NMRA Route 66 Post Race Report
The Second Annual Motive Gear Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing presented by Nitto Tire brought the cream of the Keystone NMRA Ford Nationals series to Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois, to battle it out with their Blue Oval brethren in 11 championship classes, then face off against the “Brand X” competition from the NMCA in the Super Bowl Shootout to determine who’d have bragging rights this year. With near-perfect weather all weekend, the Chicagoland fans were treated to a full schedule of racing, car shows, jet car exhibitions, and the most extensive manufacturer’s midway we’ve seen all year. Here’s a look at the NMRA action on the track:
Attrition took its toll during qualifying in the DiabloSport Pro 5.0 class, with the field going from five to three overnight. What was left was undoubtedly the best of the best, led by last year’s Super Bowl champ Tony Bischoff with a quickest pass of 6.586 seconds at 210.77 mph. In eliminations, Bischoff rode a competition bye straight into the finals, where he’d meet Mike Hauf, who had defeated David Schorr in the opening round to earn his slot. Hauf, the 2006 class champion, knew he’d need it all to beat Bischoff, but hit the tree too hard and came away with a -.128 redlight for his trouble, handing the Pro 5.0 title to Bischoff.
MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw was on fire in Chicago, literally and figuratively. With much drama during qualifying, it was Jarrett Halfacre in the pole position going into eliminations, coming back from a top-end brush with the wall during Thursday’s test and tune session to post a 7.457 second blast that tied to the thousandth with Sam Vincent, with the nod going to Halfacre thanks to his huge 195.85 mph trap speed. Speaking of speed, Joliet saw the fastest side-by-side pass in SSO history with Halfacre and Manny Buginga running 195-plus in their matchup. The field came down to Zack Posey, qualified 13th in the 17-car field, and John Urist, who was having his own drama in the form of a burned piston during the final round of qualifying that almost ended his weekend. When the tree dropped on the SSO final, once again it was reaction time that told the tale – Posey’s -.020 redlight meant that Urist would go to the winner’s circle after a roller-coaster ride all weekend.