NMCA season opens in Florida

Words by Clifford Tunnell
Photos courtesy NMCA

The NMCA Edelbrock Muscle Car Nationals started the year off with a highly successful season opener. The 8th Annual Ross Racing Pistons NMCA Muscle Car Nationals at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida, saw huge fan attendance on Saturday, as well as very strong racer and show car participation.  Unfortunately, rain hit the area on Sunday causing the event to be finished Monday.  Despite losing a day, the NMCA season opener was one of the most successful events in the eight years it has been held at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

All the cars and stars of the NMCA were in attendance with many competitors from the Northeast and Midwest looking forward to warm weather and 1/4 mile action. NMCA fans came to see all the wild heads-up and wheels-up classes and they weren't disappointed! Supercharged, nitrous assisted, turbocharged, and naturally aspirated... the Bradenton event had it all. The muscle car movement is in full swing with classic muscle and modern muscle creating a great show for NMCA fans!

Pro Street saw Joe Dunne qualifying number one with a 6.25/224.15. Sadly, that performance would not be enough to see him through, as eliminations came down to Chris Rini and Vinny DeMieri. Rini put up a 6.33, overcoming DeMieri's 6.51 shutdown.

Conrad Scarry was the top qualifier in Super Street, clocking in at 6.80. That level of performance saw him through to the end, shutting down the 2009 Super Street champion Jim Blair. Blair may have had the better RT, with a .020 to Scarry's .030, but in the end Scarry's 6.76 was enough to light the winlight over Blair's 6.91.

The Nostalgia Pro Street class started off with a bang, and Jim Jarrett powered his beautiful orange '69 Camaro to the number one spot in qualifying, putting up a 7.42.