NMCA at Indianapolis

All-American Nationals

Words and photos courtesy NMCA

Pro Stock winner Merv Moyer Jr.

The 15th NMCA All-American Nationals featuring the 10th Annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout was held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Ind., on June 23-26. Nearly twenty classes were hotly contested.

VP Racing Fuels' Xtreme Pro Mod class was full of turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous cars all vying for the right to take a trip to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle, but four rounds of eliminations whittled them down to just one. It was a battle of the Camaros in the finals but ultimately it was Billy Banaka of Brandon, Mo., who reached the big end with his car in front. Banaka, the number-four qualifier, ran the eighth mile in 3.914 seconds at 198.38 mph and defeated Steve Summers of Utica, Ill., the number-three qualifier, who ran 3.995 at 204.76 mph.

New for 2016 is the exhibition Dart Machinery Pro Stock class, which will become a full-fledged series next season. This weekend saw four cars battle it out for bragging rights, and the final was a matchup between the number-two qualifier Merv Moyer of Annville, Pa., in Leonard Long's ’04 Mustang against the number-one qualifier Stephen Graham from San Francisco, Calif., in his Bob Book Racing Engines–powered ’12 Pontiac Grand Prix. At the start, Moyer took a huge holeshot (.046 to .195) and that would help his slower 7.50 at 182.18 mph run defeat Graham's 7.37 at 192.60 mph effort.