As 2013 draws to a close, the NMRA is prepared to crown the champions of its hard-fought fifteenth season’s worth of races at the upcoming PRI show in Indianapolis, Indiana.
There were six NMRA races this year, starting in Florida and ending in Kentucky as per the usual order of business, but for the first time the NMRA contingent went to Norwalk, Ohio to Bill Bader’s legendary Summit Motorsports Park as part of the tour.
The brand-new AFCO Racing Street Outlaw class rose from the ashes of the old Super Street Outlaw class and was designed specifically to bring the best in the world racing on both 28-inch slicks and 275-width drag radial tires together to battle it out on the 1320. In years past, New Mexico’s John Urist dominated the old Super Street Outlaw class, but fittingly, with the change in rules, 2013 saw a changing of the guard.
Phil Hines and his nasty ProCharged, Bischoff Engine Service-powered machine stepped to the front of the Street Outlaw pack in 2013. Hines only won two of six races, the season opener in Bradenton and at the stop in Norwalk, but was in the finals of every event to wrap up the title over second-place finisher Urist. In addition, Hines also earned the class record with an outstanding 7.128 at 202.21 MPH in the mineshaft conditions at Maryland International Raceway during the third event of the year.
The new class attracted a number of new competitors like number-three finisher Sean Ashe and the ATF Speed team from Florida along with fourth-place Chip Pike (racing Urist’s old Saleen 2003 championship car) and former Pure Street racer Dwayne Barbaree, who finished fifth for the season and turned in a few memorable performances. . A total of 22 racers competed in the class throughout the course of the season, which is a big step up from years past.
In Edelbrock Renegade, it was the Brian Mitchell show at five out of six events – Mitchell went undefeated in every event he attended along with a record-setting performance at Maryland International Raceway with an 8.298 at 169.94 MPH. Valerie Clements won the Atlanta event, but 2013 was Mitchell’s year in the class he has participated in since its inception in 1999.
Adam Arndt appeared in a number of semifinals along with a runner-up to Mitchell in Maryland to take the second spot for the season, while Tim Matherly shifted his way to third place on the strength of a good showing at the season’s last two events. Valerie Clements and Alton Clements finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and a total of 20 competitors took the track in Renegade in 2013.
This was the second year of competition in the Strange Engineering Coyote Stock class, and what a year it was for Pennsylvania’s Shane Stymiest! Shiftin’ Shane went to the semifinals in Florida and proceeded to run the table at the next four events to solidify his points lead and the championship.
Coyote Stock second-place finisher Jacob Lamb went to three final rounds and took home the win at the final event of the year in Bowling Green, while last year’s champ Joe Charles finished in third place for 2013. Joe Marini and Joe Guertin rounded out the top five in the class. There were 16 competitors for the year in the second year of existence for the sealed-engine eliminator, and many more well-known competitors in the process of building cars for 2014 in the hottest drag racing class around.
In Nitto Tire Factory Stock, Matt Amrine moved up from his third place finish in 2012 to take the 2013 title on the strength of four wins and five number-one qualifier spots through the course of the season.
John Leslie, Jr. finished in the second spot, with Matt Williams, Carlos Sobrino, and Louis Sylvester, Jr. rounding out the top five finishers for the 2013 season. We’ve heard rumors concerning a few of these competitors (with Sobrino and 12-place finisher Chalie Rankin confirmed) moving over to Coyote Stock for 2014.
In the NMRA’s other classes, Susan Roush-McClenaghan took home the Exedy Clutch Modular Muscle title over teammate Donnie Bowles, while Randy Conway took home his third Flex-A-Lite Open Comp championship. Bob Chuhran and Dave Leichty earned their first championships in Detroit Locker Truck and ROUSH Performance Super Stang, respectively.
Congratulations to all of the NMRA’s 2013 Champions, we can’t wait for March and the season opener at Bradenton, until then keep checking here for news on new cars and competitors.