Posted By: Mary Lendzion Feb 25, 2024

Written by Mary LendzionPhotos by Steve Turner and Evan Smith   The 30th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout and Saturday Thrill Festival was an extraordinary extravaganza with excitement in every corner from February 22-25, 2024 at Gainesville Raceway in Florida. The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals event attracted record-breaking attendance and offered outstanding action for all ages. Setting it in motion was a Cars, Coffee, and Cruise at National Parts Depot, and it spooled up with the CJ Pony Parts Ford Drift Invitational, RTR Pro Drifters Vaughn Gittin Jr., and Chelsea DeNofa, the world’s largest BIGFOOT monster truck, Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters, FMX Freestyle Motocross stunts, TV personality and DJ Clarence Barnes, UPR Products All-Ford Car Show and more.   This was the first time the historic Gainesville Raceway hosted an NMRA event at its big and beautiful facility. It served as a perfect setting for the drag racing, festival, and the start of a season-long celebration of 60 years of the Mustang.   “Our whole team was enthusiastic coming into this event at Gainesville Raceway. When we saw how excited our racers and race fans were, too, it just added to the adrenaline and set the tone for the weekend,” said Steve Wolcott, president and CEO of NMRA and NMCA. “The fan experience was exceptional, and there was so much for them to see and do. It was a great show, and we look forward to building upon this.”   Among the categories captivating the audience all weekend long was VP Racing Lubricants Renegade, where Kelly Shotwell stopped the clocks at 4.68 in his Mustang to set the pace in qualifying. The Ohioan was strong in the first and second rounds of eliminations but was forced to lift in the final round of eliminations, sending NMRA legend Robert Cook to the win with a 5.04.   Reigning Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock champion Ed Bennett shot to a 9.62 in his Mustang to lead qualifying, and he picked up to a whopping 9.58 while racing through the eliminations. Bennett belted in against Charlie Booze Jr. for the final round of eliminations, and while fans shared their guesses on who would gun to the win in the clash of Coyote Stock titans, Booze Jr. was victorious with a 9.63 to Bennett’s close 9.62.   

  Mike Bowen is one to watch in his wheel-standing Maverick in Richmond Gear Factory Stock as he chases another championship, and the Pennsylvanian let everyone know that at this first NMRA event of the year. He led qualifying with a 9.93 before going to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with another 9.93, this time against Damien Stephens, with made the trip from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and drove to a 10.10, in the final round of eliminations.   SunCoast Performance 8.60 Street Race saw nearly 20 competitors roll in for a chance to race to the NMRA Winner’s Circle. Houston McClain laid down a close-to-the-index 8.61 in his Mustang to lead qualifying in the great and growing class, but it was Gavin Black and Paul Sienkiewicz advancing to the final round of eliminations. Black got the win with an 8.65 when Sienkiewicz turned it red.   Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10, a class for 9- and 10-second race street-legal cars that are not built specifically for an existing class, debuted at the final NMRA race of 2023, and was on the track at this event. Nearly 20 racers battled for the top spot in qualifying, but David Smith made it happen with a 10.01 in his Mustang. Racing through the rounds was tight, but Mike Winters and Gary Parker and their cars were up to the task, Winters went to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with an incredibly dialed-in 10.10 on a 10.10 while Parker dipped under just slightly.   The former Truck & Lightning class is now the Truck & SUV class and is poised to welcome even more racers. Mike Roup, who traveled all the way from Texas to begin the chase to the championship, led qualifying with a .004 reaction time in his Ranchero. He met Gregory Collins and his Ranger in the final round of eliminations. Roup, who turned on the red light, watched as Collins sailed to the win with a lifting 11.65 on an 11.34 dial.    Dana Tebay was lightning-quick on the tree in ARP Open Comp, and the .000 was good for the top spot in qualifying. Six hard-fought rounds later, Taylor Dietsch went to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with an 8.93 on an 8.92 after hardcore racer Paul Svinicki went after the tree and turned on the red light.   


