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NMCA Bradenton 2011 Same Day Coverage

[1]

We are underway with eliminations here this morning at the NMCA season opener with another day of great racing weather. We will be updating through the day with round by round coverage so stay tuned in.

Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com [2].

For LSX Challenge Coverage, check out lsxmag.com [3]

Sunday Morning Pit Update

[4]

I stopped by Vinny Budano's trailer after they unloaded the car. They made some small adjustments last night and they are ready for eliminations today. They are sitting in the number 6 qualifying spot.

[5]

David Hill had a little trouble with the car yesterday but still qualified for the number 4 spot. They were having issues with the turbo so they replaced it with a new one last night. They are all ready to race today and should be running much quicker than yesterday.

[6]

George Rumore is currently in the number qualifying spot. Last night he added some timing and is ready to race.

[7]

Jeff Colletta unloading his '69 Camaro. He checked the car over last night and no real adjustments were needed. He is ready for eliminations today.

[8]

The School of Automotive Engineering set up a Christmas Tree simulator where you can practice your reaction time.

[9]

I stopped by Don Cruz's trailer to check out the new turbo setup on his GN-X. This season he is running a fresh motor with a front facing 88mm turbo. All fabrication work was done at Pro-Fab Performance by Matt LaRue and Cody Goodsell. Don went easy on the car with the new motor and still made a 8.60 and 8.40 pass on what he considers "low boost," so he is really happy with the combo. He is excited to see what the car will do once they turn the boost up... I see high 7's in the near future!

[10]

The track was hot on time this morning kicking of with the old school cars. Gotta love this old Mopar owned by Dave Shultz, he runs in the Nostalgia Super Stock Class

[11]

ATI is another vendor/sponsor on site. They are parked directly across from the Mickey Thompson rig and are providing tech services as well as displaying the latest in transmission and converter technology.

[12]

Frank Meshaw was struggling yesterday building boost and think they have an ignition issue with one dead cylinder. They are trying to trace the issue and make first round, Cal Hartline is on hand helping out.

[13]

Ed Rice was off pace yesterday with a broken fourth gear. He has a twin turbo 440 cubic inch SBF by Cornett Thunder with a Liberty 5 Speed trans.

[14]

Jesse Violante got down the track last night after a four link change by hank Hill of Hooked up and Gone Race Cars. he ran the back half on motor only because they have no date yet for the lock up trans and just wanted to get a decent run to get in the field.

[15]

Chis Rini and crew got the engine all back together for first round today after repairing a damaged lifter and re ringing half the engine yesterday and missing two rounds of qualifying. He plans to tear the other side down for fresh rings after round one making for another very busy day.

Round One Results

Pro Street

[16]

Rini was able to make the call for first round and laid down a nice 6.06 @ 234 against Dave Merritt who spun the tires hard at the hit of the throttle. Budano made a great 6.13 pass to get the win over Pugliese who shut down early. Dunne slowed to a 6.40 @ 222 but still got the round over Valone.

[17]

Newcomer to the NMCA Benoit got some luck his way after Blaisdell went red tossing out his 6.78 @ 218 MPH run.

[18]

Vinnie Demieri had a single as Adler missed the round after breaking last night and ripped off a 6.08 @ 235 for top MPH of the round. He lost the scoop and the top of the manifold and throttle bodies in the shutdown area and will not make round two, they are quite pleased with the .08 run however.

Super Street 10.5 W

[19]

John Lastinger is running NMCA for the first time with his new car so he must be happy to get his first round win over Kevin Mitchell who seemed to lose power at the launch. Mitchell is in the near lane. Frank Meshaw made the call and managed a 7.48 @ 163 over Ed Rice

[20]

Tony Nesbitt had a very nice run with a 7.03 @ 197 to get the win over Violante who smoked the tires going past the 60 foot.

