View 2004 Race Schedule

Returning to NMRA Pro 5.0 competition at Maple Grove to defend his 2003 championship, Don Walsh Jr. shocks the competition, piloting Bill Glidden’s former Pro 5.0 ride, retooled for a chain-driven ProCharger F-3A and now owned by Phillip Pickering. Donnie runs a 6.71 in qualifying, nearly a full half second faster than the #2 qualifier. Though he looks to be the clear favorite, the win escapes him as new car gremlins strike in the form of a bound shift linkage as he is lining up for the finals. Making his first NMRA Street Outlaw semi-final appearance of the season, was Mike "Punk" Trimandilis in his Midnight Blue Mustang GT. In Drag Radial Competition, Phillip Clemmons once again puts on an impressive show, cutting an impressive .005 light in the finals and running an 8.41 @ 168 mph to take his ‘88 GT the win. Extending his R/S winning streak to four races was Tim Matherly who ran his ‘01 Bullitt to a 9.62 @ 141 mph in eliminations. Also running strong in the class were Justin Burcham who qualifies his pushrod motored ‘87 Coupe just behind Matherly with a 9.75 and Matherly’s teammate Jim Breese who broke into the 9's with his mod-motored entry.

Following the Fun Ford series to Gainesville, Doug Mangrum looks to be hitting stride with his new FFW Pro car, running an easy 6.64 in pre-race testing, but is forced to abort early in eliminations due to severe tire shake. Despite the early exit, Mangrum and crew feel they are on the right track and are looking forward to showing the car's full potential at future events. In Street Renegade, ProCharged cars again have a good weekend with DJ Loiacano, Joe Robinson and 2002 Champion Mike Freeman all in competition. DJ advances to the finals running as fast as 8.40 ET @ 171 mph in eliminations.

At the inaugural NMRA event at Kansas City International Raceway, the track ATI ProCharger calls home, ProCharged racers once again dominate their competition, taking wins in Pro 5.0, Super Street Outlaw, and Drag Radial classes. In Pro 5.0, Don Walsh qualifies #1 for the second race in a row. Doug Mangrum takes a break from Fun Ford competition this weekend and also runs well despite having to make several changes for the NMRA spec, and qualifies in the 6’s at over 200 mph. Donnie goes on to take the win in Kansas City, running a best of 6.69 ET this weekend with Phil Pickering’s awesome blue Mustang. In Super Street Outlaw action, Jim Blair and local racer Don Shobe qualify #1 and #2, with Blair running a 7.68 ET in his F-3R equipped ‘95 cobra R.

In other action, Tim Matherly, current Real Street championship points leader, suffers mechanical problems in the semi-finals, but retains a sizable lead in the points race. With this very successful weekend in Kansas City, the 2004 season is on track to match or exceed last year’s record-breaking championship total for ProCharged racers. Overall, after winning the NMRA Pro 5.0 Championship last year, in addition to 4 championships with other organizations, ProCharged racers currently hold the points lead in 3 NMRA classes in 2004 and look to be well on their way to winning the championships in 2004.

Overall, 5 of the top 8 qualifiers in SSO were ProCharged and running in the 7’s, including Mauro Vitale, John Urist and Steve Topletz. In the finals, it was all ProCharger, with Urist posting a 7.81 to take the win over Vitale's 7.88 in this very strong and balanced class. Congratulations to this outstanding group of racers for a very strong performance this weekend. Drag Radial competition is also dominated by ProCharged racers, with four of the top six qualifiers powered by Intercooled ProCharger F-1R’s, and also featuring an all-ProCharger final round. Rob Corujo, Phil Clemmons and Trace Meyer qualify #1, #2, and #3, while local racer Jeremy Jensen qualifies #6. In the finals, Clemmons takes the win over Corujo while also expanding his championship points lead.

The next stop on the FFW event schedule is at Virginia Motorsports Park where Joe Robinson returns to his winning ways, taking the victory in the Street Renegade class with his F-2 equipped small block. Joe ran 8.27 ET @ 169 mph and 8.26 ET @ 170 mph en route to his first victory of 2004. Also of note was Dave King who enters his F-2M equipped 4.6 liter mustang in Street Renegade competition where he runs a best of 8.39 ET @ 163 mph making his car the fastest blown mod-motor in the country. In drag radial competition, NMRA regulars Phillip Clemmons and "Big" Bob McDonald qualify in the #2 and #3 positions respectively. The two square off in the semis where Phillip gets the edge and advances to the finals, scoring the victory over Drag Radial legend Dwayne "Big Daddy" Guttridge.

“Big Daddy” Don Garlits visits the ProCharger booth at the Super Chevy Show
in Atlanta to interview ProCharger Motorsports Director Jim Summers for
ESPN2 and learn more about the latest ProCharger products. After the
interview, Big Daddy graciously provides assistance with the drawing for the
Intercooled ProCharger F-1R system being given away at each of six
Super Chevy shows. Garlits pulls the lucky winner from among 1000+
entries, and also signs the prize certificate as a souvenier. Summers is
the driver for Project Nova, the world's fastest pump gas car, which is
being run at six Super Chevy Show events in 2004. This '69 Nova with an
Intercooled F-2 ProCharger runs both naturally aspirated and supercharged
exhibition passes in Atlanta, posting low 8's in blown format with 91 octane
fuel, which represents a gain of over 4 seconds and 50 mph with the addition
of the Intercooled ProCharger system.