Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMRA Staff
Charlie Booze Jr. is a superstar.
He has been around cars, worked on cars and raced cars for decades, and in that time, he has earned event wins, championships and the respect of his fellow racers and race fans.
His passion and pursuit for putting together the best possible combinations and cars continue to propel him, and the popular Pennsylvanian shows no signs of pushing the pause button anytime soon.
Booze Jr., who has wonderfully wheeled cars that belong to him as well as other people, was piloting Scott Milhimes’ 1990 Ford Mustang LX in G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock competition in 2022. It is set up with a sealed production Ford Gen 3 Coyote 5.0L crate engine and a G101A four-speed by G-Force Racing Transmissions.
He put the season in gear with a 9.68 to set the pace in qualifying at the NMRA Spring Break Shootout in March at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. He posted a 9.70 on a solo pass in the first round of eliminations, and won the second and third rounds of eliminations with a 9.73 and 9.81 before stick-shifting to a 9.76 on a solo pass in the semifinal round of eliminations. Later, he raced to the runner-up finish with a 9.76 against Randy Soper.
Booze Jr. led qualifying again, this time with a 9.68, at the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. He won the first round of eliminations with a 9.67, and posted a 9.74 on a solo pass in the second round of eliminations. He got by the third and fourth rounds of eliminations when his opponents lit the red light, and then traveled to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with a 9.76 over standout racer Shane Stymiest, who was close with a 9.82.
From there, he set the pace in qualifying again, this time with a 9.78, at the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by Fuelab in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. On a roll, he won the first through third rounds of eliminations with a 9.83, 9.90 and 9.90, and arrived at another event win with a 9.90 over Shane Stymiest, who was right there with a 9.92.
Getting closer and closer to glory, Booze Jr. qualified in the second spot with a 9.80 at the NMRA Ford Performance Nationals in June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio. He wrapped up wins in the first through third rounds of eliminations with a 9.78, followed by a 9.85 to win the semifinal round of eliminations. He met Shane Stymiest in the final again, and as always, had a close race with him. Booze Jr. won that bout with a 9.89.
Set on repeat, he flew to the lead in qualifying with 9.82 at the Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by TorqStorm Superchargers in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. He won the first round of eliminations when his opponent ran into trouble, and he later won the final round of eliminations of the rain-delayed Michigan event during qualifying at the Whipple Superchargers NMRA Ford World Finals presented by Competition Clutch featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival in late September, early October at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky. For the actual Kentucky event, he led qualifying with a 9.73, picked up to a 9.71 on a solo pass in the first round of eliminations and won the second through semifinal rounds of eliminations with a 9.76, 9.72 and 9.71 before winning the event with a 9.68 over Ed Bennett.
“We had a harrowing situation in our first round of qualifying at the event in in Bowling Green when the car stood up and drove across the centerline into the other lane, but we were able to gather it up and bring it back without a scratch on it or the car in the other lane,” said Booze Jr. “It was a very close deal. You could not have slid a credit card between the two cars.”
After all of that excitement, Booze Jr. emerged as the 2022 G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock champion. As icing on the cake, his records of 9.678 and 137.57 from the event in North Carolina still stand.
“It really means a lot that the people around me have helped get us where we are, and they understand what it takes to earn these titles,” said Booze Jr., who co-owns Booze Brothers Performance, where the champion-caliber car is prepared and maintained. “There is a lot of thought and work that go into it. It takes time away from other things in life, and it is really tough to balance it all. There are so many people to thank, including my car owner and partner, Scott Milhimes, our sponsors, supporters, fans and family, especially my parents, who came to every event in 2022. I also want to thank Leonard, Mike and Paul of G-Force Racing Transmissions for sponsoring the class and supporting all of the competitors, and Steve Wolcott and the NMRA for giving us this awesome class to race in. I’m just a lucky guy to be able to do what I do.”
The NMRA will put the spotlight on Booze Jr. and his fellow champions at the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals Awards Ceremony, held during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Dec. 9, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center.
Please watch for upcoming stories about each of our champions on www.NMRADigital.com and www.RacePagesDigital.com as well as in Fastest Street Car magazine.
