Compiled by SEMA Editors
 No. 256 Timothy Bidwill posted the fastest lap time in TT1 in his Porsche GT3 Cup car by more than 2 seconds last weekend at the 2018 NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires. |
NASA Announces 2018 Time Trial National Champions
The official results from Time Trial competition at the 2018 NASA Championships Presented by Toyo Tires are in. Time Trial drivers from across the country competed at the Circuit of The Americas September 14–16 for the top honor of being the fastest of the fast. Here’s a breakdown of the 2018 NASA Time Trial champions.
TT1: Timothy Bidwill
TT2: Kevin Fennell
TT3: Paul Costas
TT4: Shaun Webster
TT5: Bryce Kliewer
TTD: Marcelo Vine
TTE: Chris Kopitski
TTU: Troy Messer
 Jeff Schwartz, Schwartz Performance president, wheeled the Schwartz-built Raybestos ’53 Chevy pickup to the autocross winner’s circle of the Goodguys West Coast Nationals. |
Schwartz Wins West Coast Nationals Autocross With Raybestos ’53 Chevy Pickup
Jeff Schwartz, Schwartz Performance president, wheeled the Schwartz-built Raybestos ’53 Chevy pickup to the autocross winner’s circle of the Goodguys West Coast Nationals. The ’53 Chevy, the latest giveaway vehicle for Raybestos Brakes, is perched atop a Schwartz G-Machine Chassis that is fit with its standard equipment, including a triangulated 4-link supporting a full-floating Moser rearend. Up front, Schwartz incorporates its own spindles held between custom A-arms, while a set of extra-long RideTech coilovers soak up road noise and provide consistent support on the street or track. A power rack is also a standard offering, as well as a set of splined sway bars and billet arms at the front and rear. The pickup also features a G-Machine Chassis, BFG Rival-S tires and Forgeline wheels, four-piston Raybestos calipers, a Chevy LT1 engine and T56 Magnum transmission.
 Steve Torrence went 3.770 seconds at 323.66 mph in his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster to defeat Clay Millican’s 3.798 at 320.28 in the final round. |
Torrence, Hight, Gray and M. Smith Victorious at AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals
Steve Torrence piloted to the Top Fuel victory with his second consecutive win last Sunday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. Robert Hight (Funny Car), Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the second of six playoff events during the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. Coming off his victory to kick-off the Countdown to the Championship, Torrence went 3.770 seconds at 323.66 mph in his Capco Contractors/Torrence Racing dragster to defeat Clay Millican’s 3.798 at 320.28 in the final round, earning his seventh victory of the season and 23rd of his career. With the win, Torrence now has a 70-point lead over Millican. Defending Funny Car world champion Hight secured the category points lead after going 4.036 at 276.29 to beat Tim Wilkerson’s 4.413 at 201.91 and pick up his third victory in 2018. Hight suffered an engine explosion as he crossed the finish line and exited the vehicle under his own power. Pro Stock’s Gray grabbed his sixth victory of the season and 11th of his career in his Valvoline/Gray Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro after going 6.567 at 211.06 in the final round to defeat Drew Skillman’s 11.409 at 78.68. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, M. Smith earned his second victory of 2018 and 20th of his career with a holeshot win of 6.877 at 198.44 to LE Tonglet’s 6.876 at 196.10. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues October 4–7 with the third race in the Countdown to the Championship, the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Dallas.
 The Firepunk Diesel/Save the Racks Chevrolet S-10 broke the world record with 4.47 at 167 mph. |
Firepunk Diesel Sets World Record
The Firepunk Diesel/Save the Racks Chevrolet S-10 driven by Larson Miller had a record-breaking day on the 1/8th mile at the Hardway Performance Sunshine Showdown last weekend at the sixth stop of the Outlaw Diesel Super Series in Florida. In the first round of eliminations, and even with problems keeping the truck tracking straight, Miller tied Ryan Milliken’s record of fastest diesel-powered door car in history at 4.554 and a 3.04 half-track time. In the final round, Miller and his Firepunk Diesel/Save the Racks S-10 rode a rail all the way down to the finish line to break the world record with 4.47 at 167 mph.
