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Billy Banaka Takes Xtreme Pro Mod Crown at NMCA/NMRA Super Bowl

“We had a tremendous amount of talent on track this weekend,” said Rollie Miller, NMCA General Manager and National Event Director. “As always, our racers proved how much they know about their cars and combinations, and how far they are willing to push them to succeed among such strong competition on a national level. In the process, they put on a show for all of the fans who came out to see them.”

In the wild and wicked world of VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, where cars are fast and fierce, current points leader Ty Tutterow traveled to a thrilling 3.64 in his Buick-bodied bad-to-the-bone car to lead qualifying. On race day, however, Billy Banaka hammered the tree with an .018 and hauled to a 3.72 in his Camaro to upset Craig Sullivan, who illuminated the red light in his 1949 Mercury-bodied car.

Chuck Watson II of Watson Racing ripped off a 7.594 in Jim Betz’s Mustang Cobra Jet to set the pace in qualifying and to secure the quickest pass ever in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars. He was on point, and on a roll, all weekend, but the tires on his car spun at the hit in the final round of eliminations against Jonathan Allegrucci, who arrived at the win with a 7.83 in his Mustang Cobra Jet.
 
With a win and a runner-up under his belt so far this year, ARP Nitrous Pro Street racer David Fallon Jr. was focused on another final round finish, though he had just hurt his engine while competing in Outlaw 632 at Milan Dragway in Michigan and had to scramble to make it to this race. He drove to a 4.26 to lead qualifying in his Camaro, which was about a tenth quicker than the number two qualifier, Kyle Salminen, and he followed that with his second win of the season, with a 4.28, after Joe Bucaro recorded a maddening -.003 red in his Cobalt. 

NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street and NMRA VP Racing Madditives racers paired to put down a double dose of horsepower at this event, and Terry Wilson took the lead in qualifying with a 4.53 in his Mustang. He kept his eyes on the prize while pulling up next to Steven Wardlow and his super-cool El Camino for the final round of eliminations, and while they were close on the tree, Wilson pulled away at the top end and took the win with a 4.61 to Wardlow’s 4.73.

Joe Clemente, who came to this race as the points leader in Dart NA 10.5, with Dwight Ausmus and Don Baskin not far behind in second- and third-place respectively, will hold onto that lead after this weekend. After being forced to swap the rear end under his Mustang with a new one during qualifying, Clemente went on to set the pace with a 7.72, and the driver out of New Jersey stayed strong through several rounds of eliminations before earning the win with a 7.88 against Ryan Bell, who raced to an 8.05. 
 
“We have worked hard to get to this point, and there is no way I could have done any of this without my team,” said Clemente. “We are all relentless in our pursuit of winning, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

It was Kevin Lumsden’s turn to lead qualifying in Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin Dickey Parts Center, and he did it with a nice 9.68 in his Camaro. Lumsden, who traveled to this race all the way from Texas, took on multi-time winner Ronnie Hackelton in the final round of eliminations, and Lumsden landed the win with a 9.83 to Hackelton’s lifting 10.34.

Micro Strategies Stock Eliminator saw Keith Wells and Morgan Hixon, in a Libersher Racing Camaro, pull onto the stage for the final round of eliminations. Wells went to the winner’s circle with a 10.54 on a 10.53 while Hixon dipped under with a 9.73 on a 9.74.

Accomplished racer Amy Faulk recently installed a new Coan transmission, converter, shifter and transbrake, and in addition to getting all of the new items dialed in, she said early in the weekend that she is still adjusting from the move from foot-braking to trans-braking. Later in the weekend, however, the Tennessean was part of a very close final round of eliminations in Micro Strategies Super Stock Eliminator. There, she and Brody Daughterty recorded comparable reaction times before Faulk flew to a 9.57 on a 9.55 and the win in her wheel-standing Firebird over Daughterty, who dipped under his dial with an 8.60 on an 8.62.

Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock continues to captivate with it old-school muscle, and among the racers with nostalgia-inducing cars are Jim Netherland and Danny Whitford, who met in the final round of eliminations. Netherland leaped off the line with a .003 reaction time and won with a 10.11 on a 10.00 in his Buick over Whitford, who put his Chevelle right on the 9.75 index but he wasn’t quite as quick as Netherland on the tree.

