Written by Mary Lendzion
Frank Paultanis is always one to watch in NMRA Coyote Stock.
Whether he is pulling wheelies, pulling gears or pulling through the traps after a high 9-second pass, he is showing a substantial set of skills in his buffed-out black Mustang with a Gen III Coyote engine, G-Force G101-A transmission and RaceCraft, Team Z, UPR, AFCO and Mark Williams suspension components.
He asks a lot of his car with his hard launches and high revving, so he spends off-seasons going through it to make sure everything is tight and in tip-top shape. Over the winter of 2022-2023, his to-do list included a peek at his suspension to be sure it was performing optimally.
“Over winter, I made suspension changes in the back, mainly with shocks and bar angles,” said Paultanis. “I also examined my stock torque boxes. It is surprising that my stock torque boxes have not ripped out of the car on their own, but I haven’t had time to cut everything out and install aftermarket torque boxes. I’m looking forward to installing them when I can, because they will give me more adjustability and I will able to fine-tune the instant center and have more strength.”
Paultanis also freshened his G Force G101-A transmission before making the trip from his home in Newport, Michigan to the 29th Annual Ryno Classifieds NMRA Spring Break Shootout presented by Nitto in March at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida. Unfortunately, he ran into some issues during testing and didn’t get to race.
Things were better for him at the next race, the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, where he qualified in the fifth spot out of 17 racers with a 9.78 and went all the way to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with a 9.77 against Ed Bennett.
“It was a really good weekend, and the car was running well,” said Paultanis. “I had a super-close race against my friend, Ed Bennett, in the final round of eliminations, and I won by four thousandths of a second. It was funny because a win light didn’t come on, and when we got to the top end of the track, near the turn-off, we rolled down our windows and asked each other who won. We found out when we got to the ET shack and got our timeslips.”
Focused on maintaining that momentum, Paultanis pulled into the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois, where he qualified in the fourth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.71 and made it to the semifinal round of eliminations before exiting with a 9.88 against Vinny Dastra.
“I didn’t make any changes before the race in Illinois, and while I wish I had gone to the final instead of the semifinal, I was happy with how the car was running,” said Paultanis.
From there, he made his way to the 3rd Annual Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming in June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, and qualified in the second spot with a 9.76 out of 16 racers and exited eliminations in the first round against John Leslie Jr.
“It would have been a good race, but I spun the tires,” said Paultanis, who then spent some time in car show mode as he took his car to the Motor City Foxfest powered by National Parts Depot at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan on July 15.
While he was revved up for the TorqStorm NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance, July 20-23 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, he has to sit it out, as he recently broke a couple bones in his right foot after he fell on a stairway. He is scheduled to see a specialist to ensure proper healing.
“I love racing, and not being able to go to the Michigan race will be very hard on me, but I will be paying attention to see how my fellow racers do,” said Paultanis, a Design and Release Engineer for Interior Parts for Ford Motor Company.
Paultanis is optimistic about making the 25th Annual Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals presented by Competition Clutch featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky.
“I’m currently in fifth-place in points, and hopefully I won’t get pushed down too far by missing the race in Michigan,” said Paultanis. “I’ll definitely be trying to make up for lost time at the race in Kentucky.”
Frank Paultanis is always one to watch in NMRA Coyote Stock.
Whether he is pulling wheelies, pulling gears or pulling through the traps after a high 9-second pass, he is showing a substantial set of skills in his buffed-out black Mustang with a Gen III Coyote engine, G-Force G101-A transmission and RaceCraft, Team Z, UPR, AFCO and Mark Williams suspension components.
He asks a lot of his car with his hard launches and high revving, so he spends off-seasons going through it to make sure everything is tight and in tip-top shape. Over the winter of 2022-2023, his to-do list included a peek at his suspension to be sure it was performing optimally.
“Over winter, I made suspension changes in the back, mainly with shocks and bar angles,” said Paultanis. “I also examined my stock torque boxes. It is surprising that my stock torque boxes have not ripped out of the car on their own, but I haven’t had time to cut everything out and install aftermarket torque boxes. I’m looking forward to installing them when I can, because they will give me more adjustability and I will able to fine-tune the instant center and have more strength.”
Paultanis also freshened his G Force G101-A transmission before making the trip from his home in Newport, Michigan to the 29th Annual Ryno Classifieds NMRA Spring Break Shootout presented by Nitto in March at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida. Unfortunately, he ran into some issues during testing and didn’t get to race.
Things were better for him at the next race, the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina, where he qualified in the fifth spot out of 17 racers with a 9.78 and went all the way to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with a 9.77 against Ed Bennett.
“It was a really good weekend, and the car was running well,” said Paultanis. “I had a super-close race against my friend, Ed Bennett, in the final round of eliminations, and I won by four thousandths of a second. It was funny because a win light didn’t come on, and when we got to the top end of the track, near the turn-off, we rolled down our windows and asked each other who won. We found out when we got to the ET shack and got our timeslips.”
Focused on maintaining that momentum, Paultanis pulled into the 18th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Muscle Car Drag Racing in May at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois, where he qualified in the fourth spot out of 15 racers with a 9.71 and made it to the semifinal round of eliminations before exiting with a 9.88 against Vinny Dastra.
“I didn’t make any changes before the race in Illinois, and while I wish I had gone to the final instead of the semifinal, I was happy with how the car was running,” said Paultanis.
From there, he made his way to the 3rd Annual Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming in June at Summit Motorsports Park in Ohio, and qualified in the second spot with a 9.76 out of 16 racers and exited eliminations in the first round against John Leslie Jr.
“It would have been a good race, but I spun the tires,” said Paultanis, who then spent some time in car show mode as he took his car to the Motor City Foxfest powered by National Parts Depot at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan on July 15.
While he was revved up for the TorqStorm NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance, July 20-23 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, he has to sit it out, as he recently broke a couple bones in his right foot after he fell on a stairway. He is scheduled to see a specialist to ensure proper healing.
“I love racing, and not being able to go to the Michigan race will be very hard on me, but I will be paying attention to see how my fellow racers do,” said Paultanis, a Design and Release Engineer for Interior Parts for Ford Motor Company.
Paultanis is optimistic about making the 25th Annual Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals presented by Competition Clutch featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky.
“I’m currently in fifth-place in points, and hopefully I won’t get pushed down too far by missing the race in Michigan,” said Paultanis. “I’ll definitely be trying to make up for lost time at the race in Kentucky.”