The top four Pro Street cars...
The top four Pro Street cars were eying up the 5-second zone but fell short. Joe Dunne (top) came closest with a 6.00. He lined up against Vincent Demieri in round one, took the round win, and eventually won the event by Alex Viscardi in the finals.
The third stop on the NMCA-Flowmaster traveling tour was at the storied Maryland International Raceway in scenic Budds Creek. The track, nestled in a rural area less than an hour from both Washington D.C. and Baltimore, is the crown jewel of the IHRA sanctioning body and hosts some of the hottest racing action in the Mid-Atlantic region. The racing action wasn’t as dramatic as the previous event, held at Atlanta Dragway (Commerce, Georgia) as some readers might remember the intense fire that erupted under the hood of Super Street 10.5 racer Tony Nesbitt’s ’02 Corvette. This event was highlighted by extremely quick performances, thanks to excellent track prep by the Maryland International Raceway track personnel and favorable weather conditions.
The quickest and fastest cars of the NMCA, the Pro Street category (sponsored by Kooks Custom Headers) made the most noise, figuratively and literally. Evolution of the breed has brought these cars to the brink of Pro Modified–style competition with loose rules and many flavors of engine combinations. Several racers had the 5-second zone in sight as the coveted barrier has yet to be eclipsed in NMCA action. The front runners for this historic pass were points leader Joe Dunne, defending series champion Chris Rini, newcomer Alex Viscardi, and veteran Vincent Demieri. All four are capable of 5-second performances and all left nothing on the table in Maryland.
Chris Rini pushed the ATI...
Chris Rini pushed the ATI Performance Products ’69 Camaro to a best of 6.06 at 237 mph, garnering the accolades of quickest and fastest Powerglide-equipped door-slammer in the world. He relies on a Buck Racing Engines 825ci behemoth with four stages of nitrous, courtesy of Speedtech.
George Rumore of Kooks Custom...
George Rumore of Kooks Custom Headers put together this ’79 Camaro last year for Xtreme Street and tapped Nelson Competition Engines to build the 525ci engine with Edelbrock Victor heads and a Speedtech direct port nitrous system. Here, Rumore is checking the valves as he prepares for a jump into the low 8s at 165 mph on true 10.5-inch tires.
Dunne was closest a 6.00 at 237 mph in his ’68 Camaro as he sat atop of the Pro Street field in qualifying. He sits inside a Jerry Bickel–constructed Pro Modified–style chassis, and a Pat Musi 864ci engine with four stages of Edelbrock nitrous provides the power. A Liberty five-speed clutchless manual transmission is responsible for transmitting the power. Rini drove his new Jerry Bickel ’69 Camaro Z/28 to a best of 6.06 at 235 mph for the second spot on the elimination ladder. Rini runs a nitrous-gulping 825ci engine from Buck Racing Engines, which is based on a Dart block and cylinder head package. Thanks to major sponsorship from ATI Performance Products, an ATI Powerglide and torque converter package transmit the power to the massive 33x17.5 slicks. Viscardi runs a turbocharged ’67 Mustang GT500 from Jerry Bickel Race Cars under the watchful eye of noted Pro Street racer Chuck Samuels. Vincent Demieri also turned to Jerry Bickel for a Pro Modified ’68 Camaro and tapped Pat Musi for an 864ci bullet and four stages of Edelbrock nitrous, just like Dunne. Demieri chose to run a Lenco clutchless manual transmission.
The Pro Street racers left Maryland without dipping into the 5s but the next chance at fate comes a month later at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. The track and weather conditions will give the front runners of Pro Street a chance at clinching history. Here’s a glimpse at the Pro Street highlights along with the other happenings during the NMCA’s stop at Maryland International Raceway.
Don and Skip Baskin rolled...
Don and Skip Baskin rolled out their brand-new ’10 Camaro that was built solely for Nostalgia Pro Street competition by B&B Race Cars. The class nickname might carry the name nostalgia but only because it applies to the genre of car rather than the body. It is a throwback to the earlier years of Pro Street when the vehicles were heavy and featured conventional-style engines up to 640 ci. This Camaro runs a BES 638 ci with an Induction Solutions nitrous system. The new ride got off to a good start and Baskin drove it to a runner-up finish and a best of 7.31 at 188 mph.
One of our favorite cars on...
