The lower level classes in the NMRA are just as competitive as the Pro classes, and the racers and competitors in each class are probably even more brutal in their thirst for the top spots in competition. In Part 2 of StangTV's predictions, we'll profile the winners, the dark horses, and those racers that have the toughest hill to climb. It's a bitch to have to do this, but hell, we have nothing better to do.
5.0 Mustang Magazine Real Street
Over the years, the Real Street landscape has definitely changed drastically. While the class started out as a place where people could bring their blown and Nitrous'd street cars, the class at this point seems to be headed for the 9.50 zone, which is a far cry from the low 11-second ET’s of old. The ultra-limited parts that are legal in this class force racers to use their ingenuity, and they have responded en masse. Engines in the class are limited to 5.0-based pushrod engines and 2-Valve Modulars, along with street-oriented superchargers and nitrous systems.
Stroking is not permitted, although the use of aftermarket push rod blocks is on the allowable list. The 2-Valve has been the combination to beat of late, as Tim Matherly took the championship last season over a furiously competitive Bruce Hemminger. Hemminger finished in second with his nitrous combination, although he had a great shot to win it all before a late-season crash derailed his program just before Bowling Green. Matherly’s teammate and customer, Jim Breeze, landed in the third spot, going consistent rounds as he learned his Real Street program.
With Hemminger most likely taking a seat for 2008, conventional wisdom says that the Modular boys will run away with the cup.
Racer most likely to win 2008 Championship – Tim Matherly  Another dynasty in the making? |
A former Pro 5.0 racer, Tim Matherly stepped his program back several years ago, as the Real Street class better reflects the customers he sees every day at his business, MV Performance. No stranger to the Pro tree, or heads-up racing in general, Matherly is lauded for thinking outside the box when it comes to making gains in his program. He seemed to have the field covered at Bowling Green by nearly a tenth, and the NMRA’s Rules Committee made some sweeping changes in the offseason to try to tighten up the field in this class.
Nevertheless, we think that Matherly has the knowledge and gumption to repeat as champion. Plus, we wanted to find a way to use the word gumption in a sentence.
Dark Horse for 2008 – Ken Bjonnes  Bjonnes will take his crew chief experience and apply it to his own racecar. |
Ken Bjonnes is a late entry into the heads-up racing party, as he doesn’t have the years of experience that a lot of racers mentioned in this article have. However, Bjonnes is immersed in the Mustang community as the owner and head tuner at Modular Depot Racing, based just outside of Cincinnati.
Bjonnes competed in Pure Street a few years ago, and is also the crew chief for Factory Stock recordholder Steve Gifford. He’ll soon be competing in an unorthodox combination – a 2-Valve Modular featuring nitrous injection. StangUndercover thinks he’ll be tough to beat, but Matherly should have his number as Bjonnes will surely be fighting some new-car bugs.
Can he win the big one? – Michael Washington  Fire? Where's the fire? |
There is no doubt that former Factory Stock champion Michael Washington is a fierce and competitive racer. Is it time for Washington, one of the NMRA's most outspoken personalities, to bust through and really make some noise?
It's a tough question because it seems like the Modular combination is still the quickest way to the finish line. As Washington has sponsorship from Paxton Superchargers, and the centrifugal pushrod combo have not been shown to be competitive with the Modular-based ProCharger entry of Matherly, at least with the rules as they were at the end of 2007.
We will never - and we mean never - count out Team JPC and their will to win. But will a lack of testing time for Washington keep him out of the hunt in 2008?
Cheating Whispers?
Real Street is another one of those classes where rumors of cheating have persisted. Because the list of allowable parts is so short and specific, racers have been forced to exploit the grey areas in the rulebook to try to find an advantage over their competition. From rampant rumors of illegal camshafts to modified nitrous systems, we’ve heard it all. Does Matherly have some sort of undetectable performance advantage? Last season it sure seemed so, as he was able to pull out a Hail Mary pass seemingly at will when his hopes for the championship were in jeopardy.
We think it's just tuning and his command of his vehicle, but we will never really know. His competitors say Matherly has all the power in the world and he put unleashes it when he needs it.
Tremec Transmissions Pure Street
Gear-banging wheel stands are a hallmark of this all-motor class that has far surpassed everyone’s expectations over the years. With push rod and 2- and 4-valve Modular combinations that have cubic-inch limitations along with strict cylinder head and intake manifold rules, the racers in this class have to do the most with the least.
The elapsed times that the racers in this class are capable of become all the more amazing when you factor in the dual-plane and long-runner manifolds, along with the limited camshaft profiles that they are forced to compete with. In 2007, Jimmy Wilson barely outlasted Brad Meadows for the championship, a mere 25 points separating them at the conclusion of the season. Meadows had it in his grasp, and all he had to do was win out in the final race in Kentucky, but Brandon Alsept kept him from doing just that in the final round. Ryan Hecox finished in third after battling chassis and transmission problems all year, came on hard at the end of the year after a trip to the chassis shop to get everything squared away.
Racer most likely to win 2008 Championship – Jimmy Wilson  Two in a row? |
There are any number of racers that make the power to take the win in this class, but we think Jimmy Wilson is going to repeat as the champion. It’s hard to look at the fact that he has all winter to test and research all of his off season changes and compare it to his competition that will show up without a lap since last season, and expect them to outrun him for the championship. Wilson was consistent during the entire 2007 season, missing the final round only at the season-ending race in Kentucky, and StangUndercover feels that the experience he gained last season will help him to repeat as Pure Street champion.
