The Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing

Words by Jake Amatisto
Photos courtesy NMCA/NMRA

Over five hundred competitors showed for the 6th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing in Joliet, Ill., making one of the largest street legal-type drag races in the history of the both series. And for the sixth year, Route 66 Raceway hosted some of the fastest doorslammers in the country, racing heads-up in a combined event.

Adding to the action were multiple index classes where nearly any fast domestic muscle car could compete for some cash, prizes, and glory. The grand finale is a special competition at the end of this event where winners from each category in both NMRA and NMCA face each other in a runoff for the Nitto Diamond Tree Super Bowl ring. Going into this event, the NMRA racers lead, three to two, so this one gave a chance for the NMCA racers to tie it up.

In the quickest class in the NMCA circuit, Pro Street, Randy Adler was the number one qualifier after the dust settled, running 6.001 at 237 mph. The turbocharged ride of Alex Viscardi came in second on the ladder by running a 6.08 at 208 mph, and third was Dan Stevenson who ran his own 6.08, lifting. Adler started the weekend off right and kept his momentum the entire weekend by first taking out Joe Dunne with a 6.19 pass, followed by another win against Tony Pugliese where he busted a 6.06. In round three, Adler drove around Chris Rini with a 6.18, despite Rini's .006 reaction.

The finals came down to Adler and Stevenson, but when the lights dropped Stevenson lit the red bulb, handing the win to Adler.

The combination Super Street 10.5w/Pro Outlaw class had Mike Murillo topping the field on Friday with a 6.63 at 222 mph, with Nick Scavo coming in second with a 6.76 at 224 mph, and third was Dave DeMarco's Grand National, by running 6.77 at 221 mph.

Scavo managed to hack his way through the tough field by first taking down Dwayne James, followed by a victory over Kevin Mitchell, despite his .001 reaction. A bye run, and a win in the final over a broken Brian Hicks sealed the deal for Scavo, granting him the Super Bowl Event win.