Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA Staff and Evan J. Smith
As a Fire Department Battalion Chief in Manhattan, Illinois, Bruce Boyle spends a lot of time taking care of people.
His line of work is important and inspiring, and as involved as he is, he knows that spending some time away from it every now and then helps him recharge.
While there are various activities to choose from, Boyle goes racing, and he happens to be very successful behind the wheel. He earned NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp championships in 2013 and 2014 in his Monza, and now he is focused on competition in NMCA Micro Strategies Stock in his 1989 Camaro IROC.
The car has a naturally aspirated 350 cubic-inch engine, which was new for the 2023 race season and built by Troy’s High Performance. It is paired with Chevrolet Tuned Port Injection and a Holley Dominator ECU, and Boyle relies on a Turbo 350 transmission and ATI converter to help put the power down. Strange disc brakes help stop the car which rolls on Mickey Thompson tires.
When Boyle went into the 2023 race season, he had several goals. They were to tune the combination to encourage more power and consistency, pinpoint the perfect converter for his power curve, focus on reaction times and driving the finish line and most importantly, to have fun while also going rounds. Through pre-season dyno and track testing, Troy’s High Performance and Straightline Performance set him up for success as the first race of the season rolled around.
At the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines in March at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida, Boyle qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.64 on a 12.30 in Micro Strategies Stock. He had a solo pass in the first round, before blasting through four more rounds and beelining to the NMCA Winner’s Circle with an 11.50 over George Cox.
“By the time race day arrived, I had a car that was consistent and somewhat drivable,” said Boyle. I continued to tweak, tune, adjust shift points and suspension, and I worked hard at the practice tree.”
Focused on another final round finish, Boyle traveled to the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. He qualified in the eleventh spot with an 11.53 on a 12.30, and won the first round with an 11.51 on an 11.48. He proceeded to win the second round with an 11.55 on an 11.53, and had a solo pass in the third round. He exited eliminations in the fourth round after a breakout pass.
“In making the switch to fuel injection, turning off the tuner thought process and turning on the driver brain on race day took a lot of effort and discipline,” said Boyle. “Overall, Nick McGrath, Cal Hartline, Robin Lawrence and Scott Williams were very patient with my questions and zeal to think like a carburetor and tune with EFI.”
The NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois was next on the series’ schedule, and Boyle belted in to qualify in the fifteenth spot with an 11.57 on a 12.30. He won the first round with a dead-on 11.61 and the second round with an 11.64 on an 11.63. He lost in the third round with an 11.67 on 11.63, but he still left the event as a victor as he won the very special Testo Super Bowl Shootout against Dave Swanson.
“Darren Poole-Adams shook my hand in St. Louis and suggested that my car’s performance and my driving were setting the course for a championship in 2023,” said Boyle. “Prior to that day, another championship ring was not on my radar.”
The Great Lakes State was home to the TorqStorm NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. At that event, Boyle qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.63 on a 12.30, won the first round with a 11.64 on 11.62 and won the second round with an 11.62 on an 11.58. He then motored down track on a solo pass in the third round but turned on the red light in the fourth round.
Getting closer to the finish line for the year, Boyle pulled into the 2nd Annual Mickey Thompson NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Sick the Mag in August at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, hoping to pick up some valuable points. He qualified in the twenty-ninth spot with an 11.71 on a 12.30 and won the first round, a double breakout, with an .012 reaction time and an 11.75 on an 11.76. That helped, however he exited eliminations in the second round after seeing red on the tree.
Boyle wrapped up the race season at the 22nd Annual NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance in September at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana. He qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.60 on a 12.30, and lost in the first round with an 11.66 on an 11.61. While he wanted to get deeper into the rounds at that event, he walked away as the 2023 NMCA Micro Strategies Stock champion.
“This one is special,” said Boyle. “I would like to thank my wife, Mary, for her support of this life-long racing effort that often causes schedule challenges that we seemed to be able to work through. I would also like to thank Steve Wolcott, Rollie Miller, Mike Washington and the rest of the NMCA staff for a professionally run national event format to participate in, as well as Anthony at Micro Strategies for his commitment to NMCA Stock and Super Stock, Jim Bailey for his efforts to keep us on track, informed and enjoying the purity of stock eliminator racing, Troy Tomschek and Dave Howard at Troy’s High Performance, Nick McGrath and Kevin Stevens at Straightline Performance, Cal Hartline at Hartline Performance, Holley for a user-friendly EFI ECU with endless options, Mickey Thompson, ATI, Foggit, Winner Circle Speed and Custom, Don Higgins at Crew Chief Pro and This Is Bracket Racing Elite Community for driver focus and preparation, Rick and Ricky, and but last not least, our at-track support infra-structure of Jerry, Terri, Don, Pat, Jeff and Shawn.”
The NMCA looks forward to celebrating Boyle and his fellow racers at the Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals Awards, held during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Dec. 8, 2023, at the Indiana Convention Center, and in the upcoming Champions Issue of Fastest Street Car.
