If you are looking for automotive action, Rockingham Dragway is the place to be this weekend as the Top of the Rock Thrill Festival Presented by Innovation Performance Technologies joins the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance today.
In addition to the championship drag racing and street car classes, today’s Thrill Festival adds BMX Xtreme Stunt Shows; No Prep and YouTube Celebrities; TV personality/DJ Clarence Barnes, a Fan Experience, a Manufacturer’s Midway, and a special Mustang Day celebration with car show classes and a dedicated Circle D Specialties True Street class just for Mustangs. The first 500 Mustang Day participants will score a collectible goody bag as they get the jump on the Mustang’s 60th Birthday next week.
On the drag strip, Dawn Perdue and Larry Aldrich clash in their jet dragsters in an attempt to break the North Carolina land speed record. There may be some records set as NMCA racers across the heads-up and index classes jockey for position in qualifying and move into eliminations. Meanwhile, Circle D Specialties True Street classes send their victors across a range of elapsed time categories to the Winner’s Circle.
Keep your eye on this page and our social channels throughout the day for highlights.
The quality of cars and racers in Micro Strategies Stock Eliminator here at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Perfomance is off the charts. Every car in the class is top notch, reminding us of days gone by in the performance industry. Dell Britt runs this 1970 Nova in Stock Eliminator with an F/SA designation. Running a 350-based engine with a 200 Metric transmission and a stout 5.13 gear within a 12-bolt rear. Britt has owned the car for 23 years, and it was previously a bracket car before he converted it to Stock Eliminator. Britt runs a 30x9 Hoosier with Wilwood brakes out back and Aerospace stoppers up front.
During the off-season leading up to the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance, Dart N/A 10.5 racer Dwight Ausmus made the switch from an automatic to a Liberty five-speed with a Ram dual 8-inch clutch with a Boninfante disc. A couple fellow Pontiac racers Jack Gaydosh and John Langer have been helping him get comfortable with the stick, but he also has several notes taped to the dash to help remind him of the process. He trusted Matukas Motorsports to do the chassis work necessary to make the swap, and unfortunately, the Pontiac Firebird had to lose its console in the process, which had Ausmus pretty bummed. So far, the change shows promise with a 7.72 at 169 mph to land him in the second qualifying spot. Ausmus relayed the biggest change was just learning the burnout and launch procedure of the car, and how to hone in on reaction times. He bought a practice tree and rigged up a clutch pedal to replicate launching the car, and he logged a lot of minutes on the tree leading up to the All-Star Nationals to help get himself ready for competition.
Jeff Morgan owns Morgan’s Cars, a dealership in Lumberton, North Carolina. He brought this 70 Buick GS 455 convertible with him to put it in the car show here at the NMRA NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance. A little over 1,000 1970 Buick GS 455 convertibles were built, so this is a rare one. Wearing its original color, the Buick was treated to a rotisserie restoration prior to Morgan getting it. Behind the 455 is a turbo 400 automatic with a 12-bolt rear out back.
Raymond Bleau’s 1971 Camaro was originally exported and sold in Canada. However, even after traveling that far, the car still only has 73,000 miles on its original engine, transmission and rear axle. The original small block has a 1969 Corvette 4-barrel intake with a Rochester carburetor, long-tube headers and a Pypes exhaust with Violator mufflers. The Camaro benefits from CPP suspension upgrades, along with Viking double-adjustable coilover shocks. To help bring the car to a halt, SSBC brakes were chosen to improve braking performance. One of the rare aspects of the car is that it is a console-delete with a Hurst shifter.
Out but not down! The engine in Adam Moldenhauer’s 1994 Ford Mustang finally gave up the ghost during Friday’s qualifying session. The MagnaFuel Open Comp driver wasn’t too upset, though, as he’s been running the engine for more than a decade without even so much as a freshen up. Rather than shutter the Stang in his trailer, Moldenhauer proudly put his SN95 on display at the UPR Products booth in the vendor midway instead to showcase the company's extensive supply of suspension and performance parts.
>> QUALIFYING RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE <<
In addition to turning heads with its striking RC Components wheels, Rick Ball’s trick Mustang Cobra is also turning heads and confounding fans this weekend with its unconventional engine swap. No, it’s not a Coyote – it’s a *drumroll please* 365 cubic inch Gen III Hemi on alcohol! The engine, built by TKM Performance, was coerced into the Tin Soldier Racecars chassis by multi-time NMRA/NMCA champion Jessie Coulter at Jessie’s Garage. A single 76mm turbocharger provides plenty of boost to the Mopar powerplant and an RPM Transmissions Turbo 400 transfers horsepower and torques straight to the ground. Ball “hasn’t driven anything fast since the early ‘80s,” so Coulter is shaking down the car this weekend in NMCA Edelbrock Performance Xtreme Street/NMRA VP Racing Fuels Lubricants Renegade while Ball will hop in once he has polished up his wheelman skills.
