It’s not hard to get excited about a trip to Summit Motorsport Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Drag racers know it as “America’s racetrack,” due in part to the great seating and beauty of the facility, $1-per-pound ice cream, amazing event lineup, and the unmatched fan experience presented by the Bader family.
Before talking about the recent 22nd Annual NMRA Ford Performance Nationals, we must report the passing of Bill Bader Sr. More than 40 years ago, Bill Bader Sr. resurrected his Ohio dragstrip, formerly named Norwalk Dragway, into a fan-favorite facility named Summit Motorsports Park. Bader Sr. passed away June 26, succumbing to injuries suffered in an accident near his home.
Bader Sr. was known for his passion for providing a world-class racer and fan experience. He purchased the track in 1974 and slowly began a long and well-orchestrated series of improvements that covered everything from the racing surface to parking to the grandstands, and even the children’s playground. Bill Bader Sr. left an indelible mark on everyone involved in the sport, including racers, fans, media, and anyone else he encountered in his long career.
In mid-June, just weeks before Bader Sr’s passing, the Ohio dragstrip rumbled with the sound of Blue Oval power from the NMRA (National Mustang Racers Association) as they battled on-track in a variety of street-legal, index, and heads-up championship racing classes. Along with championship drag racing, NMRA events feature a manufacturer’s midway, UPR Products car show, and specialty categories designed around what’s hot in the hobby. The Norwalk event featured an All-Female Shootout, along with a 2020-present Shelby GT500 shootout.
Each event is filled with all types of Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury machines, so you get a taste of vintage iron as well as the latest late-model Mustangs. The original Bigfoot 4×4 monster truck that revolutionized off-roading was on hand, along with the Ford Model T Club International, and the Ford GT Gathering, a showcase of the ultimate supercars.
The quickest NMRA cars run in VP Racing Madditives Renegade class, and reigning champion Joel Greathouse extended his points lead after he defeated Jason Riley in the final with a 4.640 at 152.33 mph run to Riley’s 4.709 at 147.88 mph pass.
Stacey Roby qualified on pole in JDM Engineering Limited Street after running 8.030 at 170.75 mph, but he couldn’t stop the Limited Street freight train that is Michigan’s Samantha Moore. She met Roby in the final and, thanks to a quicker e.t., overcame a slight holeshot, running 8.112 at 170.51 mph to Roby’s 8.155-second, 168.51-mph pass to keep her perfect season intact. Moore also left the track with a new 8.003 and 171 mph national record in the class.
A new class for 2022 is SunCoast Performance 8.60 Street Race. The class is populated with streetable machines that must hit the 8.60 mark. The Norwalk champ was Tim Flanders. He went 8.653 at 159.85 mph in the final to beat Dan Ryntz, who went 8.697 at 157.52 mph. Flanders is well-known for his HOT ROD Drag Week action and his Coyote-swapped, single-turbo Fox-body Mustang that has been close to the 7s.
If you’re a fan of high-rpm, gear jammin’ action, then G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock is for you. Every racer uses a sealed Ford Performance 5.0 Coyote engine with the same tune, so winning comes down to clutch and suspension setup and driver ability. Shane Stymiest produced a 9.780 at 136.95 mph to qualify atop the 20-car field, and he was followed by Charlie Booze Jr. and brother Nathan Stymiest. It was Booze and Nathan Stymiest who made the final. Booze’s red ride was a touch quicker (9.899 at 139.63 mph) to handle Stymiest’s, which ran 9.9440 at 135 mph.
In addition to high-flying, heads-up racing, NMRA also offers TorqStorm True Street for street-legal Fords. This is a fun category with very few rules, where participants first make a 30-mile cruise, then make three runs in a row to earn an average elapsed time. There is an overall winner, and awards for competitors closest to e.t. breaks from 15 seconds all the way down to 8 seconds.
In Norwalk, it was True Street veteran Mike Jovanis who averaged 7.813 seconds with his 1989 turbo LX Mustang. Luis Mellado Jr. scored the runner-up position with an average of 8.853 seconds, and was followed by Jason Wagoner (9 seconds), Bill Unkel (10 seconds), Bill Elliot (11 seconds), Chris Parisi (12 seconds), Phil Anielski (13 seconds), Jason Siek (14 seconds), and Mike Baker (15 seconds).
In addition, NMRA held the All-Female True Street Presented by Baer Brakes. Kentucky’s Leticia Hughes piloted her 2018 Mustang GT to an average of 9.201 seconds to score her first All-Female Shootout win.
Lauren Stoney (center) locked in a 10.284-second average with her Livernois-backed pony for the runner-up spot, followed by Danielle Post (11 seconds), Elaine Moistner (12 seconds), Danielle McGraw (13 seconds), Whitney Kirkbride (14 seconds), and Beth Fitzgibbons (15 seconds).
The final specialty event in Norwalk was the Tremec Stick-Shift Shootout. Also based around True Street, it pitted the eight quickest drivers running a manual transmission against one another. Each participant received a specialty Tremec award for making the top eight, plus a nice jacket. New Jersey’s Scott Triolo made the trip to Ohio count, as his 10.854-second, 132.88-mph run in the final earned him a McLeod Racing RXT twin-disc clutch with flywheel, valued at approximately $1,300, while Jason Epstein took the runner-up honors and received a $500 McLeod Racing product certificate for his efforts.
Source
- NMRA: 714-444-2426
Watch a Full Episode of Roadkill! Junkyard-Rescue 1969 Mustang Mach 1
On episode 66 of Roadkill, David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan head to Colorado Auto & Parts, a giant you-pull-it yard with heritage back to 1959—with a good stash of vintage cars that have been there for decades. One of them was a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that had been melting into the ground since 1980. But 37 years of neglect are not daunting to Roadkill, so the guys figure out how to get it running and driving. First, they’ve got to deal with 37 years of raccoon poop, which is just part of bringing the Disgustang into the Roadkill fleet of project cars. Sign up for a free trial to MotorTrend+ and start watching every episode of Roadkill today!
Keyword: Ford Power Invades Norwalk With the Ford Performance Nationals