Compiled by SEMA Editors
 After 14 years in Joliet, Illinois, the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by HPJ Performance moved to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in nearby Madison, Illinois, where a long-standing tradition of Ford racing continued with the 15th Annual Super Bowl event. |
Race Wrap—Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance
The year 2020 ushered in a world of changes and the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals wasn’t spared from those adjustments. One major change was moving the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by HPJ Performance to the St. Louis area. After 14 years in Joliet, the event moved to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in nearby Madison, Illinois, where a long-standing tradition of Ford racing continued with the 15th Annual Super Bowl event. And despite a persistently poor weather forecast, spectators enjoyed a safe and socially distanced event, while racers sped to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.
NMRA
NMRA and NMCA VP Racing Madditives/Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw: Dom DiDonato met Tony Hobson in the finals. With identical .087-second reaction times, both drivers left evenly, but Hobson encountered issues early in his run, leaving DiDonato to speed away with a winning elapsed time of 4.810.
NMRA Edelbrock Renegade and NMCA Xtreme Street: Joel Greathouse and his Fox-Body Mustang faced Tim Knieriem and his SN95 Mustang in a turbo-vs.-nitrous confrontation. Knieriem took the starting-line advantage, but that and his 4.731 effort weren’t enough to finish ahead of Greathouse and his 4.690 run.
JDM Engineering Limited Street: Bill Putnam faced Samantha Moore in the finals, where Putnam posted a .062 reaction time to Moore’s .125, and the difference allowed his slower 8.63 to take the win over Moore’s quicker 8.62 run.
Richmond Gear Factory Stock: John Leslie Jr. squared off against Mark Anderson in the finals, where Anderson scored a 10.24-to-10.37 win and a trip to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.
G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock: Frank Paultanis faced Nathan Stymiest in the final round, with Paultanis driving to a winning 10.21 over Stymiest’s 10.42.
Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle: Jason Henson advanced his championship points lead after driving through five rounds of eliminations and defeating number two in points, Shane Williams, when Williams broke out in the final round.
FSC Ford Muscle: Clyde Dunphy and his ’72 Mustang grabbed the win in the double-breakout round over Danny Towe.
ROUSH Performance Super Stang: At the wheel of his ’11 Mustang, Marvin Knack fought his way to the final round of competition and proceeded to drill points leader Larry Firestone on the tree and forced him to break out to secure the Super Stang win.
ARP Open Comp: In the final round of competition, Gordon Harlow collected the better reaction time, but Dennis Corn in his stick-shifted Ford Thunderbird pushed the Mustang driver deep at the stripe, with Harlow’s breakout turning the win light on in Corn’s lane.
Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning: Bob Dill, leading the championship currently, squared off against Keith Chobirko in the final round of competition, and the battle was over at the first strike as Chobirko turned on the red light, which provided Dill an easy path to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.
Eaton TVS Supercharger Throwdown: Jason Wagoner took the win on Saturday with a 9.084 average, while Chad Walter took the runner-up honors at 10.065 seconds. Oscar Morin grabbed the 10-second award with a 10.076 average, and Kevin McKenna took home the 11-second win with a11.051 average. On Sunday, the Quick 4 was whittled down to Oscar Morin and Chad Walter in a Mustang vs. Camaro battle. Morin cut the down tree hard and charged to a 9.18 for the win over Walter's 9.69.
QA1 and TorqStorm Superchargers True Street: Randy Thomas took the overall with an 8.749-second average. Mike Niehaus in his stick-shifted ’86 Mustang GT took runner-up honors with a personal best 8.870 average, while Daniel Rosner picked up the 9-second win with a 9.097 average. Scott Oshinski drove to the 10-second win, Cody Poston grabbed the 11-second spot, and Bryan Newburn was awarded the 12-second prize. Paul Lewis went 13.034 to take home the 13-second win, Edwin Schoenfeld rode his SVT Lightning to the 14-second place and Rodney Ward picked up the final prize in QA1 True Street with his Ford Fusion Sport in the 15-second category.
True Street Bracket: It was the ’19 Dodge Challenger of Alan Scanlan squaring off against the bad-in-black Buick Grand National of Bob Hoffman in the final round, with Scanlan drilling Hoffman to the Christmas tree and taking the win light at the top end.
