After a wet Friday that limited the action to the circle track at Beech Bend Raceway, the Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals & Holley Ford Fest soldiers on today. They hope is the weather will clear so all the drag racing action will warm up, but there is still plenty of high-performance fun on the property.
Today will see drifting, autocross, HooptieX Grand Champion, Capri Swam, and a 50-lap feature race on the circle track. Early on there was too much standing water on the off-road course to allow safely running those rides, but if things clear up there the hope is they can start safely slinging mud.
We appreciate your patience as we navigate the challenges this weekend, so stay tuned to our social channels for updates throughout the event.
<<QUALIFYING RESULTS HERE>>
Here is the tentative plan for today’s drag racing action at the Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals & Holley Ford Fest, for all the Holley Ford Fest action, check out the full schedule here. When an opening in the weather offers the opportunity, we hope to run Q1 of Heads-up classes, Q2 of Index classes, and Time Trials for Circle D Specialties True Street, TREMEC All-Female True Street, the Proformance Unlimited Presented by Willis Performance Godzilla, Capri Swarm. Then we will move on to the second round of qualifying in the heads-up classes before moving into eliminations.
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Drag racing has been a part of Beech Bend since the 1950s and the current dragstrip layout was adapted in 1972. Two years later, the facility hosted one of its biggest events in the NHRA SPORTSnationals until 1986. In 1984, Dallas Jones and his wife, Alfreda, purchased the facility. Dallas Jones worked tirelessly to upgrade the property and maintain a healthy schedule of events until his untimely passing in 2003. Despite his absence, Beech Bend Raceway remains one of the drag racing’s most beloved race tracks. For nearly 25 years, Beech Bend has been the host track for the NMRA series and served as the site of some of the series’ most dramatic moments as it’s the place where season champions are often crowned. Beech Bend has long been a favorite of racers as it successfully combines a down-home, small-track feel with all of the convenience and technology one associates with a modern dragstrip. With over 250 acres of usable pit space, it is easily large enough to accommodate one of NMRA’s largest and most popular events.
On Thursday, there was time for one qualifying run for index class racers at the Nitto NMRA World Finals and Holley Intergalactic Ford Fest. In ARP Open Comp, Dennis Corn came out swinging when he drove his ’88 Thunderbird to a .005 reaction time to take the provisional No. 1 spot. Not to be outdone, Johnny “Lightning” Wilker cut a perfect .000 light in his ’99 Lightning to secure the number-one spot in the Truck and SUV class. Since Wilker was the first driver to record a perfect reaction time, he cannot be bumped from the number-one spot. Charlie McCulloch, the championship leader in Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle, is the current low qualifier with a .002 light while multi-time world champion Marvin Knack used a .005 light to take the top spot in the HP Tuners Super Stang class. As for index racing, Don Jones Jr. drove to a 12.752 on his 12.75 index, and he is currently first in the CJ Pony Parts Ford Muscle category.
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There is still one race to go in the 2024 Holley NMRA Drag Racing season yet there are a handful of racers who have already enjoyed fantastic seasons and many of them are in line to be celebrated as world champions when the annual NMRA awards ceremony is held in Indianapolis on Dec. 13 during the PRI Show.
So far this season, no racer in NMRA competition has won more rounds than Gavin Black, who has turned on 19 win lights in the Suncoast Performance 8.60 Street Race category. Black, who calls Elkview, West Virginia, home, has driven his ’11 Mustang to back-to-back wins in Gainesville and Rockingham, and added a third victory in Martin to all-but wrap up the season championship with 2,830 points, compared to 1,895 for second-place Cody Poston.
Behind Black, Joel Greathouse and Charlie Booze have each won 18 rounds this season. Greathouse, of Oakland, Kentucky, is the current leader in VP Racing Madditives Renegade with wins in Rockingham, St. Louis, and Martin. Greathouse has already clinched the title over Bob Cook and Terry Wilson, who battling for second place.
Booze has also won 18 rounds in Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock behind the wheel of his Marion, Pennsylvania, based ’90 Mustang. Booze is currently locked into a heated points battle with Ed Bennett III, who has notched 14 round wins and is 330 points back in the championship fight.
Also noteworthy is the performance of Charlie McCulloch in the highly competitive Exedy Clutch Modular Muscle class. McCulloch, of Kennesaw, Georgia, has driven his ’04 Cobra to 15 round victories including three wins in Gainesville, St. Louis, and Martin. McCulloch, who finished second in last year’s points battle, is leading reigning champion Susan Roush McClenaghan by a comfortable 645-point margin.
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The weather might have presented some challenges to running on the drag strip, the Holley Ford Fest action on the oval moved ahead as cars carved up the cones in the Autocross.
The weather might have presented some challenges to running on the drag strip, the Holley Ford Fest action on the oval moved ahead as cars carved up the cones in the Autocross.