The action heats up at Bradenton Motorsports Park today, as test runs transition into qualifying for the heads-up and index classes at the 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem Presented by Holbrook Racing Engines.
Additionally, the popular street-car classes like the Dodge // Mopar Hemi Shootout and the TorqStorm Superchargers True Street class, the Sick the Magazine Drag & Drive Invitational will all make test hits today.
Keep an eye on this page and our social media for updates throughout the day.
Qualifying is now underway. To check out qualifying results as we receive them, click QUALIFYING RESULTS
This is the schedule for today’s action at the 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem Presented by Holbrook Racing Engines.
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Piloting the 1969 Chevy Nova originally built for his daughter, Nicole, to drive in Hot Rod Drag Week action, Steven Wardlow is hoping to run in the high-4.60 range this weekend in Edelbrock Xtreme Street. His ride is powered by a PKRE Racing nitrous-injected 582 big-block back by a two-speed TH400 auto.
It’s never too early to hit the Power Mall and pick up some series swag or event gear, including the limited event T-shirts for the 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem Presented by Holbrook Racing Engines.
Back in action in TorqStorm Superchargers True Street is co-founder of TorqStorm Superchargers, Scott Oshinski. This year his 1972 Olds Cutlass sports a new 540 cubic-inch Chevrolet constructed by Dave Olin under its hood. Boosted by TorqStorm Superchargers twin supercharger kit, the carbureted engine now benefits from a Holley Dominator system for coil-on-plug control that could facilitate a swap to EFI in the future. Even detuned with only 14 psi, it still makes 100 more horsepower than the previous combo, and pre-race testing has it running well enough to put a smile on Oshinski’s face.
Two weeks ago Dennis Fahey, a.k.a. Foxbody Dennis, put his Coyote-swapped Indy Pace Car pony on display during the NMRA season opener while his wife competed in the HP Tuners Super Stang class. This weekend during NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem he is competing in the TorqStorm Superchargers True Street class. The car went on a 160-pound diet since last year courtesy of racing seats and a rear-seat delete. The car now runs a lightweight damper and burns E85, and he is eyeing a supercharger upgrade in the future.
With history racing in Edelbrock Xtreme Street, Lou Iacopetti is racing his street car in TorqStorm Superchargers True Street. Sporting a fresh Holley Dominator EFI system onboard, GN cranks out more than 1,100 horsepower on just 12 pounds of boost from its turbocharged V8. After running his best elapsed time of 9.20 at 140 mph, he was adjusting the valves for his solid-roller cam setup in preparation for more laps today.
Smokies Garage is a Canada-based shop that turns out custom muscle car and motorcycle builds, and they also find time to do a good bit of drag racing. Mike Clark of Smokies Garage is running his Hemi Challenger in the Dodge//Mopar HEMI Shootout and TorqStorm Superchargers true Street classes this weekend, and Scott Wildgust is piloting the team’s 2015 JBRC-built Ford Mustang, which is powered by a DMPE Screw-blown Noonan Race Engineering Hemi. The Xtreme Pro Mod entry has previously run as quick as 3.63 at 208 mph, and Wildgust collected a 3.66 and a 3.67 in testing on Thursday.
While there was no green beer to be found, there were plenty of spirits and camaraderie happening at the Weldon High Performance Racer Appreciation Party Thursday evening.
The 2021 NMCA season opener wasn’t exactly kind to veteran racer Don Baskin, as he had racing incidents with both of his race cars that brought an early end to his racing weekend, and subsequently, the season. Baskin marks his NMCA return this weekend and things are off to a so-so start. His Chevy Cobalt made clean hits on Thursday, but his brand new Chevrolet Performance Stock entry did not fare as well. The 1966 Chevy Nova sedan ran a 27-inch-tall tire and a pair of wheelie bars in previous testing, but for Thurday’s test session, Baskin removed the wheelie bars and switched to a 26-inch tire to improve the engine rpm through the traps. On his first hit, the car stood up nearly on the bumper and slammed back down to earth, taking out the transmission in the process. Certainly not the start Baskin would have wanted for his new CPS entry, but the Nova was successful during it’s previous life in the LS NA category, and we’re sure Baskin will make repairs for the next race in Rockingham, North Carolina.
With a fresh hood on his classic Camaro, TorqStorm Superchargers co-founder Chris Brooker also added a fresh camshaft in the offseason with the intent of expanding his engine’s rev-range. The new bumpstick yielded impressive power gains on the dyno, and like everything in his 388-cube combination, it is designed to optimize the single-TorqStorm Supercharger delivering boost. He also added a new torque converter and is still adjusting to the combo, but he ran an 8.6-second elapsed time in testing and plans to dial in at 8.75 for LME Street King presented by Chevrolet Performance competition this weekend.
Henry George Jr. has fond memories of his dad’s 1969 Dodge Super Bee, and he has a replica of it that NMCA fans are seeing for the first time this weekend as he’s making his MagnaFuel Open Comp debut. With a 440 cubic-inch Wedge engine under the hood of the car, George Jr. has run 9.20s, but said he’ll likely clock 9.50s in the heat this weekend. He added that while he’s at it, he may also race in Race Pages Digital Bracket while continuing to work as a crew member for VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod racer Derek Ward. “I’ve got a lot of energy, and I’m not good at sitting still,” said George Jr.