Photos by NMRA Staff
Charlie Booze Jr. is a superstar.
He has been around cars, worked on cars and raced cars for decades, and in that time, he has earned event wins, championships and the respect of his fellow racers and race fans.
His passion and pursuit for putting together the best possible combinations and cars continue to propel him, and the popular Pennsylvanian shows no signs of pushing the pause button anytime soon.
Booze Jr., who has wonderfully wheeled cars that belong to him as well as other people, was piloting Scott Milhimes’ 1990 Ford Mustang LX in G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock competition in 2022. It is set up with a sealed production Ford Gen 3 Coyote 5.0L crate engine and a G101A four-speed by G-Force Racing Transmissions.
He put the season in gear with a 9.68 to set the pace in qualifying at the NMRA Spring Break Shootout in March at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. He posted a 9.70 on a solo pass in the first round of eliminations, and won the second and third rounds of eliminations with a 9.73 and 9.81 before stick-shifting to a 9.76 on a solo pass in the semifinal round of eliminations. Later, he raced to the runner-up finish with a 9.76 against Randy Soper.
Booze Jr. led qualifying again, this time with a 9.68, at the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. He won the first round of eliminations with a 9.67, and posted a 9.74 on a solo pass in the second round of eliminations. He got by the third and fourth rounds of eliminations when his opponents lit the red light, and then traveled to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with a 9.76 over standout racer Shane Stymiest, who was close with a 9.82.
From there, he set the pace in qualifying again, this time with a 9.78, at the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by Fuelab in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. On a roll, he won the first through third rounds of eliminations with a 9.83, 9.90 and 9.90, and arrived at another event win with a 9.90 over Shane Stymiest, who was right there with a 9.92.
Getting closer and closer to glory, Booze Jr. qualified in the second spot with a 9.80 at the NMRA Ford Performance Nationals in June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio. He wrapped up wins in the first through third rounds of eliminations with a 9.78, followed by a 9.85 to win the semifinal round of eliminations. He met Shane Stymiest in the final again, and as always, had a close race with him. Booze Jr. won that bout with a 9.89.
Set on repeat, he flew to the lead in qualifying with 9.82 at the Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by TorqStorm Superchargers in July at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan. He won the first round of eliminations when his opponent ran into trouble, and he later won the final round of eliminations of the rain-delayed Michigan event during qualifying at the Whipple Superchargers NMRA Ford World Finals presented by Competition Clutch featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival in late September, early October at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky. For the actual Kentucky event, he led qualifying with a 9.73, picked up to a 9.71 on a solo pass in the first round of eliminations and won the second through semifinal rounds of eliminations with a 9.76, 9.72 and 9.71 before winning the event with a 9.68 over Ed Bennett.
“We had a harrowing situation in our first round of qualifying at the event in in Bowling Green when the car stood up and drove across the centerline into the other lane, but we were able to gather it up and bring it back without a scratch on it or the car in the other lane,” said Booze Jr. “It was a very close deal. You could not have slid a credit card between the two cars.”
After all of that excitement, Booze Jr. emerged as the 2022 G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock champion. As icing on the cake, his records of 9.678 and 137.57 from the event in North Carolina still stand.
“It really means a lot that the people around me have helped get us where we are, and they understand what it takes to earn these titles,” said Booze Jr., who co-owns Booze Brothers Performance, where the champion-caliber car is prepared and maintained. “There is a lot of thought and work that go into it. It takes time away from other things in life, and it is really tough to balance it all. There are so many people to thank, including my car owner and partner, Scott Milhimes, our sponsors, supporters, fans and family, especially my parents, who came to every event in 2022. I also want to thank Leonard, Mike and Paul of G-Force Racing Transmissions for sponsoring the class and supporting all of the competitors, and Steve Wolcott and the NMRA for giving us this awesome class to race in. I’m just a lucky guy to be able to do what I do.”
The NMRA will put the spotlight on Booze Jr. and his fellow champions at the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals Awards Ceremony, held during the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, Dec. 9, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center.
Please watch for upcoming stories about each of our champions on www.NMRADigital.com and www.RacePagesDigital.com as well as in Fastest Street Car magazine.