Photos by NMCA Staff and Evan J. Smith
As a Fire Department Battalion Chief in Manhattan, Illinois, Bruce Boyle spends a lot of time taking care of people.
His line of work is important and inspiring, and as involved as he is, he knows that spending some time away from it every now and then helps him recharge.
While there are various activities to choose from, Boyle goes racing, and he happens to be very successful behind the wheel. He earned NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp championships in 2013 and 2014 in his Monza, and now he is focused on competition in NMCA Micro Strategies Stock in his 1989 Camaro IROC.
The car has a naturally aspirated 350 cubic-inch engine, which was new for the 2023 race season and built by Troy’s High Performance. It is paired with Chevrolet Tuned Port Injection and a Holley Dominator ECU, and Boyle relies on a Turbo 350 transmission and ATI converter to help put the power down. Strange disc brakes help stop the car which rolls on Mickey Thompson tires.
When Boyle went into the 2023 race season, he had several goals. They were to tune the combination to encourage more power and consistency, pinpoint the perfect converter for his power curve, focus on reaction times and driving the finish line and most importantly, to have fun while also going rounds. Through pre-season dyno and track testing, Troy’s High Performance and Straightline Performance set him up for success as the first race of the season rolled around.
At the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines in March at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida, Boyle qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.64 on a 12.30 in Micro Strategies Stock. He had a solo pass in the first round, before blasting through four more rounds and beelining to the NMCA Winner’s Circle with an 11.50 over George Cox.
“By the time race day arrived, I had a car that was consistent and somewhat drivable,” said Boyle. I continued to tweak, tune, adjust shift points and suspension, and I worked hard at the practice tree.”
Focused on another final round finish, Boyle traveled to the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. He qualified in the eleventh spot with an 11.53 on a 12.30, and won the first round with an 11.51 on an 11.48. He proceeded to win the second round with an 11.55 on an 11.53, and had a solo pass in the third round. He exited eliminations in the fourth round after a breakout pass.
“In making the switch to fuel injection, turning off the tuner thought process and turning on the driver brain on race day took a lot of effort and discipline,” said Boyle. “Overall, Nick McGrath, Cal Hartline, Robin Lawrence and Scott Williams were very patient with my questions and zeal to think like a carburetor and tune with EFI.”
The NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois was next on the series’ schedule, and Boyle belted in to qualify in the fifteenth spot with an 11.57 on a 12.30. He won the first round with a dead-on 11.61 and the second round with an 11.64 on an 11.63. He lost in the third round with an 11.67 on 11.63, but he still left the event as a victor as he won the very special Testo Super Bowl Shootout against Dave Swanson.
“Darren Poole-Adams shook my hand in St. Louis and suggested that my car’s performance and my driving were setting the course for a championship in 2023,” said Boyle. “Prior to that day, another championship ring was not on my radar.”
The Great Lakes State was home to the TorqStorm NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. At that event, Boyle qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.63 on a 12.30, won the first round with a 11.64 on 11.62 and won the second round with an 11.62 on an 11.58. He then motored down track on a solo pass in the third round but turned on the red light in the fourth round.
Getting closer to the finish line for the year, Boyle pulled into the 2nd Annual Mickey Thompson NMCA All-American Nationals presented by Sick the Mag in August at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, hoping to pick up some valuable points. He qualified in the twenty-ninth spot with an 11.71 on a 12.30 and won the first round, a double breakout, with an .012 reaction time and an 11.75 on an 11.76. That helped, however he exited eliminations in the second round after seeing red on the tree.
Boyle wrapped up the race season at the 22nd Annual NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance in September at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana. He qualified in the fifteenth spot with an 11.60 on a 12.30, and lost in the first round with an 11.66 on an 11.61. While he wanted to get deeper into the rounds at that event, he walked away as the 2023 NMCA Micro Strategies Stock champion.
“This one is special,” said Boyle. “I would like to thank my wife, Mary, for her support of this life-long racing effort that often causes schedule challenges that we seemed to be able to work through. I would also like to thank Steve Wolcott, Rollie Miller, Mike Washington and the rest of the NMCA staff for a professionally run national event format to participate in, as well as Anthony at Micro Strategies for his commitment to NMCA Stock and Super Stock, Jim Bailey for his efforts to keep us on track, informed and enjoying the purity of stock eliminator racing, Troy Tomschek and Dave Howard at Troy’s High Performance, Nick McGrath and Kevin Stevens at Straightline Performance, Cal Hartline at Hartline Performance, Holley for a user-friendly EFI ECU with endless options, Mickey Thompson, ATI, Foggit, Winner Circle Speed and Custom, Don Higgins at Crew Chief Pro and This Is Bracket Racing Elite Community for driver focus and preparation, Rick and Ricky, and but last not least, our at-track support infra-structure of Jerry, Terri, Don, Pat, Jeff and Shawn.”
The NMCA looks forward to celebrating Boyle and his fellow racers at the Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals Awards, held during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Dec. 8, 2023, at the Indiana Convention Center, and in the upcoming Champions Issue of Fastest Street Car.