[21]

Murillo had a single in round one but wasn't able to get a hold of the track and clicked it early to a 7.50 @ 151 MPH. Conrad Scarry ran a 6.84 over Steve Summers who also clicked it early.

Nostalgia Pro Street

[22]

Jarrett had the bye with low ET and ran a 7.61 @ 152 shutting down early.

[23]

Joe Bucaro ran a nice 7.33 @ 185 over Anderw Handras and Skip Baskin took the win over Stanley Albritton Jr with a 7.45 making for a close second round coming up.

[24]

Number four qualifier Colletta faced off with pat Adams and laid down a 7.28 @ 189 for low Et of the round, just one hundreth quicker than DeMory who took the win over Dave Beeson.

Extreme Street

[25]

Dan Kroll also had a single due to the missing Bob Curran, he ran a nice 8.07 @ 172.

[26]

Kurgan ran an 8.01 @ 174 taking out George Rumore's shut down 12.42 run. Mike Keenan got an easy win over Steve Cagle who missed the round with a burned piston in last nights final session.

[27]

Trovato was late on the tree but was able to drive around Scotty G's off pace 8.57 @ 162 with a 8.002 @ 172 for low ET of the round. Despite Guilers slower run it was his best of the weekend.

[28]

Stanton also put a clean 8.08 run over Phil Smith.

Pro Stock

Don Baskin had a single and took the tree for and easy pass. Mike DeMayo matched up with Don Bowles and put up a 8.53 @ 158 taking the win over Bowles 8.87. Charlie Booze Jr. left first on Greg DeLaney and ran a n 8.50 @ 155 for the win. Rob Valden didn’t make the round against Robbie Blakenship who ran an 8.57 @ 157

Round Two

Pro Street

[29]

Vinny Budano heating them up before his pass in round two eliminations. Rini took the win in that race.

[30]

Joe Dunn did a big burnout before his race against Bennitt. Dunn won and advanced to the third round.

[31]

Lutz made another great pass in round two.

[32]

Mickey Thompson Tires Super Street 10.5W

[33]

Mike Murillo took down Nesbitt with a 6.88 @ 218.

[34]

Lastinger heating them up before his round two pass of Super Street eliminations.

[35]

Scarry doing a big burnout before his 6.92 @ 208 MPH round two eliminations pass.

[36]

ARP Nostalgia Pro Street

[37]

Chuck Demory's holeshot in round two of eliminations.

[38]

CFE EXTREME STREET

[39]

Jamie Stanton heating them up before his run in Extreme Street!

[40]

Bob Kurgan heating up the tires before his round two eliminations pass.

[41]

Bill Trovato had a nice launch in second round of eliminations taking down Stanton with a 8.03 @170

[42]

275 Drag Radial

[43]

Jason Less and Don Cruz staging for round two eliminations in 275 Drag Radial.

[44]

Don Lamana spun the tires out of the hole in round two eliminations but seemed to really move up top. I can't wait to see what this thing does once they get it all dialed in!

[45]

Don Cruz vs. Jason Lee in round two eliminations.

[46]

David Hill vs Jeffrey Lutz in round two.

PRO STOCK

[47]

Basking staging before his round two eliminations run.

[48]

Don Bowles run in round two eliminations.

[49]

Booze making his round two eliminations run.

Mean Street Round 2

[50]

David Hill in the water box before his round two eliminations in Mean Street.

[51]

Chris Clouse vs Gary Duncan. Duncan carried the tires way past the 60 foot on this pass in round two eliminations.

[52]

Don Baskin staging for his round two eliminations run.

ROUND 3 ELIMINATIONS

Nostalgia Pro Street

[53]

Chuck Demory had a perfect reaction time of .000 in the third round of eliminations against Jeff Colletta.

Super Street Round 3 Eliminations

[54]

John Lastinger had a single and took the tree and rolled down easy in this round. Murillo's 6.88 @ 214 put Conrad Scarry on the trailer.