2019 NMCA Muscle Car Nationals Event Schedule
The NMCA Muscle Car Nationals has released its 2019 national event schedule. With six events across the heartland of America, each one offers drag-racing categories ranging from 4,000hp Xtreme Pro Mods to entry-level drag- and street-racing classes, a late- and early-model car show and a manufacturer’s midway. View the 2019 schedule:
March 7–10
17th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem
Bradenton Motorsports Park
Bradenton, Florida
April 4–7
11th Annual NMRA/NMCA All Star Nationals
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, Georgia
May 2–5
Inaugural NMCA Memphis Homecoming
Memphis International Raceway
Millington, Tennessee
July 25–28
14th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Illinois
August 22–25
18th Annual NMCA All-American Nationals
Summit Motorsports Park
Norwalk, Ohio
September 19–22
18th Annual NMCA World Street Finals
Lucas Oil Raceway
Indianapolis, Indiana
 Team M/T driver Brian Deegan topped the podium in the Pro 2 class in round 10, following up on a second-place finish during round 8 at the Utah Motorsports Campus. |
Team M/T Tops LOORRS Podium Three Times in Glen Helen
Team M/T Pro Buggy driver Darren Hardesty Jr. finished first in both round 9 and round 10 at Glen Helen Raceway last weekend, advancing him to overall class points leader heading in to the Bushwacker Off Road Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Arizona’s Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, October 20–21. Hardesty had eight podium appearances in 10 rounds. Fellow Team M/T driver Brian Deegan also topped the podium in the Pro 2 class in round 10, following up on a second-place finish during round 8 at the Utah Motorsports Campus, August 25. Originally slated to be the opening weekend of the 2018 season, last weekend’s Rockstar Energy Golden State Off Road Nationals at Glen Helen was delayed due to heavy rain at the track in March.
 Lou Iacopetti knocked out the Edelbrock Xtreme Street win with a 4.75. |
NMCA Wraps Up Season With World Street Finals
The NMCA season came to a close last weekend with the 17th Annual NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana.
VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod: Jason Hamstra and his Camaro made it to the final round against Mike Recchia and his Camaro, where Hamstra hauled to the win with a 3.70 after Recchia was forced to lift in the all-blower final round.
Mickey Thompson Radial Wars: The final round featured Marty Stinnett and his Mustang and David Adkins and his Impala. When the tree came down, both drivers leaped off the line, and Stinnett secured the win with a 3.94 after Adkins struck the tires.
Vortech Superchargers Street Outlaw: Making it all the way to the final were Shawn Ayers in the Gold Dust Mustang and Rob Goss and his Challenger, where Goss grabbed the win with a 4.37 to Ayers’ 4.48.
Holley EFI Factory Super Cars: Geoff Turk made it to the final round in his Challenger, where he ripped off an 8.06 to defeat Scott Libersher, who was all over the tree with a .001 but not quite as quick as Turk with an 8.20 in his Camaro.
ARP Nitrous Pro Street: Jordan Ensslin made it to the final in his Trans Am, where he picked up 4.31 to win over Pro 5.0 and Pro Stock standout Tony Gillig, who was not far behind with a 4.36 in his throwback Cutlass.
Edelbrock Xtreme Street: Lou Iacopetti pushed to the final round against Bill Trovato, where Iacopetti knocked out the win with a 4.75 in his Mustang. Trovato was not far behind with a 4.79 in his Camaro.
Fuel Systems Technology NA 10.5: Robbie Blankenship and his Mustang faced Leonard Long and his Mustang in the final. When Blankenship couldn't make the call to the lanes, Long put on a show, posting a 7.86.
Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center: Haley Rounsavall in her Camaro advanced to a final-round fight against Jesse Wilson and his Camaro. There, Wilson took the win with a 10.17 to Rounsavall’s 10.24.
Coan Engineering Stock/Super Stock: The final round belonged to Dan Condon and Robbie Harrison. When the dust settled, Condon collected the win with a 10.27 in his Camaro and Harrison hung on for the runner-up with a 10.43 in his Chevy II.
ATI Nostalgia Super Stock: Brent Wheeler and his Coronet wound up in the final round against Ryan Goodin, where Goodin got the win with a 12.00 in his Belvedere, while Wheeler was the runner-up with a 9.76.
Detroit TrueTrac Nostalgia Muscle Car: Andy Warren and his Caprice made it to the final round, where he won with a 10.26 over Aubrey Baize, who turned in an 11.72 in her Dart.
MagnaFuel Open Comp: Mike Roup faced Woody Pack in the final round, where Roup won with an 11.80 on an 11.80 dial in his Ranchero, while Pack, who recorded a comparable reaction time to Roup, ran 9.70 on a 9.67 dial.
