the area. From cruise nights and open-track events to street action and NASCAR races, the gasoline-fueled distractions are myriad. As such, the NMRA wisely decided to truncate its event. The main reason for the short event was NASCAR had rolled into town on the same weekend, so the NMRA thought it best to give motorsports fans an opportunity to enjoy the NMRA race on Friday and Saturday, and the NASCAR race on Sunday.

When the last Castrol Syntec Top Car Challenge participant pulled off Buttonwillow Raceway Park's road course we weren't quite sure how our Mustang challenger had performed. For sure it had lapped faster than the '60s-era Chevy Caprice that Lowrider magazine had just fielded--complete with air bag suspension, no less--but mentally tabulating where our entry finished was beyond our estimation.inline_mediumwraptextright31081845/eventcoverage/m5lp_0912_2009_castrol_syntec_top_car_challenge_web_exclusivem5lp_091200_car_10+Castrol_Syntec_Top_Car_Challenge+.jpgTrue

As you can imagine, having a Ford event in the shadows of the motor-city means there's lots of potential automotive competition in the area. From cruise nights and open-track events to street action and NASCAR races, the gasoline-fueled distractions are myriad. As such, the NMRA wisely decided to truncate its event. The main reason for the short event was NASCAR had rolled into town on the same weekend, so the NMRA thought it best to give motorsports fans an opportunity to enjoy the NMRA race on Friday and Saturday, and the NASCAR race on Sunday.inline_mediumwraptextrightIt's been a long time coming, but John Leslie Jr. finally did it-he got his first Factory Stock win at Milan. After stepping up with a Rich Groh Racing power plant, John steadily ran quicker and quicker. He's inched closer and closer to victory, and at Milan, his efforts came to fruition. John qualified Second with an 11.26, then it was on to eliminations, where Jay Dold rolled through the lights in Round 1 to make that an easy win. John then had a second-round bye. Matt Amrine redlit in Round 3, but John ran it out to get lane choice. In the final round against Jim St. Charles, John had the lead right out of the gate, and he extended it as the two racers went down track. Final tally: John ran an 11.29 at 118 mph to Jim's 11.33 at 119 mph.26564845/eventcoverage/m5lp_0912_ford_racing_annual_media_eventm5lp_0912_02_+ford_racing_invitational+factory_stock.jpgTrue

Check out the exclusive content captured by Ford's guest editors at SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association. Contest winners of Ford's "The Coolest Things at SEMA - Editor for a Day contest" were invited to attend and experience SEMA first hand. These VIP Guest Editors were given credentials to this exclusive aftermarket trade show where they were given the opportunity to interact with editors from some of the leading Automotive publications such as Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine, and Muscle Mustang & Fast Fords as well as asked to gather and share information on behalf of Ford via photographs, video, and blogs.

Horse Sense: Robin Burnett's first racecar was a Ford Fiesta with over 109,000 miles on it. We'll wait while you Google "Ford Fiesta," but Robin won a local SCCA Improved Touring Car class at Waterford Hills Road Racing course. Waterford Hills is a tight, technical race course located in Clarkston, Michigan. Now that you are reminded of the Fiesta, you also see that the car is making a comeback stateside after a successful run over in Europe.inline_mediumwraptextrightProviding some serious thunder and making many others look like they are standing still was Robin Burnett in his Steeda-sponsored No. 21 race car. Robin races the 21 car in the NASA American Iron series and was the '08 champion in that class. To keep finishing on the podium, Robin relies on a Ford Racing Performance Parts Boss 302 engine and pretty much every suspension component from the Steeda catalog, which means you too can bolt AI-level handling onto your S197.26397967/eventcoverage/m5lp_0911_2009_camp_steedam5lp_091100_camp_3_o+2009_camp_steeda+.jpgTrue

Mustangs continued their march on the 24th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever show April 19, muscling their way out of their traditional late-model parking lot and into "other" parking lot. Once exclusively the domain of Model T's, A's, Torinos, and such, the other of the two main parking lots had rows of newer Mustangs standing proud.inline_mediumwraptextright30554061/eventcoverage/m5lp_0911_2009_fabulous_fords_foreverm5lp_0911_01+2009_fabulous_fords_forever+2003_mustang_gt.jpgTrue

When the last Castrol Syntec Top Car Challenge participant pulled off Buttonwillow Raceway Park's road course we weren't quite sure how our Mustang challenger had performed. For sure it had lapped faster than the '60s-era Chevy Caprice that Lowrider magazine had just fielded--complete with air bag suspension, no less--but mentally tabulating where our entry finished was beyond our estimation.inline_mediumwraptextrightSon Ron and father Dan Cooper strike a pose in front of Ron's workaday Mustang and our Top Car Challenge entrant. Retired from his own trucking company, Dan lent a trackside hand, as well as moral support.31064175/eventcoverage/m5lp_0912_2009_castrol_syntec_top_car_challengem5lp_091200_car_02+Castrol_Syntec_Top_Car_Challenge+.jpgTrue