Extreme Street Round 3

[55]

Bob Curgan making another great pass in round three of eliminations.

Final Results

Pro Street

[56]

Joe Dunne won Kooks Custom Headers Pro Street on a single after Chris Rini failed to make the final after loosing the scoop in the lights in round three. Dunne ran a nice 6.14 @ 231 MPH.

[57]

[58][/caption]

[59]

Extreme Street

[60]

Bob Kurgan won the CFE Extreme Street over Bill Trovato with an 8.01 @ 162. Trovato was clearly hurt pulling to the line and simply made an appearance for points.

[61]

Super Street 10.5W

[62]

Mike Murillo slowed to a 7.15 @ 166 in the finals of Mickey Thompson Super Street 10.5 against John Lastinger. Lasting had his best run of the weekend with a 7.72 @ 176 but was no match for Murillo's SCT sponsored twin turbo Mustang.

[63]

Pro Stock

[64]

Comp Cams Pro Stock had Charlie Booze Jr. winning over Mike DeMayo with an 8.50 @ 159 to DeMayo's 8.64 @ 158.

[65]

275 Drag Radial

[66]

Jason Lee and John Fernandez made it a nitrous vs. blower match for the ATI 275 Drag Radial class debut. Lee ran a 7.71 @ 179 taking the win for the blower crowd here this weekend. Fernandez had been 7.90's in qualifying and had his best run of eliminations with an 8.05 @ 167.

[67]

Mean Street

[68]

Don Baskin put up a very nice 9.83 @ 133 over Gary Duncan's off pace 10.57 @ 125 in BF Goodrich Mean Street

[69]

[70]

Bradenton is known for great weather and performances and this weekend is no exception with sunny skies all around and temps projected into the mid eighties. Yesterday quite a few racers were having trouble with the track surface but today  looks to be a different story as Jamie Stanton and Chris Rini have already put up some killer numbers. Stanton ripped off a 7.92 for a shot at the Extreme Street record and Rini shocked us with a stellar 6.03. That’s gotta make the team and Don Baskin happy after they announced a sponsorship deal last night for the Pro Street racer.

Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com [2].

For LSX Challenge Coverage, check out lsxmag.com [71]

Morning Pit Notes

[72]
Mike Keenan is back at it in Extreme Street after being deployed overseas last year. He is a pilot and flight instructor in the Navy flying S3’s off the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier. He is now in the Reserves and flying the Airbus A320 for Jet Blue. He is running the same Jeff Burns 360 ci engine with a gear driven F1R Procharger, ATF Stage IV Glide and TCI converter.

[73]
Dan Kroll uses a unique approach with their nitrous system firing the odd and even cylinders separately to limit the power during the launch. I spoke with crew member Dave Clayput from Proformance Transmissions about this for an explanation and he has used this technique for several years, since before the advent of progressive controllers so popular now. So basically they fire half the engine at a time and step the timing accordingly. Once all the nitrous is in the timing is then ramped back in over a period of time to limit the total horsepower depending on track conditions and could be anywhere from one second to sometimes up to two seconds.

[74]
Chuck Demory runs a naturally aspirated combo in their NPS early model Mustang and ran a nice 7.40 during testing yesterday.

[75]
Vinnie Budano rolled in this morning with a new 68 Camaro from Tim McAmis and a new 836 cubic inch BBC with 4 stages of nitrous from Scott Shaffiroff. They ran the Shakedown at E Town and the Southern edition at PBIR with the car with good results. A nice 6.07 at E town on the fourth run and ran a 4.01 1/8th in Palm Beach. They are looking for good things from this car no doubt.

[76]
Manufactures midway is filled with vendors and event sponsors with assorted parts on display and for sale.

[77]
Don Cruz is here running X275 this weekend and is the first time out after some upgrades and changed at Pro Fab Performance in Thonotasassa. A new larger turbo, chassis/suspension upgrades and new piping for the intercooler and exhaust was handled by Matt LaRue and Cody Goodsell.

