The 14th Annual Ross Racing Pistons Muscle Car Mayhem kicked off the National Muscle Car Association’s 2016 race season on March 10-13 in Bradenton, Florida. Twenty cars showed up for the Xtreme Pro Mod class at Bradenton Motorsports Park, which just switched to an 1/8-mile format this year. Pro Mod is the fastest class the NMCA offers, ruled by big cube supercharged, nitrous and twin-turbo combinations running as fast as 3.80s. Radial Wars wasn’t far behind, especially since Keith Berry made the first 3-second pass in class history at the event. DeWayne Mills and Daniel Pharris later accomplished the same feat in the finals (Pharris got the win). Xtreme Street saw some newcomers including Camren Massengale’s C5 Z06, which normally competes in the LSX Challenge Series as well as Ultra Street, and the “Wheelie Wagon” of Eric Kenward. Massengale clicked off a 7.80, but Kenward set the pace with a 7.67 (1/4-mile) thanks to his turbo small-block combo. 2015 champ David Hutnick (in the 2002 Camaro) dispensed with Kenward in the semifinals, running 7.68 to his 7.71.
For late-model fans, there are two new and interesting classes to watch in Chevrolet Performance Stock (second year) and Factory Super Cars (first year). CP Stock is a sealed crate engine class, which uses the LS3-based DR525 engine. A 226/236-duration camshaft boosts the otherwise stock LS3 to 525hp, and comes with a wiring harness and locked ECM. Any ’55 or newer GM bodied vehicle can run in this heads-up class, provided that they use the sealed engine, ECM and installation kit. Nearly any long-tube headers are allowed, and an air filter and radiator are required. VP Racing C-10 is the spec fuel. The base weight is 3,200lbs and you can run any non-electronic GM transmission such as the Turbo 350/400 or Powerglide. The tires must be 28x10.5-inch bias-ply slicks. In its second year, the NMCA has high hopes for this affordable class. Veteran Ronnie Hackleton took the first win of the season in his trusty 2013 Camaro SS, going 10.61 to Kevin Lumsden’s 10.62. Even the reaction times were close at .092 to .093. Talk about a tight race!
Factory Super Cars is limited to the new generation (2008+) Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, and Ford Cobra Jet Mustang – reviving that age-old rivalry. Base weights are established for each version, and clones are allowed if they follow the specs. There was a lot of buzz about this brand-new class, and eleven cars showed up to Bradenton to compete in its first go. The one obvious trend noticed so far is that even with the weight advantage, it seems the naturally aspirated cars are no match for the supercharged entries. Kevin Skinner’s CJ qualified first with an 8.41, but it was an all-Camaro face-off in the finals as Brunno Massel and Glenn Pushis met at the line. Massel got the win, going 8.55 to 8.82 despite being slightly slower out of the gate.
It will be interesting to see how the Factory Super Cars and CP Stock classes shape up as the year goes on. The first LSX Challenge Series race is the Chevrolet Performance Nationals on June 3-5 at Atlanta Dragway, which features three heads-up LSX classes including CP Stock, two index classes and True Street. Between then and now, the NMCA/NMRA All-Star Nationals take place at the same location on April 7-10, and you won’t want to miss the Bluegrass Nationals on May 12-15 at Beech Bend Raceway Park. See you at the track!
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