For nearly 30 years, racers have made the pilgrimage to Bradenton Motorsports Park for the Holley NMRA Spring Break Shootout. Now in its 27th year, the Spring Break Shootout is the first chance for Fordnatics to unleash their horsepower and battle for points, prizes and bragging rights.

The Spring Break Shootout kicked off with a test and tune session on Thursday, followed by three days of qualifying and final eliminations on a cool Florida Sunday. The crisp air and tight traction made for amazing side-by-side racing, big wheelies and record-breaking elapsed times. In addition to drag racing, the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals event had a huge car show, manufacturer’s midway and a giant swap meet.

NMRA events offer a wide variety of racing classes, including brackets, Index categories, plus hardcore heads-up classes and True Street for street-legal machines. The Spring Break Shootout also includes a few specialty classes, such as the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout, the Watson Racing Cobra Jet Showdown and the Spring Break Shootout class.

Nine-time NMRA world champion John Urist claimed the Street Outlaw title in Bradenton with his 2,100-hp 2016 Mustang.

The top dogs of the NMRA are found in VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw. Steve Halprin drove to a 4.249 at 170.28 mph run to grab the pole and he lasted until the final before falling to number-two-qualifier and 9-time champ John Urist. Urist’s Mustang packs the punch from a 358-cube Coyote that uses direct injection to make over 2,100 horsepower. The block is an MMR tall-deck piece with ported GT350 heads, and boost comes from a Precision 88mm turbo making 36 psi of boost. The engine runs on E85 and Urist revs the four-cam mill to 9,400 rpm.

Another hotly contested NMRA class is Edelbrock Renegade, which had 16 entries. Bill Gregan qualified on the pole running 4.566 at 152.90 mph with Charles Bartholme following closely behind. Gregan and Bartholme were strong in eliminations and ultimately met in the final. Gregan was quicker on the tree, but Bartholme produced a quick 4.557 at 154.21 mph to take the win.

Samantha Moore put on a clinic in JDM Engineering Limited Street. She started the weekend qualifying her Holley EFI-equipped Mustang on the pole and then she ran the table, winning the event and setting the class record at 8.18.

One of the most interesting classes is JDM Engineering Limited Street. Amazingly, it’s been the Bill Putnam show for the last year and a half, as the Florida driver hasn’t lost a single round of racing. But he met his match at the Spring Break Shootout with Samantha Moore producing consistent and very quick times from her Holley EFI-equipped 2014 Mustang GT. Samantha qualified in the top spot with an 8.318 at 161.15 mph. Moore then marched her way through eliminations, dismantling the field one by one. She ran 8.25 in the opening round, 8.18 in the second frame, and then she unseated Putman in the semis, ending his year-plus-long winning streak with a 8.19 to 8.31 victory. She faced Kent Nine in the final and drove to a powerful 8.19 to out-power Nine who ran 8.56.

Nathan Stymiest unleashed the brand new Gen 3 Coyote in G-Force Racing Coyote Stock. He qualified on the pole with a 9.71 and then he dismantled the field, beating the 2020 champion Frank Paultanis in the final (9.70 to 9.86).

When it comes to wheels-up, door-to-door racing, it’s hard to beat G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock. For 2021, this class switched to the Gen 3 Coyote, which produces roughly 35 more horsepower than the previously used Gen 2. In addition, the cars now weigh 3,000 lbs. with driver and they were straight up flying in Bradenton. Nathan Stymiest was the quickest in qualifying with a 9.719 at 137.53 mph. Stymiest never lifted and rowed his four-speed through eliminations defeating the 2020 champ Frank Paultanis in the finals with an impressive 9.706 at 138.78 mph to Paultanis’ 9.869 at 136.98 mph run.

Richmond Gear Factory Stock saw its share of excitement, which began with Mike Bowen’s high-flying ’71 Maverick running 10.212 at 131.04 mph to nab the pole. Bowen won two rounds to make the final, where he faced number two qualifier Justin Fogelsonger. Fogelsonger was slightly quicker on the tree (.068 to .075) and he nudged out the win, running 10.153 at 131.48 mph to top Bowen’s 10.165/132.10 mph effort.

Moving to the Index classes, we saw Darren Foster with a reaction time to take the top qualifying spot in Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle. He lost early on, and that opened the door for Jason Steamer and Jason Henson to move to the final. Henson was unusually late with a .122 light and that opened the door for Steamer to cruise to the win. Steamer was .038 and drove his 2008 GT to a 12.72 to claim victory.

Chris Parisi was the top qualifier and took home the win in FSC Super Stang running high 11s with his 5.0 GT.

Fastest Street Car Super Stang was up next and the man of the hour was multi-time winner Chris Parisi. Parisi spent the day winning rounds including the finals, where he faced NMRA regular Lloyd Mikeska. Parisi was .068, leaving second against Mikeska’s .026, but Parisi’s 12.089 was closer to his 11.95 dial to Mikeska’s 12.167 on his 11.97 dial in giving Parisi the win at the SBS.

