Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA Staff
When Amy Faulk puts her mind to something, she focuses and follows through.
She strives and shoots for the moon, and as a result, she has seen a lot of success in the past 40-plus years. Among her accomplishments are an NHRA Super Stock championship in 1979 and an NHRA Division 2 Hall of Fame entry.
For the past several years, the Tennessean has been racing in NMCA Micro Strategies Super Stock, and she has been quite competitive.
After taking part in the first two NMCA races of 2023, she was holding onto the tenth-place in points in the category when she arrived at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing, which was May 5-7 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. She wanted, more than anything, to wheel to the winner’s circle, but she was still dialing in some changes that she and her husband, Kenny, made for her LS-powered Firebird a few months prior.
Those changes included a new Coan transmission, Coan converter and Coan shifter, which the Faulks chose with the hope of picking up a little power while remaining consistent. Additionally, Faulk also went from foot-braking her car to trans-braking, a significant move after years performing the same routine race after race.
.jpg)
“Setting the transbrake and leaving with the accelerator to the floor took some getting used to,” said Faulk. “The sound of the engine wasn’t the same as before, but now, it’s all sounding and feeling normal.”
Faulk, who has said that she embraces change even though it can be challenging, was admirably acclimating, as she qualified in the sixth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.44 on a 10.45 at the event at World Wide Technology Raceway.
“With the weather changing from day to day, we were still able to adjust to the conditions, and that kept the car very competitive,” said Faulk.
She went on to win the first round of eliminations with a 9.49 on a 9.49, followed by the second and semifinal rounds of eliminations with .00 reaction times and a 9.58 on a 9.55 and 9.54 on a 9.49. With that, she headed to the final round of eliminations, where she took the event win over Brody Daughterty with a 9.57 on a 9.55, while yanking the front tires off the ground, as she usually does.
“Each round of eliminations was close,” said Faulk. “Kenny always has my car perfect and consistent, and all I have to worry about is doing everything right and not giving the round win. It sounds easy but, but it is not. Every round of racing, you are facing a competitor and car that can put you on the trailer in the blink of an eye, and you can lose a race in so many ways, from late reaction times and red lights to breaking out or not running your dial. You must block all that out of your mind and believe in yourself.”
Faulk’s winner’s circle celebration at World Wide Technology Raceway was memorable, and very likely added more fuel to her fire.
“Driving back from the race, it was super cool knowing that trophy was going on the shelf, and that now I have earned NHRA, IHRA and NMCA wins,” said Faulk. “It’s so humbling to have the racing community and friends congratulate me on the win and driving job.”
Photos by NMCA Staff
When Amy Faulk puts her mind to something, she focuses and follows through.
She strives and shoots for the moon, and as a result, she has seen a lot of success in the past 40-plus years. Among her accomplishments are an NHRA Super Stock championship in 1979 and an NHRA Division 2 Hall of Fame entry.
For the past several years, the Tennessean has been racing in NMCA Micro Strategies Super Stock, and she has been quite competitive.
After taking part in the first two NMCA races of 2023, she was holding onto the tenth-place in points in the category when she arrived at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing, which was May 5-7 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. She wanted, more than anything, to wheel to the winner’s circle, but she was still dialing in some changes that she and her husband, Kenny, made for her LS-powered Firebird a few months prior.
Those changes included a new Coan transmission, Coan converter and Coan shifter, which the Faulks chose with the hope of picking up a little power while remaining consistent. Additionally, Faulk also went from foot-braking her car to trans-braking, a significant move after years performing the same routine race after race.
“Setting the transbrake and leaving with the accelerator to the floor took some getting used to,” said Faulk. “The sound of the engine wasn’t the same as before, but now, it’s all sounding and feeling normal.”
Faulk, who has said that she embraces change even though it can be challenging, was admirably acclimating, as she qualified in the sixth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.44 on a 10.45 at the event at World Wide Technology Raceway.
“With the weather changing from day to day, we were still able to adjust to the conditions, and that kept the car very competitive,” said Faulk.
She went on to win the first round of eliminations with a 9.49 on a 9.49, followed by the second and semifinal rounds of eliminations with .00 reaction times and a 9.58 on a 9.55 and 9.54 on a 9.49. With that, she headed to the final round of eliminations, where she took the event win over Brody Daughterty with a 9.57 on a 9.55, while yanking the front tires off the ground, as she usually does.
“Each round of eliminations was close,” said Faulk. “Kenny always has my car perfect and consistent, and all I have to worry about is doing everything right and not giving the round win. It sounds easy but, but it is not. Every round of racing, you are facing a competitor and car that can put you on the trailer in the blink of an eye, and you can lose a race in so many ways, from late reaction times and red lights to breaking out or not running your dial. You must block all that out of your mind and believe in yourself.”
Faulk’s winner’s circle celebration at World Wide Technology Raceway was memorable, and very likely added more fuel to her fire.
“Driving back from the race, it was super cool knowing that trophy was going on the shelf, and that now I have earned NHRA, IHRA and NMCA wins,” said Faulk. “It’s so humbling to have the racing community and friends congratulate me on the win and driving job.”