It is the day many NMRA fans looked forward to since the NMRA began celebrating its silver anniversary season this year. Today the Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming is underway at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. More than just another event, this stop on the NMRA tour is a celebration of not only a successful 25-year run from your favorite Ford series but an embrace of the movement that started with the Fox Mustang craze and still thrives today on the precipice of the seventh-generation Mustang’s arrival.

As with most NMRA events, today’s action kicks off with test ’n tune passes in all drag racing classes from VP Racing Madditives Renegade to brackets, and everything in between. Within that rundown of classes making test hits are several specialty categories running this weekend, including the 2020+ GT500 Shootout, TREMEC All-Female True Street, and TascaParts.com Cobra Jet Showdown. 

This weekend isn’t just spiced up with specialty categories on the drag racing side, however. Other events within the event, including the Anderson Composites Off-Road Alley, the Maximum Motorsports Autocross, the 40th Anniversary Saleen Reunion, the SVTperformance.com 30th SVT Reunion, the Harland Sharp Fox-Body Reunion presented by Foxy Events, the Model T Meet, and the TascaParts.com Cobra Jet Reunion.

Those visiting the Anderson Composites Off-Road Alley will not only see a wide variety of modified Broncos, Raptors, and other Ford trucks and sport utility vehicles, but the original Bigfoot Monster Truck will be on hand for photo opportunities. Later in the weekend, its competition cousin will crush some Brand X rides as well.

If all that sounds like fun, follow along here and on our social channels throughout the weekend for updates from the Mickey Thompson Ford Homecoming.





There will be many highlights at the 25th Anniversary Ford Homecoming, one being Mike Charles' trio of orignally raced Saleen vehicles. They include two Fox Mustangs and a Ranger Truck. As a bonus Steve Saleen will be here telling stories about these awesome race cars.

 

After discovering a ring-seal issue with his engine, Gary “Hollywood” Parker turned to Chuck Lawrence of Lawrence Engine and Machine Dallas, Georgia, to freshen his short-block. After looking over the disassembled engine, Lawrence decided new rings and a hone job were all that was needed to get Parker back in business. While Lawrence was in there, however, he added his special touch, including some Pro Stock tech, that resulted in the Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle car running its best elapsed time ever at the St. Louis race — a 9.79 at 139 mph. Parker attributes some of the improvements to his recent switch to a Holley EFI system. He says the car “just feels good” for the first time in a while, so he is in great spirits at Summit Motorsports Park.

 

Richmond Gear Factory Stock racer Chris Niebauer is hoping for better luck this weekend than he had in a recent test session, where he burned out the front clutches in his transmission. He was trying out his combo’s new race weight, and that test resulted in pulling the transmission and reinstalling it in time for this weekend’s action at the Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming. With the car back together, he hopes to repeat last year’s race-winning success at Summit Motorsports Park this weekend.
 

You won’t want to miss the action this weekend at the Mickey Thompson NMRA Ford Homecoming. HP Tuners Super Stang regular Marvin Knack hasn’t missed many races over the years, and he has the stickers on his trailer to prove it. Knack is still dialing in his car’s Holley EFI system with help from Matt Bell at Redline Motorsports, and he is getting closer to where he wants to be. Knack says the car is more consistent on the track with this setup, which should pay dividends in this tightly contested category.
 

Gary Windsor rolled into Summit Motorsports Park feeling good about his chances in Richmond Gear Factory Rock this weekend. Benefitting from the latest rules revisions, he was able to drop 50 pounds from his car by virtue of its automatic transmission and another 75 thanks to the old-school Gen 1 Coyote under the hood. He says the car responded and showed promise in testing, so he hopes to be near the front of the pack this weekend.
 

Fresh off his success defending the Blue Oval’s honor against Daren Poole Adams in St. Louis, Uncle Robin Lawrence is on the property to run his Super Stock 2013 Cobra Jet combo in this weekend’s epic TascaParts.com Cobra Jet Showdown. Lawrence recently swapped to a fresh 2013-spec engine based on a 5.2-liter block, Boss 302 cylinder heads, and a Cobra Jet intake. Wearing a Watson Racing scoop that’s good for 1.5 mph, the combo’s newfound power means Robin is working on tuning the rear suspension.

Here’s how the drag racing action will go down today at the Mickey Thompson Ford Homecoming.

There is a lot to see and do this weekend at the Mickey Thompson Ford Homecoming at Summit Motorsports Park, but this handy map will help you locate everything.
 

 

 

 

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