By Mary Lendzion
After showcasing his skills in Ultra Street and Nitrous X in his Mustang, Shawn Pevlor was invited to climb into Tony Bischoff's Mustang to compete in NMCA Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw this year.
With no seat time in the car formerly driven by Nick Bacalis, he headed to the 17th Annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem in March at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, where he wheeled to a 4.47 to qualify in the third spot and a 4.48 to runner-up against James Lawrence.
It was proof that the Ohioan was going to be on point in the car wearing fresh paint by Chris Alexander of Plated and featuring a nitrous-sipping 700 cubic-inch Cadillac engine with Ross pistons and cast heads and intake built by Tony Bischoff of BES Racing Engines, fuel from VP Racing Fuels, an RPM Transmissions-built Turbo 400, Menscer Motorsports-massaged shocks and struts and Mickey Thompson drag radials.
He went on to a 4.39 to qualify in the third spot and made it all the way to the semifinal before exiting with a 4.44 against Vinnie Palazzolo at the 11th Annual Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Mahle Motorsport in April at Atlanta Dragway, and a 4.40 against Mike Cerminaro to earn his first trip to the Aerospace Components Winner's Circle at the Inaugural Comp Cams NMCA Memphis Homecoming in May at Memphis International Raceway.
From there, Pevlor posted a lifting 7.91 to runner-up against Shane Fisher at the 14th Annual Nitto NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing in July at Route 66 Raceway in Illinois, followed by a 4.35 to lead qualifying and a 4.69 to runner-up against Rob Goss at the 18th Annual NMCA All-American Nationals in August at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio.
Not wavering and not willing to go down without a fight, he headed to the final event on this year's NMCA tour, the 18th Annual NMCA World Street Finals in September at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana, where he set the pace with a 4.33, soared to a 4.55 against Rob Goss to runner-up and secured the 2019 NMCA Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw championship.
The car felt a little different than what I was used to at first, but it was good, said Pevlor, who, in addition to Bischoff, is supported at the races by Jason Waterman, Preston Mosher, John O Neil and Jimmy Harris, as well as Kevin Neal, who offers input on nitrous. We worked hard to get the tune-up and the chassis right during qualifying all year long, and the highlight was definitely winning the championship, especially because it's a very competitive class. I want to thank Tony Bischoff for letting me drive his car, and also NRL, Holley EFI, Nitrous Express, Ultimate Converter Concepts and Bradco Engineering.
Pevlor and his accomplishments will be celebrated at the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals presented by E3 Spark Plugs Awards Ceremony presented by Aerospace Components, Dec. 13 at the Indiana Convention Center.
(Watch for stories on all NMCA champions to be posted on the NMCA and Race Pages Digital websites and in Fastest Street Car in the days to come.)
From there, Pevlor posted a lifting 7.91 to runner-up against Shane Fisher at the 14th Annual Nitto NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing in July at Route 66 Raceway in Illinois, followed by a 4.35 to lead qualifying and a 4.69 to runner-up against Rob Goss at the 18th Annual NMCA All-American Nationals in August at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio.
Not wavering and not willing to go down without a fight, he headed to the final event on this year's NMCA tour, the 18th Annual NMCA World Street Finals in September at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana, where he set the pace with a 4.33, soared to a 4.55 against Rob Goss to runner-up and secured the 2019 NMCA Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw championship.
The car felt a little different than what I was used to at first, but it was good, said Pevlor, who, in addition to Bischoff, is supported at the races by Jason Waterman, Preston Mosher, John O Neil and Jimmy Harris, as well as Kevin Neal, who offers input on nitrous. We worked hard to get the tune-up and the chassis right during qualifying all year long, and the highlight was definitely winning the championship, especially because it's a very competitive class. I want to thank Tony Bischoff for letting me drive his car, and also NRL, Holley EFI, Nitrous Express, Ultimate Converter Concepts and Bradco Engineering.
Pevlor and his accomplishments will be celebrated at the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals presented by E3 Spark Plugs Awards Ceremony presented by Aerospace Components, Dec. 13 at the Indiana Convention Center.
(Watch for stories on all NMCA champions to be posted on the NMCA and Race Pages Digital websites and in Fastest Street Car in the days to come.)