FueLab 3rd Annual Nostalgia Super Stock All-Star Weekend: There were five rounds of competition, which pitted Victory Performance Nostalgia Super Stock Series drivers against NMCA ATI Nostalgia Super Stock drivers. When it was all said and done, two NMCA ATI Nostalgia Super Stock drivers, Kevin Gass and Brent Wheeler, were in the final, and in the double-breakout bout, Gass got the win with a 9.74 on a 9.75 in his Chevelle and Wheeler was runner-up with a 9.72 on a 9.75 in his Coronet.
Gear Vendors True Street: Randy Thomas earned the overall win with an 8.86 average, while John Baum earned the runner-up spot with a 9.82 average. Matt Caldwell was the 9-second winner, Mike Bandy was the 10-second winner, Keith Seymore was the 11-second winner and Dakota Poston was the 12-second winner. Jason Stephenson captured the 13 second win, while Blaine Bolding captured the 14-second win and Angelo Taylor captured the 15-second win.
The Dodge/Mopar Hemi Shootout: Catherine Kosiba caught the overall win with a 9.98 average and Jim Jarrett caught the runner-up with a 10.04 average. Bill Lee Jr. was the 10-second winner, Christina Vega was the 11-second winner, Dennis Cherry was the 12-second winner, Hunter Demaio was the 13-second winner, Daniel Lyles was the 14-second winner and Dave Dunse rounded out the category as the 15-second winner.
Chevrolet Performance Street Car Challenge: Jerry Frey flew to the overall win with a 10.33 average and Kevin Rowand was the runner-up with an 11.40 average. Also in the spotlight were James Benge with the 11-second win, Johnny Dwong with the 12-second win, Chris Roll with the 13-second win, Steve Weigl with the 14 second win and Stephen Panich with the 15-second win.
Fastest Street Car: Two days of bracket racing were rolled into the event, and on Saturday, Tony Virgillo defeated AJ Gick in Bracket 1, while PJ Thomas defeated Travis Buth in Bracket 2 and Michael McCarter motored to the win over Ryan Goodin in Bracket 3. On Sunday, Tony Virgillo earned his second win of the weekend over Dennis Baudendistel in Bracket 1, while Brad Spires defeated Corky Bumpus in Bracket 2 and Kevin Gass grabbed the win over Brent Wheeler in Bracket 3.
Officials are carefully counting points in each category, and then champions will be officially declared and celebrated on the NMCA Website, in Fastest Street Car magazine and during the NMCA Awards Ceremony presented by Aerospace Components, December 7, 2018, at the Indiana Convention Center, in Indianapolis. Drivers will fire up for a new season of NMCA racing at the 17th Annual Muscle Car Mayhem, March 7–10, 2019 at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida.
 Team Vesco’s Turbinator II, driven by Dave Spangler, clocked a 482.646-mph certified national record in the T-3 Class during the World of Speed time trials. |
Team Vesco Chisels New 482-mph National Record on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats
Team Vesco’s Turbinator II, driven by Dave Spangler, eclipsed the current 458-mph world record, clocking a 482.646-mph certified national record in the T-3 Class during the World of Speed time trials, hosted by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (USFRA), held September 14–17. The team will return to the salt in October focused on earning the distinction of becoming the first wheel-driven car to exceed 500 mph. Spangler’s top, one-way speed of 492 mph puts the team within eight mph of its 500-mph goal.
Cameron Steele Grabs first SCORE Trophy Truck Race Victory at Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge
Veteran SoCal desert racer and action sports television announcer Cameron Steele climbed to the top of the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck class by winning last week’s Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge. The two-day event was Round 3 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship. The season-finale will be the 51st SCORE Baja 1000. The Granddaddy of all desert races will be held November 14–18, starting and finishing in Ensenada, Mexico. After leading the first two of four laps last Saturday in the elapsed-time race, Steele captured his first career SCORE Trophy Race win in a time of three hours, 21 minutes, 36 seconds while averaging 40.12 mph over 134.8 race miles in his No. 16 Monster Energy Desert Assassins Chevy Silverado. Racing concluded last Sunday at Rancho Casian on the southeast outskirts of Tijuana. There were 161 official starters racing in classes for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. There were 96 official finishers in the race for a finishing rate of 59.6%. For more information, visit the SCORE website.
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