ARP Open Comp was packed with tough competitors including Greg Cole in his ’88 Mustang and Cameron Bowles who were ranked first and second. But when the dust settled, it was Woody Pack of Independence, Virginia and Steve Cannizzo of Bradenton, Florida racing for the gold. Pack was packing a punch, as he overcame a worse light to take the win over Cannizzo, who had the worse run in the double-breakout final.

It’s not all Mustangs at NMRA events, as the truckers take to the strip in Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning. Bob Dill dropped a perfect .000 light to take the pole in qualifying with his 8-second ’01 Ford F-150. Unfortunately, Dill lost the second round, while Mike Roup and Fred Wade met in the final. Roup, driving his trusty ’70 Ranchero was able to top Wade and his ’04 Lightning thanks to a quicker light and an 11.362 at 118.72 mph elapsed time.

RacePagesDigital.com Ford Muscle had 17 competitors gunning for the Spring Break Shootout title. Alan Hill qualified number one and kept his momentum going with solid reaction times and consistency at the top end. In the final he met Bill Lee Jr. and his police-themed Fairmont. The Fairmont refused to fire off at the starting line, which handed the win to Hill. Hill legged it out and ran 10.945 at 122.05 mph on his 11.0 dial in to claim the trophy.

One of the biggest attractions at any Holley NMRA Ford Drag Racing event is QA1 True Street. True Street is arguably the most popular heads-up category in existence, drawing over 100 cars at virtually every stop on the tour. All you need is a driver’s license and a Ford to have fun.

Ray Eugenio brought out his clean Foxbody LX and captured the 13.0 win in the True Street Class with a 13.04 average.

There’s normally a 30-mile cruise, but rainy conditions forced officials to trade the drive for a timed idling session to prove streetability. Once that was completed, competitors did the standard three passes for the three-run average. Donato Sierchio made the trip from Forked River, New Jersey a worthwhile one as he drove his Fox Mustang to an average time of 8.305 seconds. Larry Albright finished second with his ’91 Mustang and an 8.409-second average, while Don Walsh Jr. won the 9-second class with his modified 2020 GT500. Steeda’s Scott Boda scored the 10-second win with his naturally aspirated 2018 Mustang, while Cary Shotwell in a ’17 Mustang got the 11-second win. The young Maci Belcher was victorious in a 2016 Mustang, claiming the 12-second victory. Additional winners included Ray Eugenio in the 13-second class with his Notchback LX, Rick Doern in the 14-second category, and Stephen Priske got the final 15-second prize.

The NMRA season opener had a few specialty classes, including the ACE Racing Spring Break Shootout. This is a 16-car battle between the top True Street racers. It’s a heads-up eliminator run off the pro tree. Donato Sierchio and Larry Albright put on a show, as both were locked into a 7-second showdown. With the cash on the line, Sierchio clocked a 7.367-second to out-gun Albright’s 7.534-second effort for the Spring Break Shootout win.

David Lashay rowed the gears in his 427-powered Galaxie and captured the TREMEC Stick Shoot Shootout championship. His street-legal Ford ran high 11s at 115 mph. It’s equipped with a 427 FE fed by a pair of Holley carburetors.

Unlike the Spring Break Shootout where the top seeds were cleaning house, the TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout saw major upsets and a first-time winner. The TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout is the place for the quickest manually shifted Mustangs from QA1 True Street. Each of the qualified drivers wins custom plaques and TREMEC jackets. Eliminations are run with a handicapped start based on qualified time, but with no breakout. David Leshay, who came from the 8th spot, drove his classic ’63 Galaxie to an 11.974 at 115.36 mph to take the win over first-time runner Tyler Thornburg and his ’88 Mustang. It was amazing to hear the dual Holley-equipped 427 FE engine as Leshay ripped the gears en route to victory.

Steve Trombley scored his second Watson Racing Cobra Jet Showdown win in a row. His 2013 CJ is stone stock but runs in the 8s.

Once again, the Watson Racing Cobra Jet Showdown presented by Ford Performance brought out a slew of new and old Cobra Jet Fords. And it was a repeat of 2020, as Steve Trombley dropped a 0.005-second reaction time to qualify number one, and he and his bone stock 2013 CJ ran like a Swiss watch in eliminations. Trombley won his second Spring Break Shootout Cobra Jet Showdown, defending his title in the Florida sun over Tony Jarvis in a 2014 CJ.

NMRA also offers Bracket racing and it was Jerry Norton besting J.C. Cole for win, but it wasn’t the usual close race at the stripe. Cole, who had the quicker dial, launched first and turned it red. Norton’s tree came second, but his car failed to move. By the laws of bracket racing (first or worse), Cole was out handing the win to Norton.

The Spring Break Shootout class was won by Donato Sierchio and his fire-breathing 7-second Mustang.

Donato Sierchio was back for the Mickey Thompson Street Car Challenge presented by Whipple Superchargers. Sierchio dropped a 7.456 at 183.89 mph pass in qualifying and he poured the coals to his Mustang in eliminations, ultimately scoring three wins in one weekend. He unleashed a 7.403 at 189.42 mph run in the final to beat Randy Thomas, who qualified second and ran 8.379 at 167.95 mph in the final.

With the racing wrapped up, the series moves to Commerce, Georgia for the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals April 8-11, and we hope to see you there!