Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA Staff
David Fallon Jr. experienced his share of highs and lows on his way to the 2022 NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street championship.
Beating some of the best competitors in the country was among the highs, and brake failure that beelined his car into the sand trap at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois was absolutely among the lows.
While Fallon Jr. was able to return to racing in his Camaro powered by a 632 cubic-inch engine built by Pat Musi Racing Engines, a SpeedTech nitrous system and a Turbo 400 by M&M Transmission, he took care of repairs and restoration over winter.
“The fiberglass front end of my car buckled when it went into the sand trap, and we popped it back into form so that we could race the rest of the season, but it had cracks and voids that needed our attention,” said Fallon Jr. “Over winter, Phil Smallwood of Phil’s Custom Paint took care of all of the body work using fiberglass and carbon fiber resin, and that included work on the top of the car, after the top of the car was damaged during transport. He painted the front end of the car, and Bill Reno of Reno’s Collision let us use his shop in Sterling, Michigan, for that.”
Between races in June, Fallon Jr. plans to replace the repaired fiberglass front end with a new one he purchased from Hairy Glass in Florida.
“The new fiberglass front end, which my father and I drove from Michigan to Florida to pick up, just needs a little work to fit on my car, and to be painted,” said Fallon Jr.
Also over winter, Fallon Jr. replaced the previous rear end under his car with a new 10-inch fabricated one by Marty Merillat of Merillat Racing.
“We had been overpowering the rear end, so we bent it, and it was cracked to the four-link bracket,” said Fallon Jr. “That affected the rolling resistance of the car.”
Meanwhile, Pat Musi freshened Fallon Jr.’s engine, SpeedTech replumbed his Pat Musi-built intake and installed bigger nozzles and solenoids. Cameron Johnson of Cameron Johnson Race Cars made a new holder for a 15-pound bottle of nitrous for Fallon Jr., whose car is rolling on a fancy new set of Race Star wheels.
“Pat freshened the engine like he usually does, but he also decided to square up our CN block made of billet aluminum to make sure the bores were square and true, and to make it seal up tightly,” said Fallon Jr., who is also the defending Outlaw 632 champion at Milan Dragway in Michigan.
When all of the work was done, Fallon Jr. left Michigan, which had recently experienced a severe ice storm that knocked out power in many areas of the state, and headed to the first NMCA race of 2023, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines, which was March 17-19, 2023 at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida. He set the pace in qualifying with a 4.23, defeated Kyle Salminen in the final round of eliminations with a 4.28 and left the race holding the ET and speed records with a 4.235 and 170.60 mph.
“It was good to be back in the car after a long winter,” said Fallon Jr., who appreciates help from his Pro Hose Connections business partner and NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod racer Jackie Slone, his father, David Fallon Sr., wife, Maggie Fallon, daughter, Ryleigh Fallon, Pat Musi, Mark Micke, Justin Carey and Keith Scharp. “Jackie, who was tuning, and I felt like we had the car to beat. We set a goal, and worked toward that goal. The weather going from 80s to 50s during race weekend made things more challenging, but I attribute the good results to the upgrades we made over winter, the rolling resistance changes in the rear of the car and the track conditions at Orlando Speed World Dragway.”
With his success in the Sunshine State, Fallon Jr. is currently leading points in NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street, with the next race, the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport, set for April 14-16, 2023 at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.
Photos by NMCA Staff
David Fallon Jr. experienced his share of highs and lows on his way to the 2022 NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street championship.
Beating some of the best competitors in the country was among the highs, and brake failure that beelined his car into the sand trap at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois was absolutely among the lows.
While Fallon Jr. was able to return to racing in his Camaro powered by a 632 cubic-inch engine built by Pat Musi Racing Engines, a SpeedTech nitrous system and a Turbo 400 by M&M Transmission, he took care of repairs and restoration over winter.
“The fiberglass front end of my car buckled when it went into the sand trap, and we popped it back into form so that we could race the rest of the season, but it had cracks and voids that needed our attention,” said Fallon Jr. “Over winter, Phil Smallwood of Phil’s Custom Paint took care of all of the body work using fiberglass and carbon fiber resin, and that included work on the top of the car, after the top of the car was damaged during transport. He painted the front end of the car, and Bill Reno of Reno’s Collision let us use his shop in Sterling, Michigan, for that.”
Between races in June, Fallon Jr. plans to replace the repaired fiberglass front end with a new one he purchased from Hairy Glass in Florida.
“The new fiberglass front end, which my father and I drove from Michigan to Florida to pick up, just needs a little work to fit on my car, and to be painted,” said Fallon Jr.
Also over winter, Fallon Jr. replaced the previous rear end under his car with a new 10-inch fabricated one by Marty Merillat of Merillat Racing.
“We had been overpowering the rear end, so we bent it, and it was cracked to the four-link bracket,” said Fallon Jr. “That affected the rolling resistance of the car.”
Meanwhile, Pat Musi freshened Fallon Jr.’s engine, SpeedTech replumbed his Pat Musi-built intake and installed bigger nozzles and solenoids. Cameron Johnson of Cameron Johnson Race Cars made a new holder for a 15-pound bottle of nitrous for Fallon Jr., whose car is rolling on a fancy new set of Race Star wheels.
“Pat freshened the engine like he usually does, but he also decided to square up our CN block made of billet aluminum to make sure the bores were square and true, and to make it seal up tightly,” said Fallon Jr., who is also the defending Outlaw 632 champion at Milan Dragway in Michigan.
When all of the work was done, Fallon Jr. left Michigan, which had recently experienced a severe ice storm that knocked out power in many areas of the state, and headed to the first NMCA race of 2023, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines, which was March 17-19, 2023 at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida. He set the pace in qualifying with a 4.23, defeated Kyle Salminen in the final round of eliminations with a 4.28 and left the race holding the ET and speed records with a 4.235 and 170.60 mph.
“It was good to be back in the car after a long winter,” said Fallon Jr., who appreciates help from his Pro Hose Connections business partner and NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod racer Jackie Slone, his father, David Fallon Sr., wife, Maggie Fallon, daughter, Ryleigh Fallon, Pat Musi, Mark Micke, Justin Carey and Keith Scharp. “Jackie, who was tuning, and I felt like we had the car to beat. We set a goal, and worked toward that goal. The weather going from 80s to 50s during race weekend made things more challenging, but I attribute the good results to the upgrades we made over winter, the rolling resistance changes in the rear of the car and the track conditions at Orlando Speed World Dragway.”
With his success in the Sunshine State, Fallon Jr. is currently leading points in NMCA ARP Nitrous Pro Street, with the next race, the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport, set for April 14-16, 2023 at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.