              Dean Snow went .005 on the tree to take the lead spot in qualifying in Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle, but the final round belonged to Charlie McCulloch and Shane Williams. McCulloch was slightly quicker off the starting line and ran right on his 10.45 dial to defeat Williams, who broke out.             Longtime HP Tuners Super Stang standout Chris Parisi put a .002 reaction time on the board to lead qualifying. He remained focused through the final round of eliminations. With fans wondering who would win, Parisi and Andrew Szubelak set course for the finish line, and Parish earned the trip to the NMRA Winner’s Circle with an 11.83 on an 11.80 to Szubelak’s 13.56 on a 13.43.   In CJ Pony Parts Ford Muscle, Bill Worstell and David Mormann recorded close .042 and .044 reaction times respectively, and Worstell wrapped up the win with a 14.08 on a 14.00, while Mormann dove under his 10.75 dial.   An array of amazing Fords competed in Circle D Specialties True Street, and their drivers gave everyone a glimpse of what they are capable of during a 30-mile cruise on the streets before returning for three back-to-back passes down-track. Chris Welch captured the overall win with an 8.85 average, while Willie Lujan collected the runner-up honors with an 8.88 average. Other winners were Adam Kuffel (9-second), Hector Navarro (10-second), John Muldowney (11-second), Damien Henley (12-second), Gerry Davis (13-second), Mary Ann Mammen (14-second) and Ken Mason (15-second).

  Drawing the eight quickest vehicles from True Street competition, the BBK Performance Spring Break Shootout saw Willie Lujan conquer four rounds to land the win with an 8.58 over fellow Floridian Adam Kuffel, who turned in an 8.77. Lujan, of Miami and Kuffel, of Orlando put on a good show in their final-round matchup.   VMP Performance’s Rebecca Starkey knows her way around a race car, especially a quick Mustang. She recently piloted her 2024+ Mustang to an S650-first 9-second pass, carving her name in the history books. Adding to her list of accomplishments, Starkey earned a win in the BMR Suspension S650 Mustang Stampede after she raced to a 10.34 this weekend in her car packing a Gen 4 Coyote and VMP Performance/Whipple supercharger system and calibration.   TREMEC All-Female True Street, contested at the NMRA races in Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky this year, welcomed nearly 20 racers at this event. Among them were Deneen Segura, who earned the overall win with a 9.59 average, and Kimberly Wood who earned the runner-up finish with a 9.66 average. Other winners were Kimberly Walter (10-second), Elaine Moistner (14-second winner), and Lou-Ann Walker (15-second).

  The final round of the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, which drew the quickest H-pattern-manual shifted machines from True Street, paired Jeff Smith and Karl Goin, and several shifted gears later, Smith secured the win with a 9.41 to Goin’s 10.46.   Kyle Cox and Pedro Porte pulled into the beams for the final round of eliminations in 2020+ GT500 Shootout presented by Coastal Dyno, TREMEC, VMP Performance, and ZPE GripTec, and Cox collected the win in the Unlimited class with a 10.03 on a 9.00 dial against Porte’s 10.83 on a 9.00. Meanwhile, Dylan Royer and Russell Haskins faced each other in the final round of eliminations in the Street class. Royer raced to a 10.00 on a 10.00 to take the win over Haskins, who had a better reaction time but wasn’t as tight on the top end with a 10.14 on a 10.00.   Brackets 1-3 added another entertaining element to this event. In Bracket 1, Brendon Gregory defeated Shane Rushling, who broke out. In Bracket 2, Chris Graff upset Dan Ryntz and in Bracket 3, David Mormann pulled off the win over John Harrell Jr.   “The NMRA has some of the best racers in the country,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director for NMRA and NMCA. “To witness our first event of the year and see how passionate they are about their cars and competition is what makes them stand out in the world of motorsports. Their performances at this event demonstrate their dedication and their desire to win.”   A double dose of fun and fast cars is next on the calendar when the NMRA joins its sister series, NMCA, for the 16th Annual NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance, April 11-14, 2024 at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.   For stories, photos, results, and more content throughout the year, check out NMRAdigital.com. Updated season championship points from this race are already available on the website as well at this link.