 In Dart NA 10.5 presented by Diamond Pistons, Robbie Blankenship faced Leonard Long for the final round of eliminations, and blasted to a 7.87 in his Mustang to earn the win after Long had issues and couldn’t complete his pass in his Mustang. |
NMCA
VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod: Jim Widener faced Eric Gustafson in the final, where Widener got to the finish line first, despite an explosion under his car, with a 3.74, and Gustafson was not far behind with a 3.78.
Mickey Thompson Tires/VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw: Dom DiDonato led qualifying with a 4.32 in his Mustang, and hung on as he hauled to the win with a 4.81 over the equally-tough Tony Hobson, who this time, was forced to get out of the throttle in his Mustang.
Holley EFI Factory Super Cars: Tripp Carter in his Mustang Cobra Jet went to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle with an 8.56 over Bill Skillman, who turned on the red light in his Mustang Cobra Jet.
ARP Nitrous Pro Street: Tony Gillig in his Cutlass won with a 4.39 against David Fallon Jr., who made his debut in the category this weekend and was not far behind Gillig with a 4.43 in his Nova.
NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street and NMRA Edelbrock Renegade: Joel Greathouse gunned to a 4.69 in his Mustang to earn his trip to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle against Tim Knierierm, who tackled a 4.73 in his Mustang.
Dart NA 10.5 presented by Diamond Pistons: Robbie Blankenship faced Leonard Long for the final round of eliminations, and blasted to a 7.87 in his Mustang to earn the win after Long had issues and couldn’t complete his pass in his Mustang.
Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center: Duking it out in the final were Jeff Heintz and Scott Brown, where Heintz hauled to a 10.33 in his Camaro to win after Brown had issues and couldn’t complete his pass in his Camaro.
Coan Stock/Super Stock Combo: George Cox collected the win over Daniel Condonwith a 10.44 on a 10.42 dial-in his Camaro after Condon left the starting line too quickly and turned on the red light in his Camaro. It’s worth noting that Condon was indeed dialed in, as he ran it out to a 10.03 on a 10.03.
Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock: Kevin Miller and Doug Duell did battle in the final round of eliminations, where Miller picked up the win with a 12.18 on an 11.75 index in his Coronet after Duel clicked it red, ever-so-slightly, in his Fury.
Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle: The final round belonged to Brenda Blair and her Caprice and Chad Brewer and his Nova. The drivers were tight on the tree, and after a close double breakout bout, Blair won with an 11.99 on a 12.00 index over Brewer and his 10.49 on a 10.50 index.
MagnaFuel Open Comp: Cameron Bowles in his Maverick rolled all the way to the final. He went to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle with a breakout time of 9.38 on a 9.39 dial, over Scott Williams, who broke out by more with an 8.57 on an 8.60.
QA1/TorqStorm Superchargers True Street: Randy Thomas was the overall winner with an 8.74 average, while Mike Niehaus was the runner-up with an 8.87 average. Daniel Rosner earned the 9-second win, Scott Oshinski earned the 10-second win, Cody Poston earned the 11-second win and Bryan Newburn earned the 12-second win. Paul Lewis wrapped up the 13-second win, Edwin Schoenfeld wrapped up the 14-second win and Rodney Ward rounded out the category as the 15-second winner.
Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout: Wade Atchison was the overall winner with a 10.21 average, while James Kiddy was the runner-up with a 10.28 average. John Ridings took the 11-second win, Charlie Hallum emerged as the 12-second winner, Alan Scanlan secured the 13-second win and Ken Mason motored to the 14-second win. Champ Wert was the 15-second winner.
Chevrolet Performance Street Car Challenge: Terry Faust took the overall win with an 8.99 average, while Don Dixon wrapped up the runner-up finish with a 9.55 average. Other winners included Norm Jensen in the 10-second category, Kevin Rowand in the 11-second category, Greg Carlos in the 12-second category and James Walter in the 14-second category. Alyssa Pett picked up the win in the 15-second category.
EATON TVS Supercharger Throwdown: Jason Wagoner wheeled to the overall win with a 9.08 average, while Chad Walter was the runner-up with a 10.06 average. Oscar Morin earned the 10-second win and Kevin McKenna earned the 11-second win. Then, in the EATON TVS Supercharger Quick 4 Shootout on Sunday Oscar Morin muscled to the win with an 8.76 in his Mustang against Chad Walter, who turned in a 9.69 in his Camaro.
