Today, we wrap up qualifying, setting the stage for tomorrow's eliminations, while QA1 True Street racers vie for wins in a full range of elapsed time categories. The quickest True Street machines will fill out the ranks for tomorrow's Ace Racing Spring Break Shootout and the swiftest manual machines will return tomorrow to compete in the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout.
FOR QUALIFYING RESULTS, CLICK HERE FOR True Street results, CLICK HERE
Here's the breakdown of Saturday's action at the 2021 BMR Suspension NMRA Spring Break Shootout.
Not only does Justin Jordan bake a mean cookie over at 3J's Sweet Treats, but he can build some serious horsepower at Jordan Performance and Racing. He was, however at a crossroads with his storied S197 racer. Rather than upgrade it to run sixes, he sold the powertrain and used the proceeds to purchase this 2020 Mustang GT. Upgraded with a Hellion Sleeper twin-turbo system, BMR Suspension upgrades, Viking front shocks, KellTrac rear shocks, a Fore Innovations fuel system, and MPR valve springs, the new car generated 1,008 horsepower at the wheels and clicked off a 9.8 at 151 mph off the footbrake in Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels Street Car Challenge Presented by Whipple Superchargers competition.
There were three drivers in the JDM Engineering Limited Street class who threw down 8.3-second elapsed times on Friday, and leading qualifying is Samantha Moore, who posted an 8.32 at 158.67 mph. The Brighton, Michigan, resident made a number of changes in the off season and looks poised to make another run for the championship after finishing 3rd last year in points.
Another classic running in the Watson Racing Cobra Jet Showdown is Joe Lopes 1968 Mustang. Incredibly, he purchased it new while working a dealership. He kept it all these years because he never wanted to hear himself say, I used to own a Cobra Jet. It is running low 10s this weekend, so it definitely belongs on the track!
When his 9-second 1996 Mustang went down for the count, Jim Chow didn't want to miss out on the QA1 True Street action. Instead he brought out this patina'd 1985 Ranger pickup. Powered by a 393-cube stroker backed by a T-5 manual transmission. It runs high 12s, but he is gunning for the 13.0 category at the BMR Suspension NMRA Spring Break Shootout.
All Stock Racing's Dennis Harmon has been planning his entry into G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock for several years now, buying this 1987 Mustang coupe for the project and getting a good bit of guidance from veteran CS racers Tim Matherly and Jacob Lamb. He's making his debut in the class this weekend at Bradenton Motorsports Park thanks to Action Glass Inc. who prettied up the notchback. Harmon's friend, Corey Penton, is also planning on making the jump into the class with a 1989 Fox-Body Mustang, as the two racers jump from the index world of Modular Muscle into heads-up racing.
ARP Open Comp racer Kevin Sanders had an interesting ride this morning in qualifying when his left rear wheel broke free from his Boogey Lights Mustang coupe. Hopefully, he'll be able to make the necessary repairs before eliminations tomorrow.
We caught Stick-Shift Shootout and True Street winner Jeff Smith talking with Whipple Superchargers representative Stacy Reynolds, no doubt about the Gen V 3.0-liter Whipple blower under the hood of Smith's Competition Orange Terminator, which has pushed the SVT machine to low 9-second elapsed times as of late. Smith looks to have a good chance at getting into the top ten finishers in True Street tomorrow, and likely qualify for the Ace Racing Spring Break Shootout as well.
NMRA Exedy Racing Clutch Mod Muscle pilot and AEM-backed racer Adam Cox has his 99 Mustang's consistency locked in. On Thursday evening, after making a few changes, his very first run produced a 10.03-second hit that left him feeling confident. He had a pressure plate let go unexpectedly, but UPR Products is on-site and was able to get him a replacement. On Friday morning, Cox went 9.99 and put a little weight in to make his index. The next run out yielded a 10.15-second time slip followed by a 10.13-second one. His reaction times were admitted a touch slow which resulted in him being ranked seventeenth in qualifying going into the third session, so he adjusted the clutch pedal stop to take some throw out of it.
New for Team MV Performance's 2021 is a new sponsor, The Parts Farm out of Lyons, Georgia. Offering turn-key engine and transmission swap pallets, The Parts Farm is helping Tim Matherly and Jacob Lamb in NMRA G-Force Transmissions Coyote Stock, and Charlie McCulloch in NMRA Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle, make their 2021 seasons possible. Matherly himself recently switched over to the latest and greatest in Ford power, a Gen 3 Coyote engine, and is currently qualified mid-pack in ninth with his 9.961 at 133.75 mph hit. He hopes to improve further today as he works to smooth out his 03 Mustang's setup.
