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Gustafson Gives Driver's Seat to Lee for NMCA Norwalk

Posted By: Mike Galimi
While NMCA Wiseco Street Outlaw driver Eric Gustafson won't be in the driver's seat of his fast and famous '89 Mustang at the 15th Annual NMCA World Street Finals, Aug. 26-28, 2016, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, Jason Lee will. Gustafson, who earned the class championship in 2015, invited Lee, a multi-time champion who tunes Gustafson's car with PTP Racing business partner Patrick Barnhill, to compete in the car when he discovered that the race conflicted with a good friend's bachelor's party back home in Manhattan Beach, California. It's hard not being able to be in my own race car, but while I'm having fun back home, I know the guys will be having fun with my car at the race track, said Gustafson, who also has been taking part in Outlaw Radial, Limited Drag Radial and Pro 275 races across the country this year. We haven't been teasing each other yet, but you know us. The teasing could start depending on what the car runs with Jason driving. Of course, if he wins, we'll never hear the end of it. Gustafson's Mustang, which is wearing a new Schoneck Composites carbon fiber front end, has been averaging low 4.20s and 176 mph in the eighth-mile, and has even dipped into the 4.teens. Its cutthroat combination consists of a 458 LSX engine built by Kurt Urban, freshened by Jason Pettis and topped with All Pro 12-5 heads. It's been fronted by various ProCharger blowers, from an F1X-12 to an F-3R-136, and featured the F3A-121 when the car dipped into the teens while rolling on 275 drag radials. A two speed Turbo 400 by M&M Transmission and a Neal Chance converter help put all of the power down. There hasn't been anyone close to the 4.teens that we ran with the F3A-121 on radials, said Gustafson. We've been trying to run the car out of its comfort zone and push the small-block power combination to see what we could accomplish, and we've done fairly well. Eric 500 Meanwhile, Chris Acors is wrapping up chassis work on a Mustang coupe which Gustafson plans to debut in NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars and other series. It will be motivated by a BAE 8 Hemi and a ProCharger blower. With Gustafson on his quest to go head-to-head with turbo cars are crew members Cameron Hensley, John Urgo, Patrick Barnhill and Jason Lee.

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