Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 34
Dirt
maro, but Haley Burkhammer was right there
with a 10.197 in her Camaro to qualify in the
second spot. She remained right there through
the final round, where she won with a 10.23 to
Wilson’s 10.32. Burkhammer’s victory snapped a
season and a half-long winning streak by Wilson,
resulting in an even bigger celebration in the
Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.
Wayne Larsen ran to a 13.42 on a 14.95 index
in his Comet to lead qualifying in Coan Engi-
neering Stock/Super Stock Combo, but the final
round featured Jeffrey Frees and his Drag Pak
Challenger and Terry Knott and a Dart. In the
double break out race, Frees picked up the win
with a 9.84 on a 9.86 dial, while Knott was 11.17
on an 11.20 dial.
In Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super
Stock, reigning category champion Kevin Gass
gunned to a 9.75 on a 9.75 index in his Chevelle
to lead qualifying. He stayed strong through the
final to take the win with a 9.77 on a 9.75 index
over Tim Frees, who drove to a 10.56 on a 10.50
index in his Savoy.
Multi-time Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle
Car champion Andy Warren wheeled to a 10.25
on a 10.25 index in his Caprice to lead qualifying,
and as the NMCA’s winningest driver, he made it
to another final round. There, he broke out with
a 10.23 on a 10.25 index, but still earned the win
as Audrey Baize also broke out with an 11.72 on
an 11.75 index.
Nicholas Massengale recorded a .002 to lead
qualifying in MagnaFuel Open Comp, but in the
sixth and final round, Kurt Anderson, who spends
just as much time going skyward as he does go-
ing forward in his Camaro, won with a 9.98 on a
10.01 dial over Scott Williams, who was 8.48 on an
8.53 in his Chevelle in the double-breakout bout.
NMCA Gear Vendors True Street drivers joined
NMRA QA1 True Street drivers for this event,
and as a special feature, their cruise included laps
on the Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR tri-oval.
When it was all said and done, Eric Olson stood
out as the overall winner with an unexpected 8.54
average in a Ranger, and Randy Thomas was the
runner-up with an 8.72 average in a Mustang
Shelby GT500. Bill Unkel ran to the 9-second
win, Heinz Stock picked up the 10-second win,
Robert Ball drove to the 11-second win and Mike
Baker picked up the 12-second win, with all four
drivers in Mustangs. Rounding out the category
were Jeff Buck, who was the 13-second winner,
Wayne Haley, who was the 14-second winner and
Belinda Moore, who was the 15-second winner.
Drivers with 2005 and newer Gen III-powered
Challengers, Demons, Hellcats, Chargers, 300s
and Jeeps have been duking it out in the Dodge
// Mopar HEMI Shootout at NMCA events this
year, with Dodge // Mopar covering the cost of
the entry for the first 75 drivers registering who
take part. At this event, Victor Cervantes was
the overall winner with a 10.11 average, while
Derrick Roderweiss was the runner-up with a
10.16 average. John Ridings was the 11-second
winner, Pat Baldezier was the 12-second winner,
Ken Mason was the 13-second winner and Dana
Baker was the 14-second winner. Brandon Alley
wrapped things up as the 15-second winner. Then,
after the eight quickest drivers in the category
came together for the Arrington Performance
HEMI Quick 8 presented by Red Line Oil, Wade
Atchison arrived at the win with a holeshot and
a 10.41 in his Demon over Derrick Roderweiss,
who was 10.22 in his Demon.
In the Chevrolet Performance Street Car Chal-
lenge, Louis Truffa was the overall winner with
a 9.22 average in his Monte Carlo, while Kevin
Rowand was the runner-up with an 11.03 average
in his Corvette. Robert Peter picked up the 12-sec-
ond win in his Camaro, Greg Jessup pushed to the
13-second win in his Camaro, Jeremy Billecki was
the 14-second winner in his Camaro and Steve
Weigl was the 15-second winner in his Caprice.
NMCA Gear Vendors True Street, NMRA QA1
True Street, Chevrolet Performance Street Car
Challenge and Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout
drivers who wanted even more track-time were
able to take part in the True Street Bracket. Six
rounds later, Rodney Ward wrapped up the win
with a 15.12 on a 15.10 dial, while Keith Saymore
was the runner-up with a break out time of 10.65
on a 10.69.
To begin the newly named Bob Curran Memo-
rial Super Bowl Shootouts featuring NMCA and
NMRA drivers who won in their categories, Bob
Curran’s son, Jeremy Curran, slowly drove his late
father’s Xtreme Street Corvette down track, as his
mother, Sue Curran, and fellow racers watched.
Then, drivers faced off as flocks of fans rooted
for their favorite series. After the last pair of cars
had trampled the track, Team NMRA earned the
title for the tenth time. As a righteous reward,
each NMRA team member will be given a Nitto
Diamond Tree ring, and Bob Curran’s family will
generously give $500 to each round winner.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
34 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 148
SUPER BOWL OF
STREET LEGAL DRAG RACING