NMCA Season Opens with Pro Mod Leading the Qualifying Results in Orlando, TX2K Dances with Mother Nature
The racing season may still be on hold in some northern locations, but action is heating up at multiple locations this weekend. The two marque events include TX2K 2023 at Houston Raceway in Texas, and the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) season-opening event at Orlando Speed World Dragway in Florida.
The NMCA, following the opening event of sister series National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA), opened qualifying Friday for a healthy mix of heads-up and index-based classes. The headline class is Xtreme Pro Mod, featuring supercharged and nitrous hot rods, with the leaders collecting 3.6-second at 200-plus mph time slips.
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After two rounds of Xtreme Pro Mod qualifying, five cars have a 3.6-second run in their arsenal. The top spot sits with Robert Abbott, who guided his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro to a 3.642 at 207.56 mph.
Craig Sullivan and the unique ’49 Mercury sits second at 3.647 at 208.42, and Ty Tutterow rolled his new ’57 Buick to a 3.655 at 205.82 mph for third.
Steven Wardlow is currently qualified ninth in Xtreme Street with a 4.80 at 149 mph from his ‘69 Chevy Nova.
The XTreme Street follows the popular Ultra Street / Ultimate Street rules, where 275-spec radials are the tire of choice, and small block powerplants with a single power-adder or big blocks on nitrous are allowed.
Martin Connelly is the leader after two rounds of qualifying, using a 4.53 at 155.79 mph blast from his nitrous-gulping 1990 Ford Mustang for the top spot.
Brian Keep slid into second with a 4.54 at 155.47 from his ProCharger-boosted 1998 Chevrolet Camaro, and NMRA winner Terry Wilson is third at 4.56 at 154.14 mph.
The 2021 Challenger Drag Pak of Raymond Nash clocked a 7.86 at 174.37 mph for the eleventh qualifying spot.
Factory Super Cars is the popular modern muscle car class, where 7-second 175-plus mph runs are the gospel.
With two qualifying rounds in the books, Chuck Watson II clicked off a 7.698 at 177.53 mph in his 2019 Cobra Jet Mustang for the number one slot. Jonathan Allegrucci is a close second at 7.704 with a top speed of 180.36 mph, and Tony Scott put his COPO Camaro third with a 7.749 at 175.84 mph.
For TX2K, the major news from Friday was the cancellation of drag racing activities for the day.
According to official statement on their Facebook page: “Due to the rain and temperature, the Houston Raceway crew and Miller Brothers Productions will need to rebuild the track from the ground up. They will start scraping from the start line and plan to lay brand new fresh rubber and glue down on the surface. This alone will take 8-plus hours.”
The TX2K and NMCA events are available on Flo Racing’s live stream today, available on www.Floracing.com.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of NMCA and TX2K.