The bigger questions - is this the year the pushrods just get their asses kicked by the Modular cars? And if that happens, does Wilson have a way to take an early lead and not let them dominate?
Dark Horse for 2008 – Brandon Alsept  Can Alsept win with BES power? |
For years, heads-up racers have been using Bischoff Engine Service to build class-killer bullets, and Brandon Alsept is no exception to the rule. After running a quick 10.27 in Michigan last season, he had an oil pump failure and struggled to get back on track until Bowling Green. Then he went out and decimated the field with a 10.19 ET during eliminations, and went on to win the race, earning himself a 100-pound lead trophy in the offseason from the NMRA’s Rules Committee.
The engine was sent back to BES in the offseason, and if last year’s performance is anything to think about, the 100 pounds won’t hurt him one bit. Look for him to cause havoc in the Pure Street class all season. For some reason, Alsept seems like he's always overlooked.
Biggest hill to climb? – Brad Meadows  Too quick on the trigger? |
It's hard to be a bridesmaid and never the bride. Or, a groomsmen and never the groom. Or some crap like that. The analogy applies to Brad Meadows, who twice, has been the awarded the first loser's position in Pure Street.
Meadows has been the runner up in this class for the last two seasons, losing out by only 25 points to Jimmy Wilson for the championship. However, Brad’s been bit by the redlight bug on more than one occasion in the final round, leading StangUndercover to believe that after a few seasons competing at the top of the class, he’s bound to have a down year mentally after being so close.
Nobody deserves the championship more than the Meadows team, and we hope he can avoid the fate of the Buffalo Bills, who lost three straight Super Bowls.
Cheating Whispers?
Solid lifters? Too many cubic inches? Doctored fuel? Manifolds that don’t really fit the letter of the law? Pure Street resembles Hot Street in too many ways for us to think that there is no rule-bending going on, but to our knowledge the NMRA’s Tech staff hasn’t caught anyone doing what they shouldn’t be doing. Yet.
ACT Factory Stock
Factory Stock is somewhat of a misnomer for this class, as the cars are anything but “stock” at this point in time. Easily the class forced to do the most with the least, the Factory Stockers are known for their ingenuity in making their cars run fast with extremely limited parts.
Last season, rookie Tommy Godfrey took over the reins of Mike Washington’s Factory Stocker, sponsored by JPC, and won the championship in the closest points chase ever seen in the NMRA, winning by a slim 15 point margin over Steve Gifford. Gifford, no slouch in his own right, learned a ton last season as a driver under the tutelage of crew chief Ken Bjonnes. Jeff Schmell took third, ending up less than a round of competition out of the championship jacket himself.
There was some controversy during the season, as Godfrey “claimed” the ET record in Florida but didn’t follow the proper procedure, and somehow managed to be awarded the record anyway, which locked up the championship for him.
Racer most likely to win 2008 Championship – Steve Gifford  I have my new driving shoes! |
After another offs eason farming soybeans, the Farmer is sure to be itchy to get to Florida. Last season, he continued to run the Boss330-built power plant that had served him so well in 2006, but he’s got a brand new bullet for this year. With more Al Papitto tricks underhood, and a solid crewchief and team in Modular Depot Racing, we think the Farmer will seal the deal in 2008.
The biggest questions concern his driving. Yes, he's got some time in his racing suit, but how will he fair if he's down to the wire in the back half of the season? Rumor has it that Gifford is making big power, more than anyone in the class.
Dark Horse for 2008 – John Leslie Jr.  Can the parts breaker challenge the champs. |
There is no doubt in our mind that John Leslie has the driving skill and will to win, but he was bitten by the breakage bug in 2007. If Leslie can keep the car together for longer than a couple of rounds in 2008, he will definitely be a racer that will prove to be a thorn in the side of the Farmer during his championship run.
We think Leslie is due. Not only because he's a cool due, but because he's fought in the trenches in this class for so long. Despite not a huge budget, he's like that small dog that's always nipping and biting your heels that you can't get away from.
Will that dog rise to the top?
Can he do it again? – Tommy Godfrey  I swear, they are the magic E7 heads! |
Fighting modular motors all day is nothing to this man.
You always hear rumors of the sophomore slump, and we feel like that could be evident in how Tommy Godfrey approaches his program this year. The team switched to the E7 heads at the end of last year and ran extremely well, in fact, too well some say, for the limited parts selection that this class features.
Godfrey is a member of Team JPC who has more than 7 years of hard core Factory Stock experience. That is bound to be a big help, but can he hold off the pesky 2-valvers and 4-valvers?
Cheating Whispers?
Rumors swirl around the JPC-sponsored Factory Stock effort – it seems that they’ve located a set of E7 cylinder heads that outperform every other set that’s ever been tried by any other Factory Stock racer. Are they legal? The Tech Department tore them down last year in an effort to find out, and they came up clean. But after reading the tales told on StangCrazy over the winter, we’re not so sure if they haven’t made a trip to the acid-porter.
Now we're not suggesting there is any cheating going on. First off, we're just too plain stupid to really know what acid porting looks like.. plus, if anyone can fly it's these guys. But we also wonder how they can go so fast when everyone else is dragging their ass down the track with their lead heads...
News and rumors are always welcome, send them on, no matter how juicy. The PM function is your best bet.