Chett LeVay of Tarpon Springs, Florida is racing his eye-catching and enviable 2014 Camaro ZL1 in the Proform Rumble 10.25 index at the NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines this weekend at Bradenton Motorsports Park. The super-clean car is powered by a 6.2L engine and a supercharger, and LeVay loves to row through the gears of his manual transmission. “I really like the NMCA environment, and the fact that the racers come from all over the country,” said LeVay, who lives in Tarpon Spring, Florida and also races regularly at Bradenton Motorsports Park and Orlando Speed World. "I'm having fun this weekend."
Cameron Bowles is playing catch-up on his new combination in Dart NA 10.5. Having just received his new 415-cube engine two weeks ago, he experienced issues on the dyno, so he doesn’t know how much power it makes. He is, however, certain it is producing more power because the existing torque converter is now too loose. He hopes to update to a more compatible converter after his race.
Bill Trovato is starting with a clean slate under the hood of his Edelbrock Xtreme Street Camaro. He swapped out the old 440-cube LS engine in favor of a new 465-cube powerplant. Compelled to update his nitrous-injected combo to remain competitive, he says the early returns are promising. He is sneaking up on the launch tune-up, but once the car is moving, it is on pace to run as well or better than the previous combo’s quickest times.
A regular in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars competition, Doug Hamp decided he needed a bit more action between rounds, so he picked up a bigger trailer brought out a second car. His regular ride is a 2020 COPO Camaro and he is running the same combo as last season but expects delivery of a new Ray Barton engine shortly. His other ride is a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner with a 440 Six Pack under the hood. It runs high 11s in Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle, and Hamp says it is a Sunday driver compared with the jet-car experience of piloting the COPO.
After enduring a wet weekend at Gainesville a week ago, Bill Skillman’s Cobra Jet is cleaned up and ready to run in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars. The only real update to the combination this year is the addition of ignition coilpacks from MSD. The team will be adapting to the rev limiter requirement in the class, which might necessitate a gear change as the action heats up in the 2022 NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem Presented by Holbrook Racing Engines.
Matt Salminen had to tear into his Nelson Competition powerplant due to some valvetrain issues in testing yesterday. NCE was on hand to assist today as the team got to work making the necessary repairs to get Kyle Salminen back in the driver’s seat of the 1969 Camaro for ARP Nitrous Pro Street competition this weekend.
If you’re in need of a snack, check out Baja Jerky, the preferred snack of the NMCA content team.
Dart NA 10.5 driver Joe Clemente opted to swap out his latest Martino Race Engines small-block Chevy for his previous engine as he felt the new cam and valvetrain didn’t agree with each other. Though it was the first time they were able to use the stacker trailer lift gate to pull the engine out, it was seemingly an easy swap for the team.
New to the NMCA and the Nitrous Pro Street category is Kenny Floid and his recently purchased, Rick Jones Race Cars-built 2004 Ford Focus ZX2. Floid and crew chief Johnny Pluchino had a John Kaase-built Ford 632 they previously ran in another car and dropped that in along with a Liberty five speed transmission. It’s the first time out with the car and its naturally aspirated combination, and with driver Alan Drinkwater behind the wheel, the team is working on the 60-ft time and then plans to take it further down track as qualifying continues.
Michael Tagg has been interested in Ford muscle cars for as long as he can remember, and inspired by the 1967 Fairlane that his brother, Terry, raced in NHRA Super Stock, he purchased his own 1967 Fairlane. Tagg, who has been competing in NMCA for more than 15 years, pilots the incredibly cool car in Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle and Bracket Open, and it propels him to high 9s and low 10s with an all-aluminum 427 cubic-inch Ford by Fillmore Machine in Naples backed by a Jerico four-speed transmission.
Steve Griswold is always a threat in LME Street King, and making sure of that is his engine builder, Richard Brannen of Brannen's Auto Works. Because Griswold’s 388 cubic-inch LS engine and ProCharger F-2 have been working so well the past several years, they didn’t want to make extensive changes to the combination for this year, so Brannen just took a peek at the engine, installed new spark plugs and changed the oil. Griswold, who recorded a pair of 8.71s in testing and an 8.92 in the first round of qualifying, is planning to dial in for the category’s 8.75 index.
Brenda Blair had a tremendous third-place finish in the very tough Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle category last year, and she’s now sporting the number 3 on the windows of her very clean Caprice with a small-block Chevrolet under its hood. The Tennessean, who works on the engine with her husband, Kevin Blair, said they didn’t make any major changes to it in the off-season, and it looks like that’s a good thing, as she stopped the clocks at 11.76 on an 11.75 to qualify in the second spot out of twenty-one racers today. “I hope we can continue to improve and do well, and maybe earn a championship one day, but that will be a challenge because everyone in this category is tough,” said Blair. “I’m just going to do the best I can and feel good about it.”