After great racing action in NHRA and NMRA, NMCA racers kicked off their season at the famed Bradenton Motorsports Park March 17-20 during the Muscle Car Mayhem presented by Holbrook Racing Engines. This marked the first event on the Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car calendar and fans were treated to a variety of heads-up, Index and bracket racing, along with a huge manufacturer’s midway and a car show that showcased all brands and styles of American muscle.

The top dogs of NMCA compete in VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, which features 3-second (eight-mile) racing with wild bodied car reminiscent of the early years of Funny Car. And with superchargers, turbos and nitrous the engines are loud and produce over 3,000 horsepower!

After four rounds of qualifying, Robert Abbott and his blown 1968 Camaro topped the field, stopping the clock in 3.66 seconds at 207 mph. Abbott lasted through four rounds of competition, but was beaten in the final by Scott Wildgust, who wheeled his gorgeous 1967 Mustang to a holeshot win (.032 to .072), running a 3.71 to Abbott’s 3.67.

Former NHRA Pro Stock standout Mark Pawuk scored the win in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars and in doing so he claimed the $10,000 bonus from Dodge, plus the class winnings.

There was more boosted action in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars (the sister class to Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown on the NHRA side) and Bradenton saw 19 competitors gunning for the win. NMCA features an “all-run” rule, so every competitor who qualifies gets to run in final eliminations. There was no lack of Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, with a mix of Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Dodge Challenger Drag Paks and the Ford Mustang Cobra Jet rounding out the field. Fans of this category enjoy pulling for their favorite, be it Dodge, Ford or Chevy, and the 1,400-horsepower cars put on an exciting show with wheelies, 7-second elapsed times and speeds over 180 mph. And they do it on 9-inch slicks!

Michigan’s Jim Betz set the pace in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars qualifying with a 7.79 from his Mustang Cobra Jet, but he was unable to hang on for the win. After five rounds of competition, the final pair came down to number 6 qualifier Mark Pawuk in his DSR Drag Pak and number 13 qualifier Jeff Bragg in a COPO. Pawuk had the quicker light and blasted to a 7.80 at 177 mph to earn his trip to the NMCA Winner’s Circle, while Bragg ran 8.20 at 165 mph.

Multi-time NMCA champion Andy Warren ran a dead-on 10.00 on a 10.00 index in his Caprice to lead qualifying in Detroit Truetrac Nostalgia Muscle. Then, in the final, the champ scored yet another event win with a dead-on 10.00 after David Mormann turned on the red light in his Mustang Mach 1.

What we find coolest about the National Muscle Car Association is that there’s a race or show class for everyone, from the beginner to the experienced pro. And in addition, there’s endless muscle cars at all performance levels. NMCA has Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, Nostalgia Super Stock and Nostalgia Muscle Car to name a few. You’ll find a wide range of GM muscle in Chevrolet Performance Stock and virtually everything new to old in True Street.

Speaking about that class, after they performed a drive around Bradenton Motorsports Park to prove that they could handle some miles without burping up some coolant or pitching a fit, the TorqStorm Superchargers True Street drivers made their way back for three consecutive passes on the track. Chris Morris motored to the overall win with an 8.80 average, and Paul Buchanan belted in for the runner-up with a 9.17 average. Other standouts included Joshua Levin, the 9-second winner; Trevor Glasgow, the 10-second winner; Mark Colombini, the 11-second winner; Tom Calabrese, the 12-second winner; Chrystal Hunt, the 13-second winner; Rick Doern, the 14-second winner and John Sutton, the 15-second winner.

In Fastest Street Car Super Stock Eliminator, Amy Faulk ran 9.46 on a 10.75 index to lead qualifying. But it was Mark Nowicki in a Dodge Avenger and Steven Hall in his Fox body who earned a trip to the final. Nowicki won with a 9.55 when Hall had trouble and couldn’t complete his pass.

Challengers, Chargers, Demons, Durangos, and Hellcats showed strength for the Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout. Tony Demaio took the overall win with a 9.55 average, and Joshua Schwartz secured the runner-up with a 9.58 average. Lee Segars was the 9-second winner, Michelle Day was the 10-second winner, Bryce Rohrs was the 11-second winner and Jeff Keen was the 12-second winner. Others having a successful weekend were Clay Allison, the 13-second winner; Joe Giordano, the 14-second winner; and Brentyn Burnett, the 15-second winner.

The eight quickest drivers in the Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout made it into the HHP Racing HEMI Quick 8 on the final day of the event, and Joshua Schwartz secured the win over Michelle Day.

And like the Holley NMRA All-Ford Nationals, the NMCA series travels to different stops during the 2022 season. And next the tour heads to Rockingham, North Carolina for the SDPC NMCA/NMCA All-Star Nationals April 21-24. And you can find out more about the series at NMCAdigital.com.

In addition to the championship NMCA classes, the Bradenton event featured the Sick the Magazine Invitational presented by Gear Vendors. Tom Bailey and Alex Taylor advanced to the final round of eliminations, where Bailey clocked a 4.31 in his 1969 Camaro and the win, defeating Taylor in her 1955 Chevrolet.

ARP Nitrous Pro Street was awesome in Bradenton and the final pair came down to Michigan drivers David Fallon Jr. (shown) and Nicole Liberty-Cach in her stick-shift Pontiac. Both drivers were ready with their F-bodies tuned up, but it was Fallon Jr. who scored the win with a 4.37 to Liberty-Cach’s 4.58.

Denny Neighbor (shown) nailed a perfect .000 reaction time to lead qualifying in MagnaFuel Open Comp, but it was Jon Pickering and Cody Poston who made the final. Pickering pedaled to the win with a 9.09 on a 9.07 against Poston’s breakout time of 9.21 on a 9.25.