Don Baskin Truck Sales Factory Appearing Stock Tire (FAST): Rhett Moody in his Barracuda ran to the win with an 11.99 over Mike Leyes, who was 12.59 in his Road Runner. In the Cor-A-Vent and Autorama Auto Sales Factory Stock category, Dave Watt wrangled the win with a 12.75 in his Duster over Steve Hodges, who was 15.69 in his Sport Fury.
True Street Bracket 3: Alan Scanlan collected the win with a 12.36 on a 12.25 dial-in his Challenger against Bob Hoffman, who stopped the clocks at 11.24 on an 11.20 dial in his Grand National.
With four straight wins and extending their overall lead to 11-4, the NMRA racers defeated the NMCA’s best, 7 races to 4. The Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Force Engineering with the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series continues at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, August 27–30.
 Yokohama Tire is giving out free Spartan Race entries to consumers who purchase four eligible tires from now through September 30. |
Yokohama Tire’s Summer Spartan Race Promotion Features Free 2021 Race Entry
Yokohama Tire is giving out free Spartan Race entries to consumers who purchase four eligible tires from now through September 30. The entries—up to a $190 value—are for one Elite, Age Group, morning or afternoon Sprint, Super or Beast races during the 2021 season. Yokohama is the official tire of the U.S. Spartan Race Series. Promotion details can be found at Yokohama’s website.
Pre-Registration Now Open for Holley’s Second Annual Intergalactic Ford Festival
Holley’s second annual Intergalactic Ford Festival lands in Bowling Green, Kentucky, at Beech Bend Raceway, October 1-4. Once again, Holley is teaming up with NMRA and their All-Ford World Finals. Events will include NMRA drag racing, Holley grand champion and autocross events, pro-level and amateur drifting, a dyno challenge, show-n-shine, an Aussie-style burnout competition and more.
Formula DRIFT Reveals Driver Lineup for 2020 Season
After a delayed start created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Formula DRIFT PRO and Link ECU PRO2 Championships will finally get underway in approximately one month. The first event, scheduled for September 4–6, at World Wide Technology Raceway located near St Louis, will feature the official eight-round PRO Championship and four-round Link ECU PRO2 Championship compressed into four venues. Each weekend will include a LINK ECU PRO2 Championship round on Friday, with PRO rounds on both Saturday and Sunday. All in attendance will be required to comply with General COVID-19 guidelines, which can be found on the Event Details page for the St Louis round at wwwformulad.com—the same link can be used to purchase tickets for this and future events, as well as access the Formula DRIFT event livestream, which will broadcast all 2020 events to fans free of charge. In preparation for the first competitive events since October 2019, Formula DRIFT has shared the official PRO and Link ECU PRO2 driver registration lists (as of August 3).
Ensenada and SCORE Sign Official Agreement to Host BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000
SCORE International and the City of Ensenada (Baja California, Mexico) live-streamed from the Mayor’s office this week the official signing of the agreement between the two groups that Ensenada will host the BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, this November. The season-finale of the 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship is scheduled to be held November 17-22, as a single-loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada. Spearheading the drive to execute this agreement were Baja California Governor Jaime Bonilla and Senator Gerardo Novelo, along with Mayor Armando Ayala, the Ensenada City Council, as well as officials of Ensenada’s Hotel Association, the Tourism Marketing Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Restaurants and the Economic Development Council. For more information, visit the SCORE International website.
IMS Announces No Fans for 104th Running of the Indy 500
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced that the 104th Running of the Indianapolis will take place August 23, without fans in attendance. All on-track activity during the month of August, including practice and qualifications, will also be closed to the general public. Individuals who still have tickets to this year’s Indy 500 will be credited for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 and will retain their seniority and their originally assigned seats. The 104th running of the Indy 500 will take place Sunday, August 23, with national coverage beginning on NBC at 1:00 p.m. (EDT).
 John Force Racing will not take part in the remainder of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ 2020 season. |
John Force Racing to Remain Sidelined Until 2021
John Force Racing will not take part in the remainder of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ 2020 season, but will return to full-time competition next year, according to a statement by John Force. Sixteen-time Funny Car world champion Force had previously sidelined his four-car team for the restart of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season during the coronavirus pandemic. View Force’s complete statement.
Don Schumacher Motorsports Expands Manufacturing Operations Beyond Racing
After more than 15 years of outfitting race teams with high-performance parts, Don Schumacher Motorsports Precision Manufacturing (DSM) has announced it is expanding into the automotive, defense, equipment/manufacturing, and aerospace industries.
For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.