Drag Illustrated Issue 149, October 2019 | Page 20

T he weather was wonderful and the competition was compelling at the 18th Annual NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Whipple Su- perchargers, Aug. 22-25 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. “It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend to showcase some of the fastest cars in North Amer- ica, and I’m not sure how it could have been any better,” said Summit Motorsports Park president Bill Bader Jr. In addition to the series’ regularly contested categories, the race located two hours from De- troit, the birthplace of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler, featured the Chevrolet Performance 50th Anniversary COPO Camaro Shootout presented by COPO Parts Direct, and the Ford Performance Cobra Jet Showdown presented by Watson Racing. As always, the Aerospace Compo- nents Winner’s Circle awaited drivers doing ev- erything in their power to push to championships with only one race remaining on this year’s tour. Thirteen of the drivers in the 16-car VP Racing 20 | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod category collected 3-sec- ond time slips in qualifying, and among them was Don Walsh Jr., who was as wicked as ever with a 3.66 in his Corvette to set the pace. On race day, he rocketed to a 3.70 to win over Craig Sullivan, who was no slouch with a 3.85 in his Daytona. Shawn Pevlor pushed to a 4.35 in the BES Rac- ing Engines Mustang to lead qualifying in Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw, and he made it all the way to the final round of eliminations to face Rob Goss, who had qualified in the No. 2 spot in his Challenger. Goss grabbed the win with a 4.40, while Pevlor went into a high wheelie and brought it down to a 4.69. Bill Skillman sailed to a 7.81 in his Mustang Cobra Jet to set the pace in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, but the final round of eliminations belonged to Randy Eakins and Chris Holbrook and their commanding Mustang Cobra Jets. Eak- ins pulled off the win with a 7.89 over Holbrook’s close 7.90. The drivers were super-close on the tree as well. Tricia Musi motored to a 4.35 in her Firebird to lead qualifying in ARP Nitrous Pro Street, and several rounds later, she met Randy Dolensek and his Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II in the final round of eliminations. Musi, who clinched the 2019 championship, picked up another win with a 4.38 after Dolensek turned on the red light. In Edelbrock Xtreme Street, Tim Knieriem tackled a 4.71 in his Mustang to lead qualify- ing, but by the end of the weekend, it was Jes- sie Coulter and J.C. Beattie in the final round of eliminations. The drivers were close on the tree, but Coulter collected the win with a 4.79 in his Camaro over Beattie, who turned in a 4.98 in his COPO Camaro. There was revving all around in FST Carbu- retors NA 10.5, where Leonard Long lapped up another lead qualifier with a 7.80 blast in his manual transmission-equipped Mustang. He stick-shifted his way to the final round of elimina- tions to face John Langer and his Firebird. Langer, who is known for his quick reaction times, leaped off the line before Long and landed the holeshot win with a 7.95 over Long’s 7.93. Reigning category champion Jesse Wilson clocked a 10.13 in his Camaro to lead qualifying in Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center, and as he has done before, he met Haley Burkhammer in the final round of eliminations. Wilson used a holeshot and a 10.21 in his Camaro to wrap up the win over Burkhammer, who was 10.16 in her Camaro. Bill Skillman blasted to an 8.03 in his other Mustang Cobra Jet to lead qualifying in Coan Engineering Stock/Super Stock Combo, but mak- ing it all the way to the final round of elimina- tions were Jeff Ross and his classic Barracuda and James Daniels. Ross rolled on to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle with a 10.68 on a 10.65 dial over Daniels, who was 8.44 on an 8.48 dial in his Dart. Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock saw Doug Wright wrap up a 9.25 on a 9.25 index to lead qualifying, but making it to the final round of eliminations were Mike Schaefer and his Dart and Jeff Hoblick and his Belvedere. Schaefer se- cured the win with a dead-on 9.00 on a 9.00 dial. In Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle Car, Eric Issue 149 Dirt