KOOK CUSTOM HEADERS PRO STREET QUALIFYING ROUND 1

[78]
Rick Blaisdell shook the tires and ran a 10.52.

[79]
Randy Alder from Tinley Park, IL went 6.82 @ 223 in his beautiful ’57 Belair. He is sitting in the number 5 qualifying spot.

[80]
Keith Valone shook the tires on his pass to a 8.10 @ 117

[81]
John Benoit ran a 6.544 @ 211 making him the number 4 qualifier for Pro Street

[82]
Jeff Lutz is the number 3 qualifier with a 6.268 @ 233mph pass.

[83]
Chris Rini is the number one qualifier with a flying 6.037 @ 234 mph pass in the heat of the day!

ARP NOSTALGIA PRO STREET QUALIFYING ROUND 1

[84]
Skip Baskin is holding the number 3 qualifying spot after his 7.41 @ 175mph pass in round one.

[85]
Jim Jarret went 7.256 @ 191 making him the number one qualifier for Nostalgia Pro Street.

[86]
David Beeson went 7.59 @ 175 mph in his ’78 Camaro during first round qualifying.

[87]
Andrew Handras wend 7.68 @ 178 during first round of qualifying in nostalgia pro street.

MICKEY THOMPSON TIRES SUPER STREET 10.5W

[88]
Ed Rice heating up the tires before his first qualifying run.

[89]
Kevin Mitchell is the number 3 qualifier after his 6.94 pass in round one.

[90]
John Lastinger went 8.01 @ 170 in his ’69 Camaro.

[91]
Ed Rice has some traction issues and ran a 8.04 @ 179.39mph

[92]
Conrad Scarry out of Deerfield Beach, FL ran a 6.717 @ 215mph on his first qualifying run. He is the number two qualifier.

CFE XTREME STREET

[93]
Steve Stanton warming them up before his pass.

[94]
Steve Stanton in the ’02 Camaro SS went 7.92 @ 178 putting him in the number 2 spot.

[95]
Steve Cagle in the ’70 Nova ran a 8.02 @ 170 mph putting him in the number 3 qualifying spot.

[96]
Scott “Scotty G” Guiler went 11.19 @ 115 after spinning the tires and shutting down.

[97]
Dan Kroll pulling a nice wheelie on his 8.11 @ 171mph pass in round one qualifying for CFE Extreme Street.

Round One Qualifying Sheets

[98]

[99]

[100]

[101]

[102]

[103]

Round Two Results

BF Goodrich mean Street

[104]

[105]
In round two of Mean Street Don Baskin came out hard with the little Chevy II and improved on his earlier run with a 9.83 @ 133 to keep the number one spot.

[106]
Gary Duncan also improved from a 10.13 to a 10.09 and had a nice hard launch to go with it.

[107]
David Hill ran a 10.28 @ 130 with his brand new car. The 93 Stang has a little 311 ci SBF under the hood and is fresh from the TRZ Motorsports shop in Kissimmee, Florida.

ATI 275 Drag Radial

[108]
David Hill made the first run of the day on a new turbo and managed an 8.13 for 4th position.

[109]
In ATI 275 Drag Radial Jason lee leads the field from round one with a 7.54 @ 182 and spun hard and pulled off to the side during the second session today. He looked none to happy about it either. No racers from round one were able to improve.

[110]

Comp Cams Pro Stock

[111]
Don Baskin leads the way in two classes here so far with a nice 8.43 @ 156, also from the earlier round. No racers improved their position in this class either in round two.

[112]
Robbie Blankenship has run some solid 8.5’s and currently sits in third position.

[113]

CFE Extreme Street

[114]
Bob Curran made a pass in this session but a 10.71 just gets him in the field.

[115]
Bill Trovato found some traction and hiked the wheels up making for a picturesque launch and not much else.

