Race Results: NMCA at Indy

Santa Ana, Calif. (July 1, 2016) – After a long weekend chock full of some epic racing, the 2016 NMCA All-American Nationals featuring the 10th Annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout has come to a close. Held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana, nearly twenty classes were hotly contested and racers were all looking to get to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.

VP Racing Fuels’ Xtreme Pro Mod class was full of turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous cars all vying for the right to take a trip to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle, but four rounds of eliminations whittled them down to just one. It was a battle of the Camaros in the finals but ultimately it was Billy Banaka of Brandon, Missouri, who reached the big end with his car in front. Banaka, the number-four qualifier, ran the eighth mile in 3.914 seconds at 198.38 mph and defeated Steve Summers of Utica, Illinois, the number-three qualifier, who ran 3.995 at 204.76 mph.

New for 2016 is the exhibition Dart Machinery Pro Stock class, which will become a full-fledged series next season. This weekend saw four cars battle it out for bragging rights, and the final was a matchup between the number-two qualifier Merv Moyer of Annville, Pennsylvania in Leonard Long’s ’04 Mustang against the number-one qualifier Stephen Graham from San Francisco, California in his Bob Book Racing Engines–powered ’12 Pontiac Grand Prix. At the start, Moyer took a huge holeshot (.046 to .195) and that would help his slower 7.50 at 182.18 mph run defeat Graham’s 7.37 at 192.60 mph effort.

In Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, it was anyone’s guess as to which make would be victorious, but thanks to number-one qualifier Chuck Watson’s relentless efforts, the win went to the Fords. Hailing from Grosse Ile, Michigan, Watson pushed his ’16 Mustang Cobra Jet to a final time of 8.549 at 159.51 mph to edge out Clay Arnett of Hartsville, Indiana, who qualified second, and his ’15 COPO Camaro that ran 8.566 at 158.13 mph.

Mickey Thompson Radial Wars saw extreme action on the track and a lot of shenanigans between rounds. Ultimately, the finals came down to the two heavy hitters DeWayne Mills and Keith Berry. Mills, who hails from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, qualified at the top of the pack with his ’68 Camaro the “Golden Gorilla” and got win after win until he was up against Berry from Gainesville, Georgia and his C5 Z06 Corvette in the finals. It was a neck and neck race to the stripe, and it was tough to tell who was going to take the win, but at the last second Mills made it happen with his 3.948 at 197.86 mph pass over Berry’s 3.990 at 188.20 mph blast.

Jacky McCarty dominated Wiseco Performance Products Street Outlaw all weekend long from qualifying, where he was the leader of the pack, to eliminations where he picked up the win. McCarty, from Bristol, Virginia, threw down in the finals with a big 4.432 at 167.01 mph from his ’91 Mustang and in the process took out Phil Hines of Lebanon, Ohio, who went 4.567 at 161.21 mph in his ’03 Mustang.

There’s a reason Joe Bucaro was the 2015 champion in ARP Nitrous Pro Street—the man knows how to drive. Bucaro took the top spot after all qualifying sessions had been run, then cruised through eliminations in his ’04 Mustang. Based out of Chicago, Illinois, Bucaro pushed his Mustang to a final-round time of 7.280 at 187.42 mph to take the win over Jim Beil of Portland, Ohio, after Beil had trouble at the start and fouled.

The ’10 Camaro driven by Louie Filippides of East Marion, New York, was running flawlessly in Edelbrock Xtreme Street over the course of the three-day race. Filippides claimed the number-one spot after qualifying had been completed, and then faced off against Henry Lee of Richlands, Virginia, and his ’90 Mustang in the final round of eliminations. Lee had qualified sixth and was doing well, but his 8.790 at 146.30 mph pass just wasn’t enough to get past Filippides’ 7.696 at 180.45 mph trip.

Big power and small tires are the name of the game for MX235 Shootout, and Brad Medlock of North Little Rock, Arkansas, had the game on lock. Brian Edwards was the number-one qualifier for the class, but it was Medlock who headed to the winner’s circle after putting Shane Halleman, the number six qualifier, back on the trailer at the conclusion of the final round. Medlock’s ’95 Mustang’s 4.803 at 150.35 mph pass secured the win when Halleman’s ’88 Mustang went 5.052 at 146.11 mph with a -0.002-second reaction time and a red light at the start.

