NMRA
Race Wrap – 2021 NMRA Ford Performance Nationals
by Ainsley Jacobs
Norwalk, OH – Hosted at the iconic Summit Motorsports Park, the fourth stop on the 2021 Holley NMRA Ford Nationals drag racing tour 
was the Inaugural NMRA Ford Performance Nationals on June 11-13 in Norwalk, Ohio, and the weekend wound down the fields in over a dozen classes to finish out strong with memorable winner’s circle celebrations.
Continuing his number one qualifying streak from St. Louis in Norwalk as well, Tony Hobson’s name topped the order for VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw as his ProCharged 1990 Ford Mustang ran out the back door to go 4.353 at 165.01 mph. The Lake St. Louis, Missouri, resident took on John Urist in his Hellion Turbo 2015 Mustang, and although Urist had the hole shot advantage, he spun not long into the run and Hobson powered past to conclude another event with a win as his 4.422 at 164.81 mph time slip made things official.
Once again, the Edelbrock Renegade qualifying sheet hosted KBX Performance power in the top spot as Joel Greathouse, the 2020 season champion, piloted Jeremy Wolf’s turbocharged 1993 Mustang to a quick 4.612 at 154.00 mph timeslip. New Yorker Eric Bardekoff was close behind in second with his supercharged 2016 Mustang and a 4.640 at 154.58 mph trip. The two took out the rest of the field on their way to the finals where it was a wild fight for glory, but Greathouse refused to relinquish his advantage and got the job done with a 4.633 at 153.33 mph blast to cap off his second win of the weekend.
Race Wrap—2021 NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance
Written by Ainsley Jacobs
Madison, IL – The third event of the 2021 Holley NMRA Ford Nationals drag racing series took place just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, at 
World Wide Technology Raceway over the weekend of May 15-17, 2021, with the 16th Annual NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance.
An iffy weather forecast presented challenges to the schedule, but the bulk of the event was able to be completed. Sadly, on Sunday afternoon, the rain returned and prevailed to the point where the race had to be called. Some classes were able to be run to completion, but the remaining final rounds that weren’t wrapped up will be contested at the next event, the Inaugural NMRA Ford Performance Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, over the weekend of June 10-13, 2021.
From the vendor midway to the UPR Products Car Show, exciting on-track action and tons of new personal bests and records, the event was a highlight of the NMRA tour and only further fueled the fire of the critical season championship points chases that are already in full swing.
In the combined NMRA VP Racing Madditives/NMCA Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw class, Tony Hobson of Lake St. Louis, Missouri, clinched the qualifying advantage when he ran 4.279 at 167.07 mph in his ProCharged ’90 Mustang for the number one position. Hobson held strong throughout eliminations and put Nicky Notch’s ’79 Mustang on the trailer in the semi-finals. Newcomer to the NMCA series, Randy Matlock of Missouri, had a bye and was eligible to race his LS-powered ’92 Mustang in the rain-postponed finals, but the two men will have to wait to run one against another until the NMRA and NMCA meet up again in Martin, Michigan, and a winner can be determined.
Race Wrap—2021 Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by MAHLE Motorsport
Commerce, GA – Continuing the 2021 Holley NMRA Ford Nationals drag racing series with the second stop of the tour for the season, the 
13th Annual Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport at Atlanta Dragway over the weekend of April 9-11 also marked the final time that either series will run at the facility, as the property has been sold and is slated for demolition at the end of the year.
With the threat of rain looming and the forecast showing Saturday as almost a guaranteed washout, race officials pushed hard to get two rounds of qualifying completed on Friday. However, the day’s events ran so smoothly that the schedule actually completed early, and a third session was run on Friday as well. Saturday morning broke with skies clearer than expected, so qualifying continued until afternoon showers ultimately forced race officials to call the day a wash.
By Sunday, though, the sunshine had returned and eliminations were contested without interruption so that the rightful winners of each category were able to enjoy their celebrations in the winner’s circle. Fans showed up in droves to watch one of the last events in Atlanta Dragway’s storied history and enjoyed the on-track action as well as the UPR Products car show, manufacturer’s midway, swap meet, and so much more.