[116]
Kurgan was on fire earlier with his class leading 8.85 @ 175 but this class also fell victim to a lack of improvement in the heat here today. Mike Keenan put up an 8.42 @ 164 in this round after shutting down early in the first session. Scott Guiler has had little luck this weekend hooking the car but passed a 9.70 @ 146.

Mickey Thompson SS 10.5 W

[117]
Mike Murillo still leads the field after two rounds of qualifying with a 6.70 @ 215 just ahead of Conrad Scarry.

[118]
Kevin Mitchell was able to improve slightly from a 6.94 to a .92 @ 214 on his second try today while Ed Rice moved up to fourth with a 7.52 @ 179.

[119]

ARP Nostalgia Pro Street

[120]
Joe Bucaro stepped up to a 7.33 to bump Skip Baskin back one spot to fourth. Stanley Albritton jr. and Patrick Adams made the second session today with an 8.46and 8.49 respectively while 2010 NPS Champ is having no luck with the new car yet this weekend.

[121]
Jim Jarrett put up a killer 7.25 in round one and was not able to better that yet today.

[122]
DeMory sits in second with his 640 cubic inch all motor ’68 Stang.

Kooks Custom Headers Pro Street

[123]
John Benoit made the trip from Vermont and currently sits in fifth with his 68 nitrous powered Camaro.

[124]
Randy Adler improved significantly in the second round, moving to third with a nice 6.16 @ 234 and bumping Lutz and Benoit back a spot.

[125]
Rini Still leads the way after two rounds with his earlier 6.03. Joe Dunne is having good luck figuring out the new clutch set up with a 6.10. Demieri also improved running a 7.11 @ 202 for ninth spot.

Final Qualifying Results

KOOKS CUSTOM HEADERS PRO STREET

[126]
Vinny Budano heating up the tires before his last qualifying pass.

[127]
Vincent Demieri ran a 7.713 @ 202 mph on his last qualifying pass.

[128]

[129]
Joe Dunn ran very good today. He’s just a tenth behind Rini with his 6.108 @ 234 mph pass placing him in the 2nd qualifying spot. Tomorrow will be interesting for sure!

[130]

MICKEY THOMPSON TIRES SUPER STREET 10.5W

[131]
Tony Nesbitt holeshot on his last qualifying pass.

[132]
Steve Summers pulled the wheels through the sixty foot on his last qualifying pass.

[133]
Jesse “James” Violante waiting to ready to heat up the tires before his last pass. He ran a 7.0 @ 183mph putting him in the number four qualifying spot.

ARP NOSTALGIA PRO STREET

[134]
Patrick Adams had a pulled a huge wheel stand in his last qualifying pass.

[135]
Joe Bucaro grabbed the number three qualifying spot after his 7.33 @ 187 mph pass. His car ran very well and consistent all day.

[136]
Jim Jarrett is sitting on top with a 7.25 @ 191mph!

[137]
David Beason went 7.43 @ 182mph.

[138]
Chuck Demory Jr is sitting in the number two spot after a great pass in his beautiful ’68 Mustang.

[139]
Andrew Handras heating up the tires before his last pass.

[140]

COMP CAMS PRO STOCK

[141]
Rob Valden ran a 8.68 on his last qualifying pass.

[142]
Charlie Booze staged and ready to race for the last qualifying round.

[143]

Charlie Booze had another great pass!

[144]

CFE EXTREME STREET

[145]
Jamie Stanton ran a 7.92 @ 178 putting him in the number two qualifying spot. He’s not far behind Bob Kurgan so it will be interesting to see who goes faster tomorrow in eliminations.

[146]
George Rumore ran a 8.02 @ 170mph pass in the final round of qualifying for Extreme Street.

[147]
Bob Kurgan is sitting in the number one spot after his 7.85 @ 175 mph pass in his 1986 Mustang.

[148]
Bill Trovato went 8.0 at 172 mph in his final qualifying pass.