The quality of cars and racers in Micro Strategies Stock Eliminator here at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Perfomance is off the charts. Every car in the class is top notch, reminding us of days gone by in the performance industry. Dell Britt runs this 1970 Nova in Stock Eliminator with an F/SA designation. Running a 350-based engine with a 200 Metric transmission and a stout 5.13 gear within a 12-bolt rear. Britt has owned the car for 23 years, and it was previously a bracket car before he converted it to Stock Eliminator. Britt runs a 30x9 Hoosier with Wilwood brakes out back and Aerospace stoppers up front.
During the off-season leading up to the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance, Dart N/A 10.5 racer Dwight Ausmus made the switch from an automatic to a Liberty five-speed with a Ram dual 8-inch clutch with a Boninfante disc. A couple fellow Pontiac racers Jack Gaydosh and John Langer have been helping him get comfortable with the stick, but he also has several notes taped to the dash to help remind him of the process. He trusted Matukas Motorsports to do the chassis work necessary to make the swap, and unfortunately, the Pontiac Firebird had to lose its console in the process, which had Ausmus pretty bummed. So far, the change shows promise with a 7.72 at 169 mph to land him in the second qualifying spot. Ausmus relayed the biggest change was just learning the burnout and launch procedure of the car, and how to hone in on reaction times. He bought a practice tree and rigged up a clutch pedal to replicate launching the car, and he logged a lot of minutes on the tree leading up to the All-Star Nationals to help get himself ready for competition.
Jeff Morgan owns Morgan’s Cars, a dealership in Lumberton, North Carolina. He brought this 70 Buick GS 455 convertible with him to put it in the car show here at the NMRA NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance. A little over 1,000 1970 Buick GS 455 convertibles were built, so this is a rare one. Wearing its original color, the Buick was treated to a rotisserie restoration prior to Morgan getting it. Behind the 455 is a turbo 400 automatic with a 12-bolt rear out back.
Raymond Bleau’s 1971 Camaro was originally exported and sold in Canada. However, even after traveling that far, the car still only has 73,000 miles on its original engine, transmission and rear axle. The original small block has a 1969 Corvette 4-barrel intake with a Rochester carburetor, long-tube headers and a Pypes exhaust with Violator mufflers. The Camaro benefits from CPP suspension upgrades, along with Viking double-adjustable coilover shocks. To help bring the car to a halt, SSBC brakes were chosen to improve braking performance. One of the rare aspects of the car is that it is a console-delete with a Hurst shifter.
Out but not down! The engine in Adam Moldenhauer’s 1994 Ford Mustang finally gave up the ghost during Friday’s qualifying session. The MagnaFuel Open Comp driver wasn’t too upset, though, as he’s been running the engine for more than a decade without even so much as a freshen up. Rather than shutter the Stang in his trailer, Moldenhauer proudly put his SN95 on display at the UPR Products booth in the vendor midway instead to showcase the company's extensive supply of suspension and performance parts.
With a huge race car turnout, Mustang Day 60th anniversary celebration, and much more, the Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals series continues its winning streak in 2024 with one of the largest events in series history at Rockingham Dragway with the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance and Top of the Rock Thrill Festival Presented by Innovation Performance Technologies.
The huge NMRA and NMCA car show is in full swing at the Top of the Rock! From fast Fords to modern Mopars and everything in between, there’s something for everyone and the added festivities surrounding the 60th Anniversary of Mustang Day means there are even more Blue Oval beauties than usual on the property to peruse.
If your clothes need an upgrade, head on over to the Power Mall on the vendor midway and pick up some new NMRA and NMCA gear… just beware of photobombers while you take your new jacket for a test drive. ;)
At just 17 years old, Ben Mastalier has his hands full helping out with not one but two impressive drag cars. The Michigan-based high school student is responsible for keeping David Theisen’s Dart Machinery NA 10.5 Pontiac Firebird and Lenny Grawburg’s ARP Nitrous Pro Street Chevrolet Camaro in top shape. Mastalier attended his first race with his father when he was around the age of ten, and hopes one day to slip into the driver’s seat of his own drag car.
When Mike DiDomenico (left) sold his 1968 Camaro, he needed a replacement to run in NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod and picked up his new Larry Jeffers Race Cars C7 Corvette. Recent testing in NMCA trim produced an impressive 3.67 second hit right off the trailer, and then DiDomenico took the car to the exclusive, invitation-only World Series of Pro Mod. Together with his son and crew chief, Sal (right), DiDomenico is going to give it all he’s got and is relying on Wyo Motorsports-built 4.9-inch bore space Noonan power with a PSI screw blower on top, 5-speed Liberty transmission with a lockup converter and Ty-Drive converter drive to get the job done.
For those who weren’t able to make it to Rockingham Dragway to see the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals in person, Jay Warren of NC ProModer is on-site this weekend live streaming all the exciting on-track drag racing action. To watch for free, visit NCProModer.com.
Here is today’s drag racing schedule. For Thrill Festival features including Jet Cars, BIGFOOT, BMX Stunts, Mustang Day, and the Car Show schedule click >> LINK HERE