By Mary Lendzion
After watching several NMRA races, Belinda Moore decided that she, too, wanted to climb into a car and compete.
So, with her husband Cliff Moore's help, she readied herself and the family's 1995 Mustang for her first NMRA QA1 True Street race back in 2005, and she has been super-successful ever since.
In the car that she refers to as mostly stock with a 5.0L engine, cold-air intake and 3.73 gears, she has accomplished a lot, and she has achieved nineteen wins with a 15-second average in the category for slightly to heavily modified performance vehicles that are capable of a 30-mile cruise followed by three back-to-back passes on track.
It took me a little while to get my first win because, honestly, I didn't know what in the heck I was doing, said Moore, with a laugh. But once I got into a routine, and got the car into a routine, it started to go more smoothly, and I discovered that what I like most about True Street is that it doesn't matter if you're fast or not-so-fast. As long as you can make the 30-mile cruise and three back-to-back passes, you have a shot.
Moore's most recent trip to the Aerospace Components Winner's Circle was at the 14th Annual Nitto NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by FST Carburetors, July 25-28 at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. As a special feature of that event, NMRA QA1 True Streetdrivers joined NMCA Gear Vendors True Street drivers for a cruise that included laps on the Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR tri-oval before the three back-to-back passes upon returning to Route 66 Raceway.
Even though it was so hot at Joliet, everything went well, said Moore, whose husband, Cliff Moore, often bracket-races the Mustang on Sundays at NMRA events. I like the 30-mile cruise that we normally do at the events, but the tri-oval and being able to get the car up to 80 mph on the tri-oval, at this event is something totally different that a lot of people don't get to experience. That was special, but even more special was my grandson, Jordan Moore, coming with my great-grandson, Judah Moore. That was my great-grandson's first race, and I'm glad I was able to win the 15-second index.
After her nineteenth win, Moore has turned her focus to the final stop on this year's NMRA tour, the 21st Annual Nitto NMRA All-Ford World Finals, Sept. 26-29 at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she hopes to earn a twentieth win.
I'm really looking forward to the race in Bowling Green, said Moore, who lives in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It's a beautiful facility, and it's my favorite race track.