[149]

ATI 275 DRAG RADIAL

[150]
John Fernandez is sitting in the number two spot after his 7.96 pass.

[151]
Jeffrey Lutz heating the tires before his last qualifying pass.

[152]
Jason Lee is the number one qualifier with a 7.54 @ 182 mph.

[153]

Don Lamana went 8.811 @ 170 mph in his turbo 339ci '88 Mustang. Matt from Pro-Fab Performance did a lot of work on the car and came out to help Don get the car dialed in. Once they get the car to hook they should be seeing some 8.30-8.40 passes!

[154]
Don Cruz heating up the tires in the “Cruzship” before his last qualifying pass.

[155]
Don Cruz pulled the tires a little bit and ran a solid 8.68 @ 156 mph putting him in the number 5 qualifying spot.

[156]

Saturday Night Pit Notes

[157]
Tony Puglesi had some material get stuck on a valve face causing a backfire through the manifold. They tore it down and Russ Sutherland is reassembling the head in the trailer.

[158]
Randy Adler is out after shattering the crank trigger pulley in the third session today. They do not have a spare and the pieces of this one went through the oil pan, damaging it as well. Crew member Jim Patton said it was a 6.09 pass at the time so thats a tough break for the team.

[159]
Jeff Lutz was swapping out transmissions this evening, going from the lock up converter combo to one perhaps more suited to the track conditions this weekend. they were having trouble applying the power and a softer setup should help them out. They ran well with this trans at Orlando last year, here Jeff Jr. does a quick inspection and cleans it up.

[160]
Chris Rini hurt a lifter this afternoon on his 6.03 pass forcing them to miss the other two sessions today. He was able to hold onto the top qualifier anyway and were putting the engine back together around nine PM.

[161]
David Merrit lost the blower belt in the second session today. Inspection in the pits found a broken valve tip which they then repaired. When the car failed to start after that repair they dug in further and found the crank bolts had sheared off which was the original cause of the lost belt and damaged valve. They had it fired up and were putting the car in the trailer for the night when I was leaving.

[162]
Nitrous Mike had the grill going at the Mickey Thompson trailer. Always good eats my friend.

[163]
The track crew got right to it after racing today to get the surface prepped for Sunday’s eliminations.

[164] The season opener in Bradenton is one of the biggest races of the NMCA racing season. It is where 2010 records fall and new cars are unveiled. Also, this is the place that sets the tone for who will be on top in 2011. Many records were broken last year – will it happen again? Stay tuned all weekend as we bring you updates from the first race of the 2011 NMCA racing season. Special thanks to our event sponsor SCT Performance. Check out their great line of tuning products at www.sctflash.com [2]. For LSX Challenge Coverage, check out lsxmag.com [165] Coverage starts Friday morning!

[166]
Bruce Robert’s notchback mustang is back out with a fresh paint job, new Race Craft wing, and parachute. It’s powered by a 434ci SBF Nelson Competition Motor with a Wilson Manifold and Nitrous combo. The driver, Eric Kenward, hopes to be running in the 7.70’s in X275 Drag Radial. Sponsors: TRZ Motorsports, AA Performance, Eric’s Automotive, and FTI Trans & Converts.

[167]
This beautiful ’57 Belair is owned by Rob Alder and Lynwood Wood. It’s their first time out with the car running Pro Street this year. They used to run Super Street and have been racing for years. This Chevy is powered by a 521ci motor built by their own A-Team Speed Shop, Inc. from Tinley Park, Illinois.

[168]
Bill Trovato is running the little Olds still but has a new ride under way being built by Patrick Budd out of Maryland. He is switching brands to a 2010 Camaro and 400 ci. LS engine with a GM Performance LSX block and LS7 heads. The new ride was purchased as a body in white and is being built from the ground up.

[169]
Gary Duncan has a new engine this year from Jim Kuntz with about twenty more horsepower that last year. He has tested once so far before this weekend and was pleased but broke a transmission during the session.

