Fiscus/Klugger Racing (FKR) driver Josh Klugger won his first-ever championship as he took the NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars title during an exciting fight to the finish and simultaneously scored the event runner-up honors at the 16th Annual NMCA World Street Finals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana, over the weekend of September 22-24, 2017.
Klugger had been a contender for the points championship since the start of the season, but when a hurt Pro Line Racing 481X engine threatened to take him out of the running during the event in Joliet, Illinois, in July, Klugger and his supporters rallied so that he could make a big comeback – he went on to win the following event in Norwalk, Ohio.
Coming in to the season finale race in Indiana, Klugger was locked in an extremely close points chase with several other Radial Wars drivers. Who would win the title would be determined by how the eliminations rounds panned out, but first, qualifying had to be run to determine how the pairings would be made. Only three drivers broke into the 3-second zone, and Klugger was one of them. Qualified third after the order had been finalized, Klugger’s Racecraft-built, twin turbo FKR ’93 Ford Mustang had clicked off a solid 3.995 at 194.49 mph pass.
When eliminations began on Sunday, Klugger defeated Nicole Priola in round one when he ran 3.991 at 193.24 mph. Klugger improved more in round two, and he ran even quicker with a winning 3.979 at 194.46 mph hit and defeated Chris Harrington along the way. The championship was still up for grabs when the semi-finals rolled around, and it had come down to Klugger and Marty Stinnett – whoever made it further would take it all. Klugger had a bye run which guaranteed him a spot in the finals, but when DeWayne Mills defeated Stinnett, the championship was decided and it went to Klugger. To sweeten the achievement which the team had worked so hard to accomplish, it was also Klugger’s birthday and the celebration that ensued was absolutely epic.
With just one more round to go in the race, Klugger lined up with PLR teammate DeWayne Mills. Both men had great 0.03-second reaction times, but Mills was slightly quicker with a 3.888 at 199.17 mph run over Klugger’s 3.970 at 194.32 mph to put Klugger in the runner-up position. Although Klugger didn’t win the race, his newly-minted NMCA Mickey Thompson Radial Wars championship was exactly what he had set out to capture.
Both Josh Klugger and teammate Kevin Fiscus are well known for being among the best in the world when it comes to both radial tire and Pro Mod racing. For those wishing to join this winning, record-setting team Fiscus and Klugger are available to discuss marketing partnerships and sponsorship opportunities for 2017 and beyond.
