Mustangs finish season

Words by Greg Acosta, Photos courtesy NMRA

The 14th Annual Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals capped off the 2012 racing season with record-breaking performances and championship battles that came down to the finals. Racers, fans, and manufacturers packed the historic and scenic Beech Bend Raceway at Bowling Green, KY, to watch hundreds of racers hit the drag strip for three days of high-speed competition.

The quickest and fastest heads-up racers of the weekend were entered in SCT Pro Outlaw 10.5. Mike Murillo (lead photo) secured his 13th championship as he took the strip in a mid-6 second slugfest with class rival Tim Essick. The championship would be decided on the outcome of the Murillo and Essick final round bout. Essick had grabbed the record with a 6.58 at 220 mph performance in qualifying. In the finals, Essick left the starting line hard but made a hard move right and was forced to lift. Murillo streaked his historic accomplishment with a 6.64 at 218 mph.

The ProCharger Super Street Outlaw category saw two of the heavy weights conclude their title bout as one would emerge world champion. John Urist and Phil Hines have fought blow for blow all season long with their ProCharger-blown Mustangs. Hines would set the pace at 7.03 at 200 mph in qualifying.

In the finals, Hines would push the head gaskets out on his small-block Ford while Urist streaked to the win with a 7.26 at 194 mph. Urist’s run to the class win and his 8th title would not be without problems from transmissions issues to a cracked supercharger piping. The team thrashed and made repairs after each and every round that culminated in another victory for the Nitto Tire sponsored racer.