NMCA kicks off new season with
big numbers at Bradenton
By Mike Galimi
T
he National Muscle Car Associa-
tion (NMCA) Drag Racing Series
opened its 2018 season with a thrilling
event at Florida’s Bradenton Motors-
ports Park, March 8-11. The 16th Annual NMCA
Muscle Car Mayhem saw numerous highlights,
including record attendance numbers and never-
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before-seen performances in multiple classes.
In VP Racing Fuels Xtreme Pro Mod, where the
quickest cars on the property pounded pavement,
Randy Adler ran a personal best of 3.70 in his
Bel-Air on his way to the top in qualifying. While
he was poised to make it past copious amounts
of cutthroat competition, he was forced to lift in
the first round of eliminations, and that opened
the door for a final round featuring Don Walsh Jr.
and Jason Hamstra. Both drivers were close on
the tree, but Walsh Jr. wheeled to the Aerospace
Components Winner’s Circle with an incredible
3.70 to Hamstra’s 3.74.
In Mickey Thompson Radial Wars, DeWayne
Mills motored to a 3.88 in his Camaro to lead
qualifying, but in the final, James Lawrence
landed a 3.94 and the win in his new Corvette
over Marty Stinnett, who turned on the red light
with his Mustang before running it out to a 3.85.
Vortech Superchargers Street Outlaw saw Dan-
iel Pharris post a 4.36 in his Mustang to set the
pace in qualifying. The final round, however, saw
Shawn Ayers advancing to the win with a 4.33
in Fletcher Cox’s Gold Dust Mustang over Phar-
Issue 132
Muscle Car Mayhem