One of our favorite cars on the property belongs to Marc Shankweiler of Douglassville, Pennsylvania, and he entered the 275 Drag Radial category. The ’66 Chevy II features a 421ci small-block with SB2.2 cylinder heads and a unique M&M Competition tunnel-ram intake manifold. He runs a split Dominator carburetor because the rules carry a penalty for running two carburetors. He also relies on a few stages of nitrous from Induction Solutions. Shankweiler ran 8.30s on the Mickey Thompson 275 tires but has his sights set on running deep into the 7s with some more track time.
Tony Nesbitt had his ’02 Corvette...
Tony Nesbitt had his ’02 Corvette painted and carrying a new sponsor, Baskin Truck Sales, after an intense fire at the previous NMCA event in Atlanta a month earlier. The car liked the new paint and sponsor as it ran in the 6.70s and 6.80s all weekend long, but lost the first round to a twin-turbocharged Mustang.
Vincent Demieri had his eyes...
Vincent Demieri had his eyes set on the 5-second zone with his Pat Musi–powered ’68 Camaro. He has the power and potential but hit the car too hard with the first nitrous system, only to shake the tires severely. Demieri ran in the 6.30s despite the troubles and is regrouping for a run at the coveted timeslip at the next race at Route 66 Raceway (Joliet, Illinois).
Kevin Mitchell scored a runner-up...
Kevin Mitchell scored a runner-up finish in Super Street 10.5, his best finish in NMCA competition. The ’02 Camaro utilizes a 545ci big-block with a pair of Precision 88mm turbochargers.
Fender-exit race headers are...
Fender-exit race headers are cool.
Jamie Stanton and partner...
Jamie Stanton and partner Jake Holdridge took home their second straight event win by overtaking Bob Kurgan in the finals of Xtreme Street with an 8.12 at 176 mph while Kurgan snapped the input shaft of the transmission and rolled to a 15-second finish.
They call it the “Nuclear...
They call it the “Nuclear Banana”—we call it cool. John Warren’s ’72 Nova has slapper bars underneath the straight yellow body along with a nitrous-injected 523ci mill. He lost first round to eventual Xtreme Street winner Jamie Stanton, but still posted a super-quick 8.20 at 167 mph.
Dan Kroll brought his stock-suspension...
Dan Kroll brought his stock-suspension equipped ’69 Nova to the Xtreme Street wars using a 525ci big-block, Edelbrock heads, and Induction Solutions nitrous. He went all the way to the semifinals before losing to the feared and fast Mustang racer, Bob Kurgan. Kroll ran back-to-back runs of 8.11 at 170 mph in the first rounds of competition but slowed to an 8.36 at 170 mph in his semifinal loss.
We get so caught up in the...
We get so caught up in the heads-up racing that sometimes we forget there are other segments of NMCA events with the Car Show being just as popular as the racing categories. Over 100 car show participants packed the grounds at and plenty of Chevy iron was on display. We were impressed with the Pro Street cars that turned out for this muscle car event.
Jim Jarrett dipped into the...
Jim Jarrett dipped into the 7.30s on occasion with his 3,200-pound missile in the Nostalgia Pro Street ranks. Jarrett relies on 638 ci from BES and an Induction Solutions single-stage direct-port nitrous system with a 0.030-inch nitrous jet size, as per the NMCA rulebook.
Jim Jarrett dipped into the...
Jim Jarrett dipped into the 7.30s on occasion with his 3,200-pound missile in the Nostalgia Pro Street ranks. Jarrett relies on 638 ci from BES and an Induction Solutions single-stage direct-port nitrous system with a 0.030-inch nitrous jet size, as per the NMCA rulebook.
Joe Dunne pushed his ’68 Camaro...
Joe Dunne pushed his ’68 Camaro to the edge of the 6-second zone with a best of 6.00 at 237 mph. His ultimate goals were to win the event and continue stretching his point’s lead. He accomplished both tasks by eliminating Alex Viscardi in the finals, 6.07 at 226 mph to Viscardi’s 7.13 at just 140 mph. Viscardi left too early, going red and handed over the win to Dunne.
Dangerous Dave Beeson rivals...
Dangerous Dave Beeson rivals John Force with his 500-foot-long burnouts in his Nostalgia Pro Street entry. The ’80 Camaro is credited with the first 200-mph run in the category’s history and usually sits on top of the ladder in qualifying. The team fought various issues in the engine and traction department that slowed them down to 7.40s.
This ’69 Camaro from All-Out...
This ’69 Camaro from All-Out Automotive had two Vortech superchargers huffing into the engine. No word on the performance of it, but the car looked really fast. CHP