By Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMRA and courtesy of Kevin McMullin
Nearly twenty years ago, Kevin McMullin was racing in NMRA Edelbrock Renegade and Fun Ford Weekend Street Renegade.
He was putting down 9-second passes with a small-block Ford and a Novi 2000 supercharger under the hood of his Mustang before he pulled his car into his garage, put a cover on it and turned his focus to his family and work.
But in 2016, his wife, Pamela McMullin, suggested that he ready it for a return to racing.
That motivated me, said McMullin, who had sold the engine, supercharger and C4 transmission that were in his car. So, at the end of 2016, I decided that I would compete in NMRA G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock, and I spent the next nine months getting my car ready for it.
He delivered his car to Team Z Motorsports to have front and rear suspension components installed, including control arms, a K-member and a rear axle housing.
He purchased a sealed Gen II Coyote engine and a G-Force Racing Transmissions G101-A transmission, and he looked to NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod driver Don Walsh Jr. to dial it in on the dyno before he headed to his first test session at Milan Dragway in Michigan in the fall of 2017, followed by his first NMRA G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock race at the last NMRA event of year at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
I didn't get many test passes at Milan Dragway, and then, unfortunately, we broke in a test pass before qualifying at Beech Bend Raceway, but I already knew that my car was a couple tenths slower than the other cars in the category, and I needed to do something about it, said McMullin, whose car wears a carbon fiber hood by Motor City Solutions and a wrap.
Committed to doing whatever it would take to have a shot at being competitive in the category, McMullin reached out to Tim Donathen for help in setting up the suspension under his car over the winter of 2017-2018.
In addition to helping with my suspension, Tim did some chassis fabrication and stiffening, which was a big deal, said McMullin, who lives in Warren, Michigan.
The car responded by hooking at the hit, and McMullin ran as quick as 10.27 and finished in the eleventh spot in points in 2018. Then, he turned his car over to Dan Millen of Livernois Motorsports in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
Dan was working on some Coyote Stock tunes for Ford, and used my car to test at Livernois Motorsports over the winter of 2018-2019, said McMullin.
Ready to roll through some gears in 2019, he asked Eddie Bennett to join him and Donathen on his racing program.
Eddie helped a ton with race day prep, said McMullin. He looked at my RacePak data, and told me what adjustments to make to the launch rpm, shift points and tire pressure, among other things.
While McMullin missed the first two events on last year's NMRA tour, he made it to the remaining four events, put up a personal best of 10.17 and earned two semifinal finishes and an eighth-place finish in points.
We were super happy with that, said McMullin. We had qualified well at every event that we went to, and had the two semifinal finishes, so it felt like we were on the right path.
On his way back to Michigan, McMullin dropped his car off at Donathen's shop in Indiana, and Donathen spent the following weeks going through his G-Force G101-A transmission and making a gear change in it, inspecting all of the suspension components under his car, and making a gear change in its rear-end. He also performed some wiring.
These cars leave the line pretty hard, and racers have bent control arm mounts and bolts, so all of that needs to be checked frequently, said McMullin.
When the work was wrapped, McMullin loaded his car into his trailer and headed to the 26th Annual Nitto NMRA Spring Break Shootout in late February at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. With no time for testing, he went right into qualifying and ripped off a 10.00 to qualify in the second spot, and to pick up a personal best. He then had a 10.13, 10.21 and a 10.19 to get past the first through semifinal rounds of eliminations, and then a 10.16 to finish as the runner-up against Frank Paultanis, who set records in the category that weekend with a 9.92 and 132 mph.
It was a great start to the year, said McMullin. The air was incredible at that race, and I would have run in the 9s in qualifying on Saturday night if I hadn't left the line before the tree fully dropped. We know that from looking at RacePak data and comparing my pass to Frank's pass. More importantly, nothing that we had done over winter bit us at that race, so we were happy.
Holding down the second spot in NMRA G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock points, McMullin is beyond ready to belt in for the Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by HPJ Performance, May 28-31, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
I've set a standard for myself, so I want to do well, said McMullin, who, in addition to his wife, Pamela McMullin, Donathen and Bennett, has help from Paultanis, Matt Harget and Andy Ransford, among others, and support from Lucas Oil, BadassFenderCovers.com, Fidanza Clutches, Canton Racing Products and JLT Performance. I know that everyone else in the class wants to do well, too, but I'm going to remain optimistic, and have fun while I'm at it.
I didn't get many test passes at Milan Dragway, and then, unfortunately, we broke in a test pass before qualifying at Beech Bend Raceway, but I already knew that my car was a couple tenths slower than the other cars in the category, and I needed to do something about it, said McMullin, whose car wears a carbon fiber hood by Motor City Solutions and a wrap.
Committed to doing whatever it would take to have a shot at being competitive in the category, McMullin reached out to Tim Donathen for help in setting up the suspension under his car over the winter of 2017-2018.
In addition to helping with my suspension, Tim did some chassis fabrication and stiffening, which was a big deal, said McMullin, who lives in Warren, Michigan.
The car responded by hooking at the hit, and McMullin ran as quick as 10.27 and finished in the eleventh spot in points in 2018. Then, he turned his car over to Dan Millen of Livernois Motorsports in Dearborn Heights, Michigan.
Dan was working on some Coyote Stock tunes for Ford, and used my car to test at Livernois Motorsports over the winter of 2018-2019, said McMullin.
Ready to roll through some gears in 2019, he asked Eddie Bennett to join him and Donathen on his racing program.
Eddie helped a ton with race day prep, said McMullin. He looked at my RacePak data, and told me what adjustments to make to the launch rpm, shift points and tire pressure, among other things.
While McMullin missed the first two events on last year's NMRA tour, he made it to the remaining four events, put up a personal best of 10.17 and earned two semifinal finishes and an eighth-place finish in points.
We were super happy with that, said McMullin. We had qualified well at every event that we went to, and had the two semifinal finishes, so it felt like we were on the right path.
On his way back to Michigan, McMullin dropped his car off at Donathen's shop in Indiana, and Donathen spent the following weeks going through his G-Force G101-A transmission and making a gear change in it, inspecting all of the suspension components under his car, and making a gear change in its rear-end. He also performed some wiring.
These cars leave the line pretty hard, and racers have bent control arm mounts and bolts, so all of that needs to be checked frequently, said McMullin.
When the work was wrapped, McMullin loaded his car into his trailer and headed to the 26th Annual Nitto NMRA Spring Break Shootout in late February at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. With no time for testing, he went right into qualifying and ripped off a 10.00 to qualify in the second spot, and to pick up a personal best. He then had a 10.13, 10.21 and a 10.19 to get past the first through semifinal rounds of eliminations, and then a 10.16 to finish as the runner-up against Frank Paultanis, who set records in the category that weekend with a 9.92 and 132 mph.
It was a great start to the year, said McMullin. The air was incredible at that race, and I would have run in the 9s in qualifying on Saturday night if I hadn't left the line before the tree fully dropped. We know that from looking at RacePak data and comparing my pass to Frank's pass. More importantly, nothing that we had done over winter bit us at that race, so we were happy.
Holding down the second spot in NMRA G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock points, McMullin is beyond ready to belt in for the Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by HPJ Performance, May 28-31, at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
I've set a standard for myself, so I want to do well, said McMullin, who, in addition to his wife, Pamela McMullin, Donathen and Bennett, has help from Paultanis, Matt Harget and Andy Ransford, among others, and support from Lucas Oil, BadassFenderCovers.com, Fidanza Clutches, Canton Racing Products and JLT Performance. I know that everyone else in the class wants to do well, too, but I'm going to remain optimistic, and have fun while I'm at it.