DETROIT’ S FINEST MUSCLE CARS SHOW OFF AT NMCA’ S NORWALK STOP
BY AINSLEY JACOBS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NMCA
ICAN
ALS
October 2018
The second-to-last stop on the 2018 NMCA tour, the 17th Annual Honeywell Garrett NMCA All-American Nationals featuring the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series, could make or break it for some racers chasing the championship. With nerves on edge and tunes set to kill, the world’ s fastest street cars descended on Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, over the weekend of August 24-26, 2018 for another epic drag racing event.
Additionally, the 50th Anniversary Ford Performance Cobra Jet Reunion presented by TascaParts. com was in full swing with a mind-boggling array of historic, vintage, and priceless Cobra Jet cars on display for fans to enjoy. Although there was a bit of rain on Saturday and overnight into Sunday, the soggy sod didn’ t dampen the spirits of those in attendance, as well over 500 race cars were on the property in addition to the killer car show.
The biggest, baddest machines on the property enjoyed a 34-car field in VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod. Demotte, Indiana, resident and points leader Jason Hamstra claimed the top honors in qualifying when he coaxed a cool 3.724-second pass at 204.23 mph from his supercharged’ 69 Camaro. Hamstra was still in the running by the time the final round rolled around, and was scheduled to go up against the No. 2 qualifier, Don Walsh Jr, but Walsh hurt the drivetrain in his Corvette in the semifinals bad enough that he wasn’ t able to make the call to the start the next time out. Hamstra then opted instead to claim his victory by simply breaking the beams and saving any wear and tear on parts, ending the weekend on a high note.
Making moves in Mickey Thompson Radial Wars, it was Kentuckian Marty“ McFly’ n” Stinnett and his twin turbo, small-block-powered, orange Fox body sitting pretty in the No. 1 spot after qualifying had been finalized thanks to a 3.932 at 193.43 mph pass. Stinnett went out in the semifinals, but James Lawrence and Enzo Pecchini both advanced to the last match-up of the weekend. There, Lawrence had the starting line advantage with his DragZine. com-backed, ProCharged Corvette and never trailed to take the win with a 3.986 at 188.31 mph blast while Pecchini stopped the clocks in 4.128 at 180.48 mph.
DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 107