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For the first time in her racing career, Audrey Baize led qualifying with an 11.75 on an 11.75 in Erson Cams Nostalgia Muscle. After she exited eliminations in the second round, Danny Towe and Karen Wilson met up in the final round of eliminations, and Towe, the current class champion, won with a lifting 11.98 on an 11.75 over Wilson, who was not quite as quick on the tree and broke out.

In MagnaFuel Open Comp, where racers have their cars, and themselves, dialed in to the nth degree, Frankie Radake and Gordon Harlow, who have years of experience in the category, pulled into the beams for the final round of eliminations. Radake was .015 and Harlow was .005, and Radake won with a 9.14 on a 9.11 in his wheel-standing Camaro over Harlow, who was 10.10 on a 10.04 in his sleek Mustang.
 
Dennis Pearson and 2022 category champion Cody Poston pulled up to the starting line for the final round of eliminations in LME Street King presented by Chevrolet Performance, and Pearson pushed to the win with a 10.27 on a 10.25 over Poston, who ran 9.03 on a 9.00.

Tim Poston and Taylor Lumsden lined up for the final round of eliminations in Proform LSX Rumble presented by Chevrolet Performance, and Poston picked up the win with a 10.05 on a 10.00 against Lumsden, who was a little off-pace with a 10.14 on a 10.00.
 
NMCA TorqStorm Superchargers True Street and NMRA Circle D Specialties True Street racers roared out of the track for a 30-mile cruise before returning to make three back-to-back passes down the quarter-mile. Randy Thomas was the overall winner with an 8.64 average, and Jason Wagoner was the runner-up with an 8.81 average. Other winners included Mike Post (10-second), Kevin Rowland (11-second), Michael White (12-second) and Makenna Oshinski (13-second).

Challengers, Chargers and other commanding cars were in the spotlight for the Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout, where Bryce Rohrs raced to the overall win with a 9.45 average, and Jess Richards ran to the runner-up with a 9.61 average. Other winners standing out were Matt Morrell (10-second), Adam Hicks (11-second), Robert Salecki (12-second), Josie McClenaghan (13-second), Nicole Ratliff (14-second) and Christina Nichols (15-second).

The eight quickest drivers in the Dodge // Mopar HEMI Shootout earned entry into the HHP Racing HEMI Quick 8 on the final day of this event, and Dan Koehne Jr. won with a 10.98 on a 10.64 over Michael Smith and his 10.43 on a 10.07.

In Bracket Mayhem, Kevin Corzine went after the tree to the tune of .012, and won with a 5.90 on a 5.87 over Matt Gibbons, who broke out.
 
The Testo Shootouts added an extremely exciting element to the event, and the NMCA winners below earned their Nitto Diamond Tree Rings and the respect of fellow racers: Ty Tutterow (3.66) over Billy Banaka (3.70) in VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, Chuck Watson II(7.67) over Jonathan Allegrucci (7.78) in Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, Joe Clemente (7.79) over Leonard Long (7.88) in Dart NA 10.5, David Fallon Jr. (4.27) over Kyle Salminen (4.45) in ARP Nitrous Pro Street, Martin Connelley (4.61) and a holeshot over the slightly quicker Terry Wilson (4.60) in NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street/NMRA VP Racing Madditives Renegade, Kevin Lumsden (9.79) over Ronnie Hackelton (9.80) in Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Chevrolet Performance Stock, Brody Daughtery (8.52) over Joe Ewing (10.50) in Micro Strategies Super Stock, Bruce Boyle (11.63) over Dave Swanson (8.00) in Micro Strategies Stock Eliminator,David Horton (10.80) over Brent Wheeler (9.52) in Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock, Danny Towe (11.79) over Audrey Baize (11.83) in World Products Nostalgia Muscle, Steve Satchell (9.59) over Susan Roush-McClenaghan (9.32) in MagnaFuel Open Comp, Cody Poston (8.98) over Bryan Williams (10.41) in LME Street King and DeWayne Massengale (12.30) over Keith Vaughn (13.18) in Proform Rumble.
 
Additional activities over the weekend included a sizable car show and manufacturers’ midway.

The NMCA congratulates the winners, and thanks the fans and sponsors supporting this event. NMCA racers will join NMRA again at the next stop on the tour for both, the TorqStorm Superchargers NMRA/NMCA Power Festival presented by Paul’s High Performance, July 20-23 at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.

This story was originally published on May 9, 2023. Drag Illustrated

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