Official Race Results | BMR Suspension NMRA Spring Break Shootout
Bradenton, FL – The highly anticipated start of the 2021 Holley NMRA Ford Nationals began with the 27th Annual BMR Suspension NMRA 
Spring Break Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida, over the weekend of March 5-7, 2021.
Dramatic shifts in the weather—from temperate sunshine on Friday to dreary rain on Saturday and mineshaft air with a strong tailwind on Sunday—forced some adjustments in the schedule, but the NMRA staff and racers rallied to ensure the event ran to completion and the history books were filled with the names of new winners and record-setters as a result.
After a long winter of waiting, fans and spectators also enjoyed a great weekend of exciting racing action along with a complete manufacturer’s midway chock full of great deals, a cherry picker’s dream of a swap meet, a killer UPR Products Car Show, and more.
Coming out on top of VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw qualifying was the turbocharged ’02 Mustang belonging to Steve Halprin courtesy of a 4.249 at 170.28mph blast. Halprin stayed in the game through to the finals where he met with the number-two-qualified driver, John Urist of Hellion Turbo fame, and although he had the holeshot advantage, tire spin was Halprin’s undoing as Urist cruised to the win on a 4.261 at 171.97 mph with his turbocharged S550 Mustang.
Mickey Thompson to Sponsor New NMRA Small-Tire Street Car Class
Three-event schedule debuts in March at the Spring Break Shootout
STOW, OH – Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels has signed on as title sponsor of the NMRA’s newest small-tire drag racing category. The 
Mickey Thompson Street Car Challenge class is a three-event, non-championship category aimed at attracting small-tire/DOT-equipped tire Ford-brand vehicles that don’t fit into the regular lineup for NMRA Heads-Up, Index or QA1 True Street categories.
“Mickey Thompson is a leader in the DOT/drag radial tire market, so it is a natural fit for us to back a street car-type class. We look forward to seeing all sorts of Mustangs and Fords get involved at these NMRA events and have some fun,” said Tom Kundrik, Motorsports Manager, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels.
The new Mickey Thompson Street Car Challenge category is designed to replace NMRA Turbo Battle and Terminator/Cobra vs. GT500 Shootout races that have run at select events over the last several years. It consolidates those two categories into one group and is also open to many other Ford vehicles and combinations at any level.
2021 Holley NMRA Ford Nationals Event Schedule
Santa Ana, CA – The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals returns to action in 2021 with six (6) all-Ford national events through diverse markets. 
The national event series is the largest Ford motorsport show in the world hosting thousands of participants each year with championship drag racing, QA1 True Street challenges, specialty shootouts, UPR Products car shows, celebrity appearances, and much more.
“We closed out the 22nd season with an incredible NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic. It’s nice to have that momentum heading into 2021 for our racers, fans, and sponsors as next year’s schedule is our best yet,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director of the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals.
March 4-7, 2021
27th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout
Bradenton Motorsports Park, Bradenton, FL
Race Wrap – 2020 NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival
Bowling Green, KY – The 22nd Annual NMRA World Finals & Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling 
Green, Kentucky, wrapped up a crazy 2020, and yet a rather successful Holley NMRA Ford Nationals season for racers and enthusiasts alike. Great racing and great weather made for an excellent combination as event winners drove to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle and NMRA Champions collected their hard-earned Edelbrock Victor trophies and Nitto Tire Diamond Tree rings.
As this was the second year that Holley injected its infectious Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival into the event, event goers were treated to asphalt-ripping drifting that included Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chelsea DeNofa, auto-crossing, burnout mayhem, a Grand Champion competition, and of course the Festival 50 Crown Victoria race put on my YouTuber Cleetus McFarland and his crew who were responsible for all sorts of shenanigans on the course. And we can’t forget the towering Bigfoot 5, which was on display for photo ops.
VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw rookie Steve Halprin made a strong showing from the beginning of the event to the end, with elapsed times regularly in the 4.3-second range. Tony Hobson took the top spot in qualifying with a 4.26, but it was Halprin who consistently charged through eliminations and met Dom DiDonato in the final round of competition. When the race was over, it was Halprin who had turned on the win light at the top end of the track, and grabbed his first NMRA event win and took his first trip to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle.
Holley NMRA World Champions Will Be Celebrated at NMRA World Finals + Holley Ford Fest
Bowling Greet, KY – The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals will celebrate the 2020 World Champions during a special Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle party on Sunday October 4, 2020, at the conclusion of the NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, held at the scenic Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Class champions will be presented with the special Edelbrock Victor Championship Trophy and prestigious Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Champion ring. This special celebration is the replacement for the cancelled Performance Racing Industry trade show that has hosted the NMRA Awards Ceremony since 2001.
NMRA racing officials will be processing points in near real-time in order to declare category champions as quickly as possible. A second Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle will be used to properly honor the 2020 champions, their family and friends, and sponsors. The NMRA Media Division will be recording exclusive interviews with the champions, giving them an opportunity to present their champion’s speech. These videos will be produced and circulated across social media, giving our champions a platform to properly recognize their biggest supporters.
Race Wrap— Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance
Madison, IL – 2020 ushered in a world of changes and the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals wasn’t spared from those adjustments. One major 
change was moving the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing presented by HPJ Performance to the St. Louis area. After 14 years in Joliet, the event moved to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in nearby Madison, Illinois, where a long-standing tradition of Ford racing continued with the 15th Annual Super Bowl event. And despite a persistently poor weather forecast, spectators enjoyed a safe and socially distanced event, while racers sped to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle.
In the combined NMRA and NMCA VP Racing Madditives/Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw category, Dom DiDonato took the top spot in qualifying with a 4.32, and Tony Hobson was hot on his heels with a 4.36. The pair of Mustangs waded through the 13-car field and the number one and two qualifiers were the last men standing. With identical .087-second reaction times, both drivers left evenly, but Hobson encountered issues early in his run, leaving DiDonato to speed away with a winning elapsed time of 4.810.
At this event, the NMRA Edelbrock Renegade and NMCA Xtreme Street classes are combined for a battle of brand supremacy. Be it NMRA or NMCA, Mustangs reigned supreme in this category, with Joel Greathouse and his Fox-Body Mustang facing Tim Knieriem and his SN95 Mustang in a turbo-vs.-nitrous confrontation. Knieriem took the starting-line advantage, but that and his 4.731 effort weren’t enough to finish ahead of Greathouse and his 4.690 run.
NMRA Race Wrap— Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
Commerce, GA – Although the 12th Annual Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, 
Georgia, was originally scheduled to be run in April, the repercussions from the Covid-19 pandemic forced a date change to June 26-28, 2020. It was definitely worth the wait, though, as the event was run to completion over a near-perfect weekend and racers and fans alike were thrilled to be back out cutting lights and clicking off runs at “Georgia’s House of Speed.” A combined event for both NMRA and NMCA only added to the excitement, while the huge car show and expansive vendor midway amped up the atmosphere even further. At the event’s conclusion, champions were crowned in the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle and cars were eagerly loaded into trailers in preparation for the next event in just a few short weeks.
In the combined NMRA and NMCA VP Racing Madditives/Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw category, Alan Felts put his newly-finished “baby Pro Mod” ’91 Mustang into the number-one spot with a 4.424 at 165.97mph blast, but spun twice in round two of eliminations and couldn’t recover. Meanwhile, former champion and Street Outlaw bad boy Phil Hines of Lebanon, Ohio, met with Tony Hobson and his recently-acquired ride for an epic final-round battle of ProCharged-powered Mustangs. Hines, who had qualified fourth, snatched the lead at the start and was able to hold it all the way to the finish where a 4.504 at 160.79mph trip from his ’01 model took down Hobson’s effort of 4.514 at 160.86 mph in his ’90 Fox body.
