• Pro Street has been the "Vinny" show for the last three years in the NMCA. Invariably, Budano and Shafiroff shake hands in the winner's circle as they make a march toward the championship. This was the rare occurence that Budano beat himself against the #15 qualifier by relighting.
By a brutal .001...
And, to make matters even more of a pisser, Marino shook and smoked the tires coasting through the finish, Budano's 6.54 would have made easy work of his competitor. It will a long drive home for Budano because nobody knows better than him how excited he was to do battle with this tough and exciting Pro Street field.
• Team Motive Gear is REALLY getting their act together with Corky Markwart handling the driving duties and Steve Johnson and Scotty Guadagno tuning things up for Jimmy Barry's new edge Mustang. A former NMRA Pro 5.0 car, Markwart ran in the .50s in Round 1 at over 212 mph to defeat Dan Saitz.
• One of our favorite races of the day was when Steve Miller took on Steve Matusek in Round 1. Not only were they qualified close at #7 and #10, but these are two "different" combinations. The Truck is an aerodynamic brick and former 2X Pro Street champion, and the Mustang is a twin-turbocharged Modular. Drastically different weights, both with twins. Miller took the win with a when Matusek got out of shape after the 60' mark, and Miller went on to run a 6.50. Miller, who ran as fast as 227 mph, turned the power down to smartly get the win.
• Top Qualifier Tony Bischoff ran his best e.t. of the day with a stunning 6.37 at 222.22 mph with an absolutely sick 1.026 60-foot. The Pro Street teams were stunned by this package because of his .08 reaction time Kenny Voss didn't have a chance. With Bischoff's #1 qualified position and 222 mph from his all-Ford fat block BES-built nitrous motor he looked pretty tough.
• One last big MPH to talk about from Round 1 - new car wielding Steve King hammered Chris Rini with a 226.70 bomb and 6.43 e.t. from his nasty roots supercharged Camaro.
In other action, Mark Micke put together a 6.49 at 215.05 pass to defeat Tony Puglese.