[170]
Louisville Mississippi racer Kevin Mitchel is here and has been 6.83 at nearly 215 with his twin turbocharged Camaro last year in Super Street. They made some changes over the winter to make it easier to work on. Crew members are Tim Mitchell, Randy Mitchell, Graham Hill and Wade Hopkins. All fab work on the car is was handled in house at Southern Speed, the 548 ci BBC was built by Proline Race Engines with TCI converter and transmission.

[171]
Former NMCA NPS Champion Jeff Colletta is here with a new car and has made some small changes to the combination. The K & B built car has not been run by Jeff yet and they switched to a single carburetor to take advantage of the weight break and will run this year at 3125 pounds instead of 3250 for the other car.

[172]
The Part Time Performance crew of Jason Lee and Patrick Barnhill found some bearing material in the oil and are yanking the engine today for a rebuild. Provided everything is fine upon tear-down they should be ready to rock tomorrow.

[173]
Dave Merrit is here from Maryville Indiana with a 526ci. Alan Johnson blown 2000 Firebird. His father Jeff owns the car and they have not been in NMCA competition since 2003. They have been as fast as 6.38 a few years ago and are looking to better that here this weekend.

[174]
Dave Lovendahl is the technical advisor for JRI Shocks and the company has signed on for NMCA sponsorship for the 2011 season. They will be providing tech support on site at all the NMCA points races this year for any racers that so desire and have a shock dyno in the trailer to check and fine tune their own or competitors products.

[175]
Jesse Violante is the new owner of Bryan Markiewicz’ Super Street 10.5 Camaro. The Nelson Competition 737 is fresh and some updates to chassis, suspension and a new Spaghetti Menders wiring harness has been completed by AA Performance.

[176]
Chris Rini is debuting a new car here this weekend. The 69 Synergy Camaro body is set on top of a Jerry Bickel chassis. All of Rini’s sponsors have returned for 2011 including ATI and initial testing has the car going straight and running well. The same Buck Racing Engine from last year has been freshened.

[177]
Keith Valone is here with a brand new 63 Corvette built by Vito Antonicelli Race Cars out of New York. Purchased in November of 2010 this is the first NMCA race with this car. The Total Engine Concepts 565 nitrous engine has run a 7.05 @ 196 a few weeks ago on a soft tune.

[178]
Jeff Lutz is here this weekend with two cars, the familiar Pro Street ride with new turbos, a fresh engine and is 150 pounds lighter.

[179]
His son will be driving a 1980 Firebird in the new X275 class owned by Steve Chechak with a 548 BBC on nitrous.

[180]
Susan Roush McClenaghan testing out her propane powered mustang.

[181]
Jeff Lutz heating up the tires before a test pass.

[182]
Chris Rini had a nice holeshot during testing in his pro street camaro.

[183]
This Duster pulled a nice wheelie in testing.

[184]

[185]
Jeff Lutz was on a nice run but had to move out of the groove as Judson Massengill  lost steering and came into his lane.

[186]
7.46 @ 157 for Joe Bucaro, the Chris Duncan Race Cars built Mustang runs the Nostalgia Pro Street class.

[187]
Don Bowles ran a decent 8.70 @ 154 in his Comp Cams Pro Stock Maverick. he will need to improve on that time in qualifying tomorrow.

[188]
Jesse Violante put up a 7.93 in his Super Street 10.5 Camaro after pedaling it a couple of times on the pass. he was one of several racers fighting the track surface during today’s session.

[189]
Team Powerhead is here with two cars in Pro Stock and running in the 8.5 zone.

[190]
Eric Kenward had a nice clean pass this afternoon in Bruce Roberts’ Mustang running an 8.11 @ 167 in the X275 Drag Radial class.

[191]
Colletta made a clean straight pass on motor only to shake down the new ride, he clicked it early shortly after the eighth mile.

Friday Night Pit Notes

[192]
Jason Lee and crew have been hard at it all day rebuilding the engine in the little red stang. They plan to refire it later tonight.

[193]
This beautiful 81 Camaro belongs to Steve Summers from Utica, Illinois. The new entry for Super Street 10.5 features a 499 cubic inch big block Chevy from Jasiak Racing Engines, then force fed by an F3-R Procharger on gasoline. The chassis started out from Fast Forward Race Cars and has been updated since by Jerry Bickel. Patrick Barnhill is is helping out tuning the fuel management.

[194]
Joe Dunn made the switch to a clutch Lenco for this year and has seen promising results in early testing in Georgia. Jerry Bickel Race Cars did updates and the trans swap fabrication over the winter and prepped the car. Musi freshened his fuel injected 867 BBC as well. Here in Bradenton they are just trying to learn the new set up and didn’t make a full run today.

[195]
“Dangerous” Dave Beeson came from Nawlins with fresh crawfish and a party in tow. Good stuff for sure.

[196]
Vinnie DeMerieri is back with a new debut after a crash last year. He returns with the same engine/trans package as before and was making the first hits on the new ride today.

[197]
Don Baskin had a trans give out in the red car this afternoon so out it came for inspection. Once inside there was no major damage found so a straightforward replacement of overused parts was all that was necessary.

[198]
Some other big news on the Baskin Trucking front is a new sponsorship deal with 2010 Pro Street Champion Chris Rini. The Baskin Trucking logo will be on the quarter panel soon. We will have some more info on this exciting news on Saturday. His best run today was a 6.18 @ 227 clicking it just a little early. A nice 4.01 1/8th should have the car at a .15 or slightly better according to prior data and are looking forward to Saturdays qualifying.

[199]
Here’s an interesting car – Honda S2000 powered by a LS3 Chevy V8 with a F-1 Procharger. Owner Carlos Rios and crew built the car at their shop called Action Auto Care.

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Here’s a picture of the LS3 conversion in Carlos Rios’ Honda S2000. The motor is a forged 416ci with factory heads and intake.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Pete Pagliese and his crew: Fred and Hailey Pagliese, Russ and Donna Sutherlane, and Tom Orr. Pete’s awesome Pro Street Vette has a 526ci Oddy Race Engine with chassis work done by Pat Bennett. The car shook the tires a few times today but after making a few adjustments they hope to get it hooking up and going straight down the track tomorrow! Sponsors: Pagliese Service & Performance.

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Don Lamana is testing to get his new turbo notch all dialed-in. A few weeks back in Georgia he broke a driveshaft while pulling a big wheelstand. At the NMRA race two weeks ago he ran 8.80 @ 171 mph with a bad 60 foot. He shook the tires on his only test pass today, but tomorrow he is hoping to get into the 8.30 zone if he can get it to hook! Built by Pro-Fab Performance.

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Pagliese’s Pro Street Vette spun the tires and went sideways! Thankfully he was able to recover and keep it from hitting the wall… Nice driving!

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Andrew “Drew” Handras (driver) with his father George Handras (owner) are down from New York. This is their first race since Shakedown in E-Town where they broke their transmission. They here to compete in Pro Street. Good luck guys!

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Steve Cagle heating them up before a pass!

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Robbie Blankenship making a test pass.

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Don Baskin and crew making some adjustments to the car for tomorrows qualifying. They are running a 528ci motor with a 600 shot. They made one pass today and shut down early, it went 7.78 @ 142mph. Sponsors: Baskin Truck Sales.

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Bill Trovato is working on his 78 Oldsmobile Starfire to get it ready for tomorrow. His Starfire is powered by a 403ci Olds with a 450 shot running through a powerglide. He will be running the the Extreme Street class. Sponsors: M/T Tires, BTR Performance, and Edelbrock.

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Carlos Rios ran a 9.18 testing today in his LS3 powered Honda.