Here is the final pairing...
Here is the final pairing of the NMCA versus NMRA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing. Mike Murillo represented the NMRA contingent while Dan Stevenson was the substitute for Randy Adler who broke some parts in the Pro Street finale. Stevenson was the runner-up in Pro Street and lost this round when he shook the tires and Murillo fired off a 6.71 on a 6.63 index. Stevenson ran 6.31 on a 6.08 index.
The sixth annual NMCA/NMRA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing returned to Route 66 Raceway (Joliet, Illinois) this past summer. The two sanctioning bodies once again pitted the class winners of the NMCA-Flowmaster series against the Mustang class winners of the NMRA-Keystone sanctioning body in a staged index-based dual. The situation is this: both racing series run separately all weekend long and on Sunday, once the eliminations are over, all the class winners head back to the staging lanes. NMCA and NMRA officials pair the categories against each other in a pre-determined listing. Essentially the officials pair up the corresponding classes, like Pro Street against NMRA’s Pro Outlaw. The cars are run off using staggered starts based on an index but there is no breakout like in index or bracket racing. The index for each racer is their quickest pass of the weekend.
Randy and Rob Adler are responsible...
Randy and Rob Adler are responsible for the mechanical workings of the ’57 Chevy from Tim McAmis Race Cars. Their shop, A-Team Speed supplies the Roots-blown grunt and car owner Lynwood Wood keeps everything going. Adler drove the car to a career best of 6.001, just short of a historic 5-second Pro Street pass. The team took home the big check in Pro Street.
The announcers keep score as each pair heads down track—if you win your pairing you win a cash bonus prize from NMRA/NMCA. The team who collects the most wins is declared the Super Bowl winner and each competitor on the team gets a Nitto Tire Diamond Tree gold ring. These are the same rings that are issued to the class champions in both NMRA and NMCA at the end of the year. This year, unfortunately, the Mustangs were on their game and took home the team challenge. But fear not, there was plenty of other action in which the Bow Tie brigade flexed its muscles.
Randy Adler hustled to the...
Randy Adler hustled to the staging lanes for the final round after the team was thrashing to get the car fixed. He was full of grease and sludge but came mentally prepared to pilot the nearly 3,000hp machine that looks like a ’57 Chevy.
We’ve been on the 5-Second Pro Street watch since Atlanta and we almost saw it go down at the Maryland event this past spring. The NMCA racers, unfortunately, rolled out of Illinois with a vacant spot on the inaugural line of the 5-Second Club. The historic barrier might not have been broken but the packed field of 17 entries trying to get into the 16-car qualified field offered exciting and tight racing. Sitting on top of the ladder was legendary racer Randy Adler and his A-Team Speed Shop–backed ’57 Chevy. The slick-looking Tim McAmis constructed machine is owned by Lynwood Wood and A-Team supplied the 521ci Hemi engine, complete with a massive Roots supercharger. Adler ran a career best of 6.001 at 237 mph but he was in tight company as the next five entries were within a few tenths of a second of his record run.
The coveted Nitto Tire Diamond...
The coveted Nitto Tire Diamond Tree ring is the reward for the Super Bowl matchups. This year, the winning team got the rings while the cash went to the winner of the pairings.
Adler took on the nitrous-gulping competitors and turbocharged onslaught as he snagged his first NMCA victory in 2011. The local hero would face Dan Stevenson and his Reher-Morrison–powered ’70 Camaro in the final round. Stevenson shook hard and lifted while Adler manhandled his ’57 to the stripe; taking the victory with a 6.30 at 228 mph. Chris Rini drove the ATI Performance–backed ’69 Camaro into the semifinals and ran consistently in the 6-teens all weekend long. Joe Dunne and Vincent Demieri both had a weekend they would like to forget. Demieri had a problem with an O-ring on his cylinder head and it wouldn’t remain sealed under pressure and Dunne fought tire-shake.
The coveted Nitto Tire Diamond...
The coveted Nitto Tire Diamond Tree ring is the reward for the Super Bowl matchups. This year, the winning team got the rings while the cash went to the winner of the pairings. Jamie Stanton scored a runner-up finish in Xtreme Street as he ran 8.03 at 177 mph against class winner Bill Trovato who had gone 8.02 at 171 mph. It’s tight racing like that final round that makes Xtreme Street one of the most popular categories in NMCA-Flowmaster action.
Edgar Perez, aka Redgar, took...
Edgar Perez, aka Redgar, took on Gary Parker in the NMCA versus NMRA round. He won the EFI class and was paired against the NMRA Modular Muscle class winner. Redgar left too early in his Vette Doctor’s sponsored C5 and handed Parker the automatic victory.
Dan Stevenson is a new addition...
Dan Stevenson is a new addition to the Pro Street ranks with his nitrous-gulping ’70 Camaro. He brought in noted Pro Mod racer and tuner Charles Carpenter to help keep tube-chassis replica Camaro in the low 6-second zone. The team finished runner-up in Pro Street and represented NMCA in the shootout.
Pro Street action was wild...
