NMCA points race heats up Milan action

Words by Jason Reiss
Photos by NMCA staff

A packed house and great racing action was the result of the NMCA’s trip to Milan Dragway in Milan, Mich., on August 27-29.  As this was the NMCA’s sixth race of seven, the points chase in each class was on the line and the end result was some fantastic racing action.

In the Pro Street class, Chris Rini took his ’07 Dodge Stratus straight to the top of the qualifying ladder as he re-set the national record to a 6.16 during Saturday’s sessions.  There, Noel Felton gathered a series of gifts, first from Troy Coughlin when Coughlin had some fluid leakage on the starting line, then a redlight from Jeff Lutz and a bye run into the final.  On the other side of the ladder, Rini decimated the competition to meet up with Felton for the finals.  Felton rolled in first, but when the tree came down he redlit, while Rini turned in an unbelievable 6.15 at over 231 MPH to take the win.

Super Street class saw Frank Mewshaw run just .008 slower than the national record to take the top qualifying spot.  As eliminations progressed, Bill Lutz took out Jim Robbins and Larry Prykucki, then scored the semifinal bye on his way to the finals.  On the other side of the ladder, Tony Nesbitt lit the red in the semi, sending Rob Golobo on to meet Lutz in the final.  There, after a bit of timing-system drama, Lutz took the win over Golobo.

Chuck Demory Jr. rocketed to the top of the Nostalgia Pro Street field during qualifying, unleashing an awesome 7.28 at 187 MPH during Saturday’s sessions.  Eliminations saw Jeff Colletta blaze through his side of the ladder to end up in the finals against Demory, who drove to the final with a .004 reaction time in the semi.  Demory took the win with a 7.29 to Colletta’s redlight.

New Yorker Jamie Stanton led the Xtreme Street class through the qualifying sessions, taking the top position with a 7.91 blast on Saturday.  He rolled through the competition to take out Jason Lee and move into the final against Trovato in a battle of the top two qualifiers.  There, Stanton turned on the red bulb while Trovato turned on the clocks with a stout 7.91!

Pro Stock had Greg Delaney taking the top qualifying spot over Don Bowles with an 8.50 to lead the pack.  Eliminations came down to 2009’s class champion Skip Baskin (shown) and Michigan racer Ben Mens in the final round.  There, Mens pushed the tree too far, handing the win away on the starting line.

The Street Radial class was a classic Ford vs. Chevrolet battle with Floridian Michael Fratena taking the top spot with an 8.66.  The elimination rounds had Jay Canella taking out Heath Shemwell in the first round, then taking a bye straight into the final.  On the other half of the ladder, Fratena took the first-round bye and eliminated Brad Schehr to meet Canella in the final. In a side-by-side matchup Fratena came out on top.