Derek Perez of Jupiter, Florida, found out at the tech inspection tent this morning that his front tires were not D.O.T.-certified and therefore not legal by True Street class rules, but he did some quick networking to find a suitable pair for tomorrow. Perez s 2012 Mustang GT runs a naturally aspirated combination with some healthy sounding cams, and he's shifted the MT-82 six-speed to 10.20s in the quarter-mile.
Eye-catching is the Ford blue powdercoating on the 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger in the engine bay of Gilbert Correa's Mustang. The Cooper City, Florida, resident's 1986 Mustang was built by Lujan Motorsports and is equally attention getting as well, and will run high 9s through the quarter-mile. Correa regularly competes in QA1 True Street, and turns on the air-conditioning when he's cruising the streets of South Florida.
A veteran of every BMR Suspension Spring Break Shootout event and competing regularly in QA1 True Street and the Ace Racing Spring Break Shootout classes, Tony Whetstone, recently swapped out the AOD automatic transmission in his familiar blue droptop Mustang GT for a Powerglide and is seeing positive results already. The car has previously run a best elapsed time of 7.9 seconds at 33 lbs of boost, and has gone as quick as 8.15 with the two-speed and five psi less boost pressure. So far this weekend, he's spun twice, and thinks a suspension change may be in order before making the 30-mile street cruise and three back-to-back True Street runs tomorrow.
In the early going, G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock racer Randy Soper fought a number of issues from a burst oil accumulator to a locked-up starter. He still managed to lay down a 9.98-second run with his new Gen 3 combo, which is still running its break-in oil. He made a rear-gear change last night in search of just the right setup.
Back in the day, Central Coast Mustang was a major player in the Mustang aftermarket and its former owner Dennis Hilliard was around in the earliest days of Fox Mustang drag racing. He is back behind the wheel of a 2019 Mustang GT bolstered with a Southern Speed E85 tune, ARH long-tube headers and a Circle D converter. He focused on chassis and suspension upgrades from BMR, Steeda, and Strange. So far it has run a best of 10.75 at 127 mph in QA1 True Street competition.
Also dialing in his new Gen 3 Coyote combo, Jacob Lamb repaired a broken shift rod and swapped his rear gears. He is back to running the setup that he tested in Kentucky before the race. Those sessions delivered a 9.83 and he is hoping run even quicker in G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock this weekend.
You never know what you might find in the swap meet at the BMR Suspension NMRA Spring Break Shootout swap meet. We spotted this custom Fender guitar dressed up with Shelby style.
A newcomer to G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock, Becky Moldehauer debated running True Street, but as a self-described adrenaline junkie, she was drawn to the wheel-standing Coyote Stock ranks. Her boss donated this car to the cause and she dropped in a Gen 2 Coyote engine. She is still learning the car and sneaking up on the performance level, but it is running better than expected right out of the gate.
NMRA behind the scenes: This is what the staff (and we use the term "staff" loosely here) does during a rain delay... Senior Parking Attendant Michael Washington got a little too excited that his Swedish Fish socks matched his afternoon snack of choice.
With Holley EFI sales manger Rick Anderson looking on, Holley's Director of Motorsports, Robin Lawrence, posted a personal best in his Coyote-powered Mustang, running 10.15 with the naturally aspirated, stick-shifted combination in the first round of Watson Racing Cobra Jet Showdown eliminations. Lawrence grabbed the win as well with the FS/H Mustang on only its 5th pass on track in its current configuration.
Wheeling one of the few 7-second-capable Mustangs in QA1 True Street, Florida's Larry Albright was performing a head gasket change after a test session, and informed us that the task is more or less part of the 8.2-deck life. While the car has gone a good bit quicker in different trim and on an optimized track, it's dialed in for 7.75-7.85 for this weekend's True Street competition, which often presents more challenging track conditions.
The big news from TREMEC Transmission is the company's new TFX five-speed manual gearbox. The transmission is the first product specifically engineered and built for the aftermarket, and offers T56 Magnum shift quality, TKO handling, and the similar external dimensions to the T5 to offer enthusiasts a stout transmission capable of high-rpm shifting in a small package.
Although he's usually one of the frontrunners, NMRA Edelbrock Renegade hot shoe Alton Clements is struggling a bit this weekend. A combination of factors, including a new first gear in his transmission and a new torque converter from Cameron's Torque Converter Services struggling with, have Clements working hard to get a handle on the alcohol-fed tune up. His supercharged Fox body has been spinning the tires about one-hundred feet out from the start and he burned up a head earlier in the week while testing, but he's confident that he and his team including his mother, father, and partners such as Vortech, UPR Products, the Supercharger Store, and Race Part Solutions will get it sorted out soon enough.