The naturally aspirated powerhouses of the Quick Lane of Downs Ford NA 10.5 class fought the good fight all weekend long. After qualifying sixth, Rick Riccardi of Toms River, New Jersey, went on to run in the finals. His 8.151 at 166.76 mph pass took out the number-nine qualifier, Vince Khoury Jr., and his 8.329 at 164.29 mph effort.

The Fastest Street Car Top Sportsman continues to grow, and the field enjoyed three fierce rounds of competition. In the finals were Shawn Morrow from Piedmont, South Carolina, and his ’03 Mustang against Kynon Dinkel from Terre Haute, Indiana, and his ’04 Cavalier. When the lights dropped, the Ford got the jump over the Chevy, and Morrow cruised to a 7.746 at 173.90 mph run on his 7.72 dial in to get the win over Dinkel who ran 6.758 at 206.45 mph on his 6.79 dial.

Glenn Pushis had the advantage all weekend over his fellow Chevrolet Performance Stock competitors, and was the only racer in the class to dip into the 10.3s with a 10.35 that topped qualifying. Chasing right behind him was Kevin Lumsden, and the two would be paired in the final. When the lights came down, Lumsden had problems at the hit, while Pushis drove to a 10.44 at 127mph and the win.

The top honors for ATI Performance Products Nostalgia Super Stock went to Al Corda of Elk Mound, Wisconsin. Corda expertly drove his ’69 Dodge Dart to a final time of 9.825 at 133.58 mph to earn the win over Jeff Frees’ 9.837 at 130.10 mph run.

The best of the classic muscle car era was represented in Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle Car. It was an all-Chevy final round with Andy Warren and Tim Boggs going side by side. Boggs, from Fayetteville, Ohio clicked off a 12.134 at 106.89 mph pass on a 12.00 dial in with his ’67 Chevy II. Representing his hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Warren had the better pass when his ’71 Caprice went 10.510 at 124.25 mph on a 10.50 dial in and triggered the win light in his lane.

In the large MagnaFuel Open Comp class, eliminations spanned six rounds. Donnie Bowles, who hails from Madison, Kentucky, drove his ’05 Mustang to a number-four qualifying position and went 10.220 at 126.67 mph on his 10.18 dial in to get the win over Jenna Pierce-Wilson who drove up from Muncie, Indiana, with her ’12 COPO Camaro and ran 9.800 at 137.36 mph on her dial in of 9.76.

The NMCA welcomed Y-Block enthusiasts this weekend and hoards of beautiful classics running the antique engine powered their way down the track for fun and fame. After three rounds of eliminations, the win went to Ted Eaton of Lorena, Texas, in his ’23 Altered. Eaton got the win with a 9.008 a 145.75 mph run on his 8.99 dial in while his opponent Harry Hutten, Jr. of Hamilton, Ohio, triggered a red light with his ’60 Monterey.

True Street and Y-Block racers were entered into a bracket race on Sunday and Harry Hutten, Jr. from Hamilton, Ohio, was the overall winner in Bracket 3. Hutten’s 12.974 at 105.37 mph hit with an 0.066-second reaction time got the job done against Marvin Knack of Lexington, Illinois, who clicked off a 12.016 at 108.45 mph pass.

Gear Vendors True Street broughtin a wide assortment of machines all looking to put up their best times on the scoreboards. Taking the overall win with his ’90 Mustang is Medina, Ohio’s Lonnie Tibbs who posted a 7.93, an 8.05, and an 8.11 to average 8.03-nearly two seconds faster that the runner up. Chasing down Tibb’s Gotta Have It Green Mustang was Robert Mandabach, whose super clean and nitrous enhanced ’70 Chevy Nova went 9.94, 9.64, and 9.61 to average 9.73 for the runner up honors.

Just a fender behind Mandabach was Kevin McCotter who collected a 9.77-second average for the 9-second award. From there, it was a two-second gap back to Grady Alley, who used an 11.23 average to grab the 11-second prize. Alley was followed by Indy resident John Revor who took the 12-second average with a tight 12.008 average, Troy Frey who took home the 13-second prize with a 13.08 average, 14-second winner Scott Trebs (14.07 average) and Matthew Rimel who brought home the 15-second award with a 15.07 average.

Results for the 10th Annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout are covered in a special story on the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals website. For the winners of JE Pistons Drag Radial, Holley EFI Real Street, Chevrolet Performance Stock, Proform Rumble, LME Street King and Gear Vendors True Street, click here.

Don’t miss the next stop for the NMCA Drag Racing Series presented by E3 Spark Plugs, the 11th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, on July 28-31, 2016!