NMRA
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.
NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals Moves to US 131 Motorsports Park August 27-30, 2020
Martin, MI – The NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals will be contested at US 131 Motorsports Park (Martin, MI) over the weekend of 
August 27-30, 2020. The change in venue is due to Summit Motorsports Park’s decision to remain closed for 2020 as they regroup and plan for a return to action in 2021.
“It has been a crazy year but one that is rewarding as we made new friends with Jason Peterson and his staff at US 131 Motorsports Park. The facility is ready for us as we bring one of most-action packed events of the year to Michigan. Not only will the NMRA and NMCA championship series and our line-up for street-legal categories be on the property, we are also hosting the Ford Performance Cobra Jet Showdown presented by Watson Racing and Chevrolet Performance COPO Camaro Shootout presented by COPO Parts Direct,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director for the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals.
US 131 Motorsports Park’s VP of Operations Jason Peterson said, “We are excited to host one of the top traveling series in the drag racing industry. This is a series that we have admired and tried to procure for many years.” Peterson continued, “We are thrilled to get this event, as we are competing against other major markets such as Chicago, Memphis and Indianapolis. This will be a great addition to our schedule at The Fastest Track in Michigan.”
New Location—Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Moves to St. Louis!
Due to the COVID-19 crisis and based on the Illinois regional plan, it is unlikely the Chicago-area will reopen for a spectator event in a 
reasonable amount of time. The Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance has been moved to World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis (Madison, IL) the weekend of July 30 – August 2, 2020.
“We’re very comfortable scheduling an event in the southern part of Illinois for the end of July based on the Illinois Motorsport Coalition reopening proposal that was presented to the state this week,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director at ProMedia Events and Publishing, the parent company of the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals. “Chris Blair and World Wide Technology Raceway are ready to help us pull-off this unique event as both the NMRA and NMCA are getting back to the business of drag racing.”
The relocation of the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by HPJ Performance to World Wide Technology Raceway has been one of several adjustments to both the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals sanctioning bodies. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the schedule has been revamped a few times.
POSTPONED—NMRA/NMCA Power Festival at World Wide Technology Raceway
ProMedia Events & Publishing is POSTPONING the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by HPJ 
Performance at World Wide Technology Raceway May 28-31 due to COVID-19 pandemic and current regulations.
“We are postponing the event and we are working with Chris Blair and his staff on a variety of options to make this event happen. It is no surprise what is going on in the country and how it has impacted the motorsports industry but we are very confident that we will make this event happen in 2020. We just ask for some patience from our racers, fans, and sponsors on the final date as we move some puzzle pieces around to make them fit properly,” stated Steve Wolcott, Founder and President of ProMedia Events & Publishing.
Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director shared some comments as well, “To say this situation is complicated would be an understatement. We worked with Chris Blair on a variety of plans and were prepared to pull off our national event under some extreme guideline conditions, if we were given the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately the Illinois State Guidelines just won’t allow us to facilitate an event of this size at this time. We wanted to get the word out immediately to our racers, sponsors, fans so they can adjust their travel plans accordingly.”
NMRA/NMCA Updates 2020 Event Schedules
Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA Power Festival Presented by HPJ Performance
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Madison, IL
May 28-31, 2020
Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals
Atlanta Dragway, Commerce, GA
June 25-28, 2020
Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing Presented by Nickey Performance
Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, IL
July 30 – Aug 2, 2020