Pro Street action was wild thanks to 17 outstanding machines. Here Tony “Sandman” Williams gets out of shape with his ’69 Camaro. It is perhaps the only Pro Street car on tour that started life as an actual ’69 Camaro rather than a carbon-fiber replica
Last we saw Mike Holdridge...
Last we saw Mike Holdridge was in Las Vegas for the Street Car Super Nationals where he lit up the night with flames out of his exhaust pipes. He didn’t have any fireworks for us at Joliet but the big, real ’62 Impala fought tire-shake and ran 7s at 210 mph in Pro Street. We’ve seen him run 6.50s with ease at other races, sometimes it just isn’t your weekend.
We were treated to two local...
We were treated to two local cars that entered Pro Street and are legitimately street driven. Evolution has turned Pro Street into a Pro Mod–style category. Joe Priola, however, brought this ’66 Chevelle that has been high 6s with a ProCharger blown 540ci engine and street creds to back it. He ran 7.30s at 190 mph in the hot summer heat.
Skip Baskin brought his idea...
Skip Baskin brought his idea of a ZL1 Camaro to Nostalgia Pro Street. He debuted the great-looking ride one race earlier and was in the middle of the tough NPS field with 7.40 runs.
A familiar face reached the pinnacle of the Super Street 10.5 category—otherwise known as Outlaw 10.5 to the rest of the world. The rules are a little tighter than the outlaw sanctions and the NMCA racers knock down 6.60-6.80 performances as the norm. Legendary street-legal drag racer Nick Scavo drove a ’92 Camaro Z28 to victory. He co-owns the purple turbocharged entry with Jeff D’Agostino, and they ruled the roost of turbo, nitrous, and supercharged competitors. Scavo qualified second with a 6.76 at 224 mph but hurt a piston, forcing an overnight thrash to get it fixed. The team survived to make it to finals and Scavo was more lucky than good in the big money round. He snapped the input shaft of the Lenco transmission and rolled to a 10-second run but his competitor, Brian Hicks, also encountered drivetrain problems but didn’t roll quick enough to catch Scavo.
Chris Rini and the ATI Performance...
Chris Rini and the ATI Performance ’69 Camaro had some trouble to start the weekend but found their groove. They upped the nitrous amount going into the Buck Racing Engines 825ci engine and made a run to the semis.
The weekend also included the rest of the NMCA heads-up lineup, including our favorites Nostalgia Pro Street and Xtreme Street, a heavily packed car show grounds, huge manufacturer’s midway from local speed shops to big corporate displays, and packed Index, Open Comp, and bracket racing categories. Here are highlights from the Chevy machines that ruled the asphalt this past summer.
Nick Scavo launches his ’92...
Nick Scavo launches his ’92 Camaro Z28 en-route to another round win in Super Street 10.5. Scavo and his crew simply know how to win when the money is on the line. Despite not running optimal they managed to take down some heavy hitters when it counted.
Vinny Demieri takes his Pro...
Vinny Demieri takes his Pro Street racing seriously. Route 66 Raceway is the scene of his horrific crash in 2010 but he was back one year later rocking mid 6-second times. A bad O-ring groove ended his weekend.
Bob Curran showed up to his...
Bob Curran showed up to his home track but still fought an electrical gremlin in his Xtreme Street Corvette for the second straight race.
All the cool kids put Chevy...
All the cool kids put Chevy High Performance license plates on their cars.
Don Baskin, father of Skip...
Don Baskin, father of Skip Baskin, competes in Pro Stock and Mean Street with a pair of ’67 Novas. Here is the Pro Stock entry, which carries a 420ci small-block from B.E.S. and goes mid-8s without any power adder.
True Street is open to anyone...
True Street is open to anyone and Robert Ricci brought out his 13-second ’88 Camaro. It narrowly missed winning the 13-second division of the True Street class. The class completes a 30-mile drive and then is required to run three consecutive runs. The runs are averaged out and winners are declared for best average for 9-, 10-, 11-, 12-, 13-, 14-, and 15-second zones. An overall winner and runner-up are also awarded.
Henry Schneider ran under...
Henry Schneider ran under the radar in his ’70 Camaro. He ran a best of 8.08 at 168 mph but lost on a hole-shot in round one. His performances were certainly a break from the norm as some class racers struggled but he managed to go down the track quicker and quicker every run. Schneider seemingly came out of nowhere and jumped right into the thick of the Xtreme Street competition.
Cars aren’t the only ones...
Cars aren’t the only ones welcome—trucks are legal for True Street as well. Grady Alley finished with a 15.05 average with his modded GMC Sierra.
Darrin Watkins was the favorite...
Darrin Watkins was the favorite to win True Street with his Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based C10 pickup. The truck blasted an 8.11 but failed to finish the third pass and he was disqualified.
Tony Nesbitt has one of the...
Tony Nesbitt has one of the meanest, angriest, and most violent rides on the property. He wrestles with the wheel to get his Vette down in the 6.70 at 210-mph range. The C5 is powered by a Nelson Competition 737ci massive-block with four stages of Edelbrock nitrous.