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The first Intergalactic Ford Festival is officially in the books and after four days of non-stop Ford action, and this has been one of the largest Blue Oval celebrations of the year! NMRA reported record breaking attendance across the board and this article is bringing you the run-down on all of the classes and events that took place, read on for class specific information.
Holley added a little extra flavor to the already amazing NMRA World Finals Drag Racing event, with the original BIGFOOT Monster Truck on-site, combined with YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland there was plenty of excitement to be had. Pro Formula Drift drivers Vaughn Gittin Jr and Chelsea DeNofa both put on a great show and gave a ton of ride-alongs as well as drifting around BIGFOOT during the parade lap!
Grand Champion Competition Results:
Grand Champion Modern Class Winner: Michael Gallagher | 2016 Ford Focus
Grand Champion Vintage Class Winner: John McKissack | 1966 Ford Fairlane
Grand Champion Truck Class Winner: Ryan Harris | 2013 Ford F-150
Click here for the FULL Grand Champion Class results!
The Grand Champion event was split into three classes this year and featured a wide variety of cars/trucks. Holley would like to say thank you to everyone who competed and to say congratulations to the winners! The above file contains information on all three classes including a few “Exhibition” drivers whose vehicles did not meet the requirements of any particular class but still wished to participate.
Images By: Ty Cobb, Evan Smith
3S Challenge 1st Place: Michael Gallagher | 2016 Ford Focus
3S Challenge 2nd Place: Cliff Elliott | 2016 Ford Mustang
3S Challenge 3rd Place : Wes Duenkel | 2003 Ford Focus
This year's 3S challenge paired drivers head to head as they sped, slalomed and slid to a stop in the finish box. It was a tough competition, but Michael Gallagher took top honors in his 2016 Ford Focus.
Auto-X Challenge 1st Place: Michael Gallagher | 2016 Ford Focus
Auto-X Challenge 2nd Place: Jeff Cox | 2010 Ford Mustang
Auto-X Challenge 3rd Place: Jonathon Blevins | 2008 Shelby GT500
The Auto-X challenge gave drivers plenty of opportunity to carve cones faster than the other competition and while it was a close battle, Jeff Cox’s 2010 Mustang came just short of defeating Michael Gallagher’s 2016 Focus.
Lap Times for non-GC Competitors can be found HERE.
GC Drag Challenge 1st Place: Jonathon Blevins | 2008 Shelby GT500 | 10.920 @ 138.80 mph
GC Drag Challenge 2nd Place: Ken Kelly | 1986 Ford Mustang | 12.111 @ 126.47 mph
GC Drag Challenge 3rd Place: Cliff Elliott | 2016 Ford Mustang | 12.125 @ 118.12 mph
The Dyno Challenge featured a lot of different cars/combinations over the weekend, but it was Chris Franks and Robert Raymer took home top honors in their respective classes, see the Dyno charts below to see how they fared! | 2016 Ford Focus
Recorded Dyno Sheets for Winners can be found HERE.
The car show section was stacked this year with an incredible field ranging from daily drivers to one-off customs, Awards were given for multiple classes including Classic, Late Model, Best Engine and more!
The Fun-Havers Tour put on one heck of a show with multiple demonstrations and ride-along’s throughout the weekend. Chelsea Denofa and Vaughn Gittin Jr slid their Team RTR Mustang’s around Beech Bend’s oval and even had a few amateur drivers to help smoke out the grandstands.
Saturday Night’s Aussie style burnout competition had spectators roaring as drivers were given free rein of the center of Beech Bend’s oval to put on the ultimate smokeshow!
The stands were packed as fans watched David Level in his 1964 Ford F100 pickup slide around the in-field under the lights. The twin turbo combination used all of the arena to its advantage and there were no bad seats in the house!
Over 50 competitors tried to claim victory in Open Comp, but the final round saw Elmer Long in his 91 Mustang defeat Dennis Corn’s 88 Thunderbird.
Lloyd Mikeske fought his way through the 20+ car field to find Jeremy Smith in the lane beside him. Lloyd left first with an .018 reaction time and it was smooth sailing to the top podium spot, shutting down early on his 12.68 @ 79 mph pass.
Bill Putnam was #1 Qualifier entering competition, finding #3 qualifier Mike Ciborowski in the final round. Ciborowski was off pace and Putnam took home the victory with his 8.67 @ 158 mph run.
With the open comp format, the Truck and Lightning class featured over 20 bed equipped vehicles (and a Ranchero!), the ladder ended with Mike Motycka in his 79 F100 defeating Amanda Saad’s 83 Ranger in the final round.
Tim Knieriem laid down multiple 4.70+ passes throughout competition and defeated Alton Clements in the final round to win the Renegade class.
The Modified Street final round featured an insanely close heads-up race between Brad Schehr and Martin Connelley; Connelley left first with an .006 reaction time, but Schehr chased him down on the big end defeating Martin with a 7.74 @ 177 against the slightly slower 7.75 @ 176.
#1 Qualifier Terry Reeves was on a rampage this weekend, tearing through the field to face Heinz Stock in the final round. Both drivers shut down early, but Reeves claimed the victory for the weekend.
Nathan Stymiest claimed a hard fought victory in Coyote Stock, defeating Jacob Lamb in the finals.
After five intense rounds, Charlie McColloch defeated Jason Henson in the finals to take home the win in Modern Muscle.
Dom DiDonato in his 08′ Shelby defeated Top qualifier Phil Hines in the final round to claim the win in the popular Street Outlaws class.
Top qualifers faced off in the final round, with Keith Rhea taking home the win after Justin Jordan went -.046 on the tree.
#1 Qualifier Chad Epperson squared off against Dwayne Hickman in the finals of Cobra vs GT500, Chad took the class victory after laying down a 7.69 @ 181 mph pass!
Mike Niehaus in his 86 Mustang took the Stick Shift Shootout win against Clint Derango’s 2011 Mustang. Mike finished the event with an impressive 9.68 @ 154 mph pass.
Jeff Bloem’s Radial-Tire Foxbody made the journey from Canada to defeat Mike Jovanis in the finals of KOTS.
Charlie Booze JR takes home the Factory Stock class win in his Yellow Foxbody Mustang.
Larry Firestone claimed victory in the Super Stang class.
