House of Hook Hosts Nonstop Hustle for 9th Annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals

Waiting for drivers who rolled into the 9th Annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Steeda Autosports on April 6-9 at Atlanta Dragway was new asphalt from the eighth-mile to the quarter-mile, and they used every inch of it to lay down rousing and record-setting runs.

In the NMCA’s quickest and fastest category, VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod, Sweden’s Adam Flamholc led qualifying with a 3.72 and 201.73 mph blast from his 1963 split-window Corvette powered by a 526 Hemi and Roots-style supercharger. Along the way, he picked up a national record for elapsed-time and reached 200 mph for the first time. Right behind him was Steve Summers, who reached 3.82 and an incredible 216.03 mph to take the second-qualified spot in his turbocharged Camaro. The pair proved formidable throughout eliminations, and met in the final, where Flamholc flew to a 3.80 finding victory over Summers and his 3.85.

The NMCA Pro Stock final was to feature Rob Pearce in his Studebaker and Don Baskin in his Cutlass, but it was over before it started as Pearce won when Baskin broke at the starting line.

After motoring to a 3.91 in his Camaro to lead qualifying in Mickey Thompson Radial Wars, DeWayne Mills continued to showcase his championship-winning ways by flat-footing his car nicknamed the Golden Gorilla to a 3.89 in the finals to defeat Josh Klugger, who was forced to coast to a 7.72 in his Mustang.

In the VP Racing Fuels Street Outlaw final, Jacky McCarty motored his turbocharged Mustang to a 4.43 to oust Jarod Wenrick, who lost traction in his Nova and limped to an off-pace 8.12 in the final-round matchup.

Scott Libersher and Gardner Stone met in the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars final, and Libersher landed in the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle after piloting his Camaro to an 8.16, despite Stone turning on the red in his 2016 Cobra Jet Mustang.

Don Baskin blasted to a 7.21 in his Camaro to lead qualifying in ARP Nitrous Pro Street, but by the end of the day, Jeff Rudolf was lining up his Nova next to John Trobiani and his Camaro for the final round. In a troubled, but tantalizing race, Trobiani was off the line first. Rudolf was in and out of the throttle and when Trobiani fell off at the top end, Rudolf got around him and went through the traps at 8.60 to take the win.

In Edelbrock Xtreme Street, Jessie Coulter cruised to a 7.47 in his turbocharged Camaro to lead qualifying before advancing to the final round to face reigning class champion Eric Kenward. While Coulter was off the line first, Kenward killed it with his new ProCharger F-1A-94 combination, and took the win with a 7.66 to Coulter’s 7.77.

In Boninfante Racing NA 10.5, John Langer drove his Pontiac-powered Trans Am to a 7.86 lead qualifier through rounds that saw a 330-plus-foot wheelstand from Dwight Ausmus and his Firebird, Langer and Leonard Long landed in the final. The drivers recorded identical reaction times, and Langer leaped to the win with an 8.39 when Long’s Mustang made a move at the hit and forced him to lift.

The always-captivating Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center saw multi-time champion Glenn Pushis drive to a 10.16 in his Camaro to lead qualifying, and he advanced to the final against Kevin Lumsden and his Camaro. Both drivers recorded a 10.23, but Pushis was off the line first and this took the win.

The new Stock/Super Stock Combo category commanded attention throughout the weekend and all the way to the final, where Rusty Johnson and his Mustang put up a 10.85 to defeat Kurt Neighbor, whose Thunderbolt had issues at the starting line and turned in a 10.18.

ATI Performance Products Nostalgia Super Stock saw multi-time champion Doug Duell line up his Fury alongside Robert Killian and his Dart in the final round of competition. When the tree dropped, Killian turned on the red and Duell rode to the win with a lifting 9.40.

In Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle Car, Tim Boggs bettered Tim Clark by running his Chevy II to an 11.77 on his 11.75 index to beat Clark’s 10.50 on a 10.54.

The always popular MagnaFuel Open Comp pitted Jenni Merrick-Cree against Norman Crane, and after recording a better reaction time, she defeated him with a 10.93 on a 10.88 while he went under his 10.04 with a 10.02.

The special Open Comp Shootout class paired Bruce Boyle against Don Fenlon in the final elimination round, but when Fenlon red lighted with a -0.026-second reaction time, the win lights illuminated in Boyle’s lane and he clocked a 9.019 at 148.99 mph pass on his 9.07 index to make things official.

A second special shootout, the Sealed Stock Shootout was also contested in Georgia and paired four NMRA Coyote Stock Mustangs against four NMCA Chevrolet Performance Stock Camaros. The two were evenly matched as the semi-finals featured Ford vs Chevy rounds, but the last pairing of the weekend was an all-Ford final with “Shiftin’” Shane Stymiest going head to head against Tim Matherly of MV Performance. A burndown battle between the two resulted in Stymiest taking the win, 10.31 at 128 mph to 10.33 at 128 mph.

In Gear Vendors True Street, Dana Beatty was the overall winner with a 9.00 average; Kyle Cumpton was the runner-up with a 9.06 average; Kevin McCotter was the 9-second winner; Jeff Brady was the 10-second winner; Alan Hill was the 11-second winner; Tom Calabrese captured the 12-second win; Scot Long lapped up the 13-second win and Allen Smith sailed to the 15-second win.

In Fastest Street Car Bracket 1, Jeremy Hancock defeated Brian Smith, and in Fastest Street Car Bracket 2, Bill Boomhower was victorious over Steve Wagner.

The action continues with the 16th Annual Quick Fuel Technology NMCA Bluegrass Nationals featuring the Dave Duell Nostalgia Super Stock Classic and the Chevrolet Performance Challenge Series, May 18-21, at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky.