Words courtesy of NMRA
Photos courtesy of ProMedia Publishing
6/2/04

he 5th Annual Quarter Master NMRA All-Star Nationals received inclement weather and a rain delay, but eliminations action on Monday had some of the best racing ever.

The weather forecast did not look good for the 5th Annual Quarter Master All-Star Nationals, predicting rain for the entire weekend, with a chance of dryness on Sunday. As it turned out, Saturday was nice enough to run two full rounds of qualifying and a third round for a few classes, but then the skies opened up and it didn’t stop raining until sometime Sunday night. The forecast looked good for Monday, so the decision was made to run the race then, and a good number of racers stuck it out. It was a good thing too, since Sunday’s eliminations, especially the final rounds, were some of the best side-by-side racing in the history of the NMRA.

The biggest story was in ProCharger Pro 5.0, where legendary Ford racer Wild Bill Devine debuted his new Pro 5.0 Mustang. The purple car had not turned a tire before Columbus, but after a few shake-down runs, it was solidly in the 7’s. Also on hand was the team of Vic Williams and Tom Sanders, whose nitrous car won the first two NMRA races of the season, and Brian Carpenter’s beautiful new Outlaw 10.5 car. In eliminations, number one qualifier Williams got the bye and Devine beat Carpenter to go to meet Williams in the final round. And what a final round it was! Devine got out first by .013 seconds, and Williams couldn’t reel him in. Devine won with a 7.175 at 198 mph to Williams’ 7.272 at 194, making it the first NMRA winner’s circle appearance for Wild Bill.

In MSD Super Street Outlaw, everybody is chasing Jim Blair’s supercharged ‘95 Cobra. Blair won the first two events of the year in dominating, record-setting fashion. In Columbus, Blair once again set the pace, qualifying on top with a 7.84. But hot on his heels, less than a tenth away, were the nitrous cars of Sam Vincent and Bryan Sorby. Eleven of the SSO racers stayed for Monday’s eliminations, but the Sorby Brothers weren’t among them, having to get back to work on Monday. By the time the semifinals rolled around, Blair and Vincent were still in it, and they were joined by Manny Buginga (turbocharger) and Billy Laskowsky (supercharger), both of whom were screaming all weekend. Laskowsky pulled off a huge upset to go to his first SSO final round, beating a trouble-plagued Blair. Laskowsky’s 7.78 at 180 served notice that he had his combination figured out. Buginga took out Vincent with a brutal 7.71 at 182, setting up a great final round. Laskowsky got the holeshot and blasted off a 7.78 at 183, but Buginga got around him, running a 7.75 at 182. The difference at the stripe was a mere .013 second!