Despite the challenges presented by Mother Nature, the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals team is doing everything in its power to run the final event of the season this weekend at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To that end, we were able to run the first round of qualifying in our index classes. 

 

Today, the drag racing action will roll on, weather permitting, but the autocross, drifting, Grand Champion, off-road course, and car show will soldier on rain or shine, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Bigfoot will both be on the property as planned. 

 

We appreciate your patience as we navigate the challenges this weekend, so stay tuned to our social channels for updates throughout the event. 

 

Over the last two seasons, Jerry “Daddy Rabbit” Jones made tremendous strides in the HP Tuners Super Stang class with his bright red 2022 Mach 1 Mustang. Jones won the St. Louis event last season and was in the thick of the points battle this season until the Alabama-based racer’s season was derailed by a highway accident. “I was on my way to the race in Norwalk when I spun out and hit the guardrail in the rain near Lexington, Kentucky,” said Jones, who has upgraded his Mach 1 this season with the addition of VMS wheels, and a set of Nitto drag radials. “The car wasn’t too badly damaged but I wasn’t comfortable racing it. I had to miss Norwalk and Martin and it killed me. Now, I’m happy to be back. The only good thing to come out of it was the calls and support I got from fellow racers like Ray Williams Sr. They reached out and said they missed me and that meant the world to me.” Jones tumbled from fifth to 11th in the standings after missing two events, and his mission in Bowling Green is to return to the Top 10. 

 

James Meredith entered the Nitto NMRA World Finals as the championship leader in the Whatever it Takes Transmission Street Bandit 10.10 class after driving his unique Mercury Capri to a win in St. Louis and several other late-round finishes. Meredith has not lost in the first round at any event this season yet despite his consistency, he arrived in Bowling Green just 100 points ahead of second-ranked Bill Wittenaur. Meredith is particularly motivated to close the deal after a tough outing last weekend at the NMCA World Street Finals presented by Chevrolet Performance in Indianapolis. “Last week, I did one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. In the semifinals, I lifted at 1,000 feet and let [Brian Keiser] get past me at the strip.” Meredith took full advantage of Thursday’s time trial run in Bowling Green with a 10.099 run on the 10.10 index, indicating that he’s already prepared for eliminations.

 

Preston Nicks affectionately calls his ’86 Mustang “Half A$$” and says it’s made up of mostly used and borrowed parts but that doesn’t mean it’s not a competitive car in the Whatever it takes Transmission Street Bandit class. Nicks, of Belleville, Michigan, built the car as a multi-purpose vehicle, and he means it. On any given weekend, Nicks might be found racing in Index, Bracket, or even No Prep events. “I just like to try different things and see what works,” said Nicks. “We try to do a little bit of everything with this car and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but I always learn something.” Nicks’ car is powered by a carbureted 427-cube small-block, which easily propels it to low 10s in the quarter-mile. He’s also set up to run 6.50 index events on the eighth-mile course. Recently, Nicks gave up the driver’s seat to Autumn Schwalbe, who drove the car in the recent Queen of Mayhem event in Milan, Michigan.

 

Without much debate, the hottest driver in the Holley NMRA Drag Racing Series is Mike Moistner, who has won three straight races in the HP Tuners Super Stang class and is primed to win his first championship this weekend. For all his success, Moistner still has work to do as he leads Rodney Ward by just 195 points heading into the Nitto NMRA World Finals in Bowling Green. Moistner, of Dublin, Indiana, says the secret to his success isn’t a secret at all. Last year, he installed a new TCI converter in his 2005 Mustang and the results speak for themselves. “I bought this converter from [fellow Super Stang racer] Larry Firestone and we got Tony Gonyon from HP Tuners to work on the tune,” said Moistner. “After that, it was just a matter of me getting used to driving it, and the Pro Tree. As for the championship, I’m not counting on anything just yet but I’m hoping we can finish the job this weekend. I have not won a championship yet but I’ve been a runner-up a few times.”