Today the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance action kicks off at Rockingham Dragway in Rockingham, North Carolina. Though yesterday’s test ’n tune session succumbed to the damp conditions, beautiful weather is on tap for the rest of the weekend.
Today competitors in the Circle D Specialties True Street classes get some test runs. In contrast, racers will get down to business right away as qualifying runs begin across all the index and heads-up classes. All the drag strip action comes to a crescendo this evening as Dawn Perdue and Larry Aldrich square off in the Jet Car Shootout as both racers attempt to shatter the North Carolina Land Speed Record this weekend.
Throughout the weekend, the world’s largest BIGFOOT monster truck is also on display for photo opportunities. And, tomorrow the Top of the Rock Thrill Festival adds BMX Xtreme stunt shows; No Prep & YouTube Celebrities; a Fan Experience; a massive car show; a huge manufacturer’s midway; and a special Mustang Day gathering in honor of the 60th birthday of Ford’s pony car.
So, stay tuned to this page and our social channels for updates throughout the weekend for updates on all the action from the second event of the season.
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The world’s largest BIGFOOT monster truck has the best seat in the house at the Top of the Rock this weekend at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance. It is a great photo opportunity, and tomorrow it will have lots of company as the Mustang Day edition of the UPR Products All-Ford Car Show joins the party and the Thrill Festival brings the action.
Further proof the hobby is in good hands, 19-year old Braden Creamer is here at the All-Star Nationals to run this Wild strawberry 1985 Mustang GT in Whatever It Takes Transmission Street Bandit. To get him to the 10.10 index, Creamer uses a Mathis Engine and Machine 408ci Windsor with a touch of the good stuff from a Nitrous Express plate kit. Behind the big Windsor is a RPM Transmissions Turbo 400 with an A1 converter. Creamer is no stranger to drag racing as he has competed in NMRA ARP Open Comp the past couple years, but the All-Star Nationals is his first foray into Street Bandit. Along with the Wild strawberry paint, the car also wears an H.O. Fibertrends cowl hood and Billet Specialties wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.
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After kissing the wall at the Gainesville Spring Break Shootout opener, Tim Matherly dropped off his Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock car at Chassis Pro (Scott Black) to go over everything and add a new Team Z Motorsports upper torque box kit and new UPR upper and lower control arms. Even without scraping the wall, Matherly says, “We’re asking a lot from these cars with what we do with them. With the cars basically all sheet metal without a frame, the car just started to get a little relaxed.” Matherly and Crew Chief Jason Sloan weren’t able to test the car prior to this weekend’s race, so Matherly and Sloan will be learning, testing and adjusting on the fly here at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance.
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🚨 ATTENTION IN THE PITS! 🚨 We expect to be on track at 10:15am and will be calling cars to the lanes shortly. Our team was up extra early this morning getting the track ready after the intense rain from yesterday and they have done an amazing job in preparing the surface despite the challenging conditions.
>> QUALIFYING RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE <<
The world’s largest BIGFOOT monster truck has the best seat in the house at the Top of the Rock this weekend at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance. It is a great photo opportunity, and tomorrow it will have lots of company as the Mustang Day edition of the UPR Products All-Ford Car Show joins the party and the Thrill Festival brings the action.
Further proof the hobby is in good hands, 19-year old Braden Creamer is here at the All-Star Nationals to run this Wild strawberry 1985 Mustang GT in Whatever It Takes Transmission Street Bandit. To get him to the 10.10 index, Creamer uses a Mathis Engine and Machine 408ci Windsor with a touch of the good stuff from a Nitrous Express plate kit. Behind the big Windsor is a RPM Transmissions Turbo 400 with an A1 converter. Creamer is no stranger to drag racing as he has competed in NMRA ARP Open Comp the past couple years, but the All-Star Nationals is his first foray into Street Bandit. Along with the Wild strawberry paint, the car also wears an H.O. Fibertrends cowl hood and Billet Specialties wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson rubber.
With a dad and uncle adept at pulling wheelies on the track, Lucas Stymiest appears ready to take the reins once his dad Nate and Uncle Shane hang up their shift handles. Since selling his Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock car, Nate has been busy lending a hand to Brother Shane, and just being an overall helping hand to anyone who needs it. Nate is also busy building a car for NMCA competition. Lucas, meanwhile, plans to terrorize the paved areas of Rockingham Dragway with his drift machine all weekend.
After kissing the wall at the Gainesville Spring Break Shootout opener, Tim Matherly dropped off his Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock car at Chassis Pro (Scott Black) to go over everything and add a new Team Z Motorsports upper torque box kit and new UPR upper and lower control arms. Even without scraping the wall, Matherly says, “We’re asking a lot from these cars with what we do with them. With the cars basically all sheet metal without a frame, the car just started to get a little relaxed.” Matherly and Crew Chief Jason Sloan weren’t able to test the car prior to this weekend’s race, so Matherly and Sloan will be learning, testing and adjusting on the fly here at the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance.
Thanks to the support from HPJ Performance and Mid-America Performance, Caleb Cox felt comfortable transforming his former S197 Mustang daily driver into an Edelbrock Renegade race machine. Sporting an RGR-built short-block, a Precision single turbo, a Turbo 400 automatic, and a FuelTech EFI system, the car debuted in this form at Rockingham Dragway. In street car trim with all the creature comforts, it ran as quick as 7.60, but Caleb is making his first Renegade hits with the fresh combo this weekend, and working his way toward a licensing in qualifying today.
Always looking for an edge, Tim Donathen refreshed his Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock Fairmont’s suspension with Menscer Motorsports dampers at all four corners. He was still dialing in the setup, which should have a bit more power thanks to the addition of a fresh, larger engine oil accumulator.
Junior McKenzie discovered the brakes were dragging on his ARP Open Comp Mustang, so he enlisted his friend John Fernandez to swap on fresh brakes, as he was short on time. The new stoppers at all four corners are from Aerospace Components. He says the car picked up without the brakes hanging up, so it all comes down to the driver doing his job in the ultra-competitive class.
Having owned his Fox coupe since it was new, Chris Hammond used it as a family daily driver for years while adding the typical bolt-on upgrades along the way. With the help of Mike Bowen at Powerhouse Automotive he swapped the car to a Gen 1 Coyote engine eight years ago. These days it also sports a Turbo 400 automatic, but it is still rocking the classic MAC cat-back system from its pushrod days. Chris, who is a huge fan of sleepers, is running his deceptively quick coupe in Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10 this weekend, which he said was an obvious choice as he always tried to dial his car in for 10-second passes.
Ed Bennett Jr. rolled into this season without any changes to Clair Stewart’s Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock Mustang, but the combo made it to the finals against Charlie Booze Jr. at the season opener in Gainesville back in February. Ed said he wanted to return to racing in the class to compete against Charlie, who edged him for the win at the first race. He still hasn’t changed the car's combo, only performing basic maintenance and adjustments, so he is just looking to see where the car is at in qualifying today. From there he will see what it takes to go rounds.
🚨 ATTENTION IN THE PITS! 🚨 We expect to be on track at 10:15am and will be calling cars to the lanes shortly. Our team was up extra early this morning getting the track ready after the intense rain from yesterday and they have done an amazing job in preparing the surface despite the challenging conditions.
Here is today’s drag racing schedule. For Thrill Festival features including Jet Cars, BIGFOOT, BMX Stunts, Mustang Day, and the Car Show schedule click >> LINK HERE