About the same time that Joseph “JJ” Jones realized life was rushing by way too quickly, he also realized the NMRA had started offering the Jr. Street class at its events – and the timing of the two epiphanies was the perfect reason for him and his son, Justin Jones, to put together a car they could share in the series.
In the 2000s, Joseph frequently raced his 1999 Ford Lightning and even appeared on the TV show, Pinks All Out, in 2007. “I runnered up at the NMRA Maple Grove event in Truck & Lightning in 2004,” recalled the man, now 57 years old. In 2012, he competed in NMRA Mod Muscle and finished tenth in the overall season points. The following year, Joseph built an NMRA Coyote Stock entry and ended up ninth for the year. “I sold the Coyote Stock car to Justin Fogelsonger who put it in Factory Stock, and I raced it for Justin in Atlanta in 2015 where I runnered up, too.”
Since 2015, JJ has been absent from the NMRA but was still actively involved in motorsports. Instead of focusing on his program, he turned his focus to watching his son grow up and poured his energy into Justin's quarter midget dirt racing dreams. “Now, he’s busy playing football and about to turn 16,” said the proud father and owner of Woodbine Motorsports.
JJ has, of course, had Justin out on the drag strip at Mason Dixon Dragway in their home state of Maryland. Thanks to the NHRA Jr. Street program which lets 13-16-year-olds compete full-bodied street vehicles with an adult co-driver as their teammate, Justinhas already obtained his NHRA Jr. Street license and familiarized himself with the fundamentals of eighth-mile racing.
Once JJ heard that the NMRA was offering the Jr. Street category as well, though, he wasted no time in putting together a plan. He and his son started searching for an appropriate vehicle and stumbled across a 2007 Ford Mustang GT that was listed locally on Facebook marketplace. “It was inexpensive and needed some work, but that’s right up my alley at Woodbine Motorsports,” he added.
Only minor prep work over the winter will be needed to get the fifth-generation pony car in race-ready condition and Turn 14 has been instrumental in the Jones’ parts accumulation process. Although the adolescent Justin wants to add a ProCharger and “go nuts” with upgrades, the men have agreed (for now) to keep the stock Ford engine and factory automatic transmission, mostly because Justin can’t run too quickly in his category and with Super Stang being an index-based class, JJ doesn’t have to worry about having the lowest elapsed time.
“We’re going to add some BMR suspension components and have a set of Race Star Wheels for it, and we’ll add a cold air intake as well,” continued JJ. Once the Stang is squared away, he’ll tune it up on the Woodbine Motorsports dyno to ensure everything operates as expected. “I’ll run the car in NMRA Super Stang and my son will race in NMRA Jr. Street. Being able to race alongside each other, well, it’s really important to me.”
Looking ahead to the 2024 drag racing season, father and son are excited about sharing their S197 and bringing their motorhome to the track so they can make each weekend a big family outing. Currently, they plan to attend as many of the NMRA races as possible, likely hitting five out of the six events as Justin’s varsity football season may overlap with the NMRA All-Ford World Finals.
“The Jr. Street class provides a great opportunity for parents to get their children involved in racing and to do it together,” shared JJ. “I have great memories from when I ran in NMRA years ago and my son was with me at almost every single race. He loves it, and it’s likely something he’ll continue as he gets older. We’ll see about stepping him up to a quicker class once he’s got more experience and becomes eligible.”
In the 2000s, Joseph frequently raced his 1999 Ford Lightning and even appeared on the TV show, Pinks All Out, in 2007. “I runnered up at the NMRA Maple Grove event in Truck & Lightning in 2004,” recalled the man, now 57 years old. In 2012, he competed in NMRA Mod Muscle and finished tenth in the overall season points. The following year, Joseph built an NMRA Coyote Stock entry and ended up ninth for the year. “I sold the Coyote Stock car to Justin Fogelsonger who put it in Factory Stock, and I raced it for Justin in Atlanta in 2015 where I runnered up, too.”
Since 2015, JJ has been absent from the NMRA but was still actively involved in motorsports. Instead of focusing on his program, he turned his focus to watching his son grow up and poured his energy into Justin's quarter midget dirt racing dreams. “Now, he’s busy playing football and about to turn 16,” said the proud father and owner of Woodbine Motorsports.
JJ has, of course, had Justin out on the drag strip at Mason Dixon Dragway in their home state of Maryland. Thanks to the NHRA Jr. Street program which lets 13-16-year-olds compete full-bodied street vehicles with an adult co-driver as their teammate, Justinhas already obtained his NHRA Jr. Street license and familiarized himself with the fundamentals of eighth-mile racing.
Once JJ heard that the NMRA was offering the Jr. Street category as well, though, he wasted no time in putting together a plan. He and his son started searching for an appropriate vehicle and stumbled across a 2007 Ford Mustang GT that was listed locally on Facebook marketplace. “It was inexpensive and needed some work, but that’s right up my alley at Woodbine Motorsports,” he added.
Only minor prep work over the winter will be needed to get the fifth-generation pony car in race-ready condition and Turn 14 has been instrumental in the Jones’ parts accumulation process. Although the adolescent Justin wants to add a ProCharger and “go nuts” with upgrades, the men have agreed (for now) to keep the stock Ford engine and factory automatic transmission, mostly because Justin can’t run too quickly in his category and with Super Stang being an index-based class, JJ doesn’t have to worry about having the lowest elapsed time.
“We’re going to add some BMR suspension components and have a set of Race Star Wheels for it, and we’ll add a cold air intake as well,” continued JJ. Once the Stang is squared away, he’ll tune it up on the Woodbine Motorsports dyno to ensure everything operates as expected. “I’ll run the car in NMRA Super Stang and my son will race in NMRA Jr. Street. Being able to race alongside each other, well, it’s really important to me.”
Looking ahead to the 2024 drag racing season, father and son are excited about sharing their S197 and bringing their motorhome to the track so they can make each weekend a big family outing. Currently, they plan to attend as many of the NMRA races as possible, likely hitting five out of the six events as Justin’s varsity football season may overlap with the NMRA All-Ford World Finals.
“The Jr. Street class provides a great opportunity for parents to get their children involved in racing and to do it together,” shared JJ. “I have great memories from when I ran in NMRA years ago and my son was with me at almost every single race. He loves it, and it’s likely something he’ll continue as he gets older. We’ll see about stepping him up to a quicker class once he’s got more experience and becomes eligible.”