Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMCA Staff
Many people would agree that Scott Williams has one of the most beautiful cars on the NMCA tour.
He began taking his 1965 Malibu SS from a street car to a strip car in 1997, and started racing it in NMCA Pro Stock in 2002, before moving to the National Street Car Association in 2003. He earned three championships in that series’ Street Eliminator category in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Williams competed in NMCA Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock from 2008-2010, and when NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp called his name in 2011, he listened, and he has been happy there ever since.
Williams has wheeled to tenth, fifth-, fourth-, third- and second-place finishes in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp points the last five years respectively, and is firmly focused on a first-place finish, which he narrowly missed at the last race of 2022.
His stunning car is powered by a 588 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet engine, which he built around an iron Dart block and paired with Brodix SR20 heads, an Edelbrock intake manifold and Holley Dominator fuel injection. While it was performing very well last year, and helping him clock consistent 8.60 and 8.70 passes, he made some upgrades over winter.
He inspected and freshened the components in his engine, replaced his previous transmission with a new PowerGlide by Perfect Converter Company, and he worked with the professionals at that company on an aluminum bolt-together converter to complement the transmission.
Williams also built new headers and a new exhaust system with material from Stainless Headers, and he installed a new anti-roll bar to replace the one he compromised last year after continuously going into wheelies on the starting line.
When the work was done, he headed to the first NMCA event of the year, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines in March at Orlando Speed World in Florida. He qualified in the seventh spot out of 27 racers, and went all the way to the winner’s circle with an impressive .000 reaction time and an 8.52 on an 8.66 dial after a double breakout pass against Steve Satchell.
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“Since I’m from Michigan and we still had snow on the ground, I didn’t get to test any of my changes before that race, so I just had to show up and hope for the best,” said Williams. “I had a severe oil leak in testing on Thursday because of a bad oil pan gasket, and I was able to get that taken care of before qualifying. Then I had a minor electrical gremlin and was able to get that fixed before eliminations. I was happy to win. It was a big accomplishment, and a nice way to start the season.”
Williams went on to qualify in the third spot out of 26 racers with a .001 reaction time at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, but he exited eliminations in the first round.
“I struggled getting my car off the starting line the way I needed to at that race,” said Williams. “ I tried all the tricks I had in my bag, to no avail.”
He shook that off, and a few weeks later, qualified in the eighth spot out of 20 cars with an .017 reaction time and advanced to the semifinal round before exiting eliminations at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in early May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois.
“I was dialed 8.71 and ran right on that number, but it didn’t matter because I was a little late on the tree,” said Williams.
Holding down first-place in points and hoping to stay there, Williams is preparing for the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance, July 20-23 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan.
“I have done normal maintenance since the most recent race, and I plan to test before the race in Michigan,” said Williams. “My goal is to stay in the points lead through the final race of the year in Indiana, and thankfully, I have a lot of support from my wife, Kelly, who has been supporting my racing for 25 years, and my friend, Darryl Lesnesky.”
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Photos by NMCA Staff
Many people would agree that Scott Williams has one of the most beautiful cars on the NMCA tour.
He began taking his 1965 Malibu SS from a street car to a strip car in 1997, and started racing it in NMCA Pro Stock in 2002, before moving to the National Street Car Association in 2003. He earned three championships in that series’ Street Eliminator category in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Williams competed in NMCA Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock from 2008-2010, and when NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp called his name in 2011, he listened, and he has been happy there ever since.
Williams has wheeled to tenth, fifth-, fourth-, third- and second-place finishes in NMCA MagnaFuel Open Comp points the last five years respectively, and is firmly focused on a first-place finish, which he narrowly missed at the last race of 2022.
His stunning car is powered by a 588 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet engine, which he built around an iron Dart block and paired with Brodix SR20 heads, an Edelbrock intake manifold and Holley Dominator fuel injection. While it was performing very well last year, and helping him clock consistent 8.60 and 8.70 passes, he made some upgrades over winter.
He inspected and freshened the components in his engine, replaced his previous transmission with a new PowerGlide by Perfect Converter Company, and he worked with the professionals at that company on an aluminum bolt-together converter to complement the transmission.
Williams also built new headers and a new exhaust system with material from Stainless Headers, and he installed a new anti-roll bar to replace the one he compromised last year after continuously going into wheelies on the starting line.
When the work was done, he headed to the first NMCA event of the year, the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines in March at Orlando Speed World in Florida. He qualified in the seventh spot out of 27 racers, and went all the way to the winner’s circle with an impressive .000 reaction time and an 8.52 on an 8.66 dial after a double breakout pass against Steve Satchell.
“Since I’m from Michigan and we still had snow on the ground, I didn’t get to test any of my changes before that race, so I just had to show up and hope for the best,” said Williams. “I had a severe oil leak in testing on Thursday because of a bad oil pan gasket, and I was able to get that taken care of before qualifying. Then I had a minor electrical gremlin and was able to get that fixed before eliminations. I was happy to win. It was a big accomplishment, and a nice way to start the season.”
Williams went on to qualify in the third spot out of 26 racers with a .001 reaction time at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, but he exited eliminations in the first round.
“I struggled getting my car off the starting line the way I needed to at that race,” said Williams. “ I tried all the tricks I had in my bag, to no avail.”
He shook that off, and a few weeks later, qualified in the eighth spot out of 20 cars with an .017 reaction time and advanced to the semifinal round before exiting eliminations at the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in early May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois.
“I was dialed 8.71 and ran right on that number, but it didn’t matter because I was a little late on the tree,” said Williams.
Holding down first-place in points and hoping to stay there, Williams is preparing for the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance, July 20-23 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan.
“I have done normal maintenance since the most recent race, and I plan to test before the race in Michigan,” said Williams. “My goal is to stay in the points lead through the final race of the year in Indiana, and thankfully, I have a lot of support from my wife, Kelly, who has been supporting my racing for 25 years, and my friend, Darryl Lesnesky.”