Finish line shots of Dan Millen’s turbo ‘Stang at a 7.07/206.10 (top) and Billy Glidden’s nitrous Ford at the conclusion of a 7.04/195.56 pass show just how little rubber is making contact at speed in the NMCA Nitto 10.5W “ten-five wide” Super Street category. Although twelve inches of tread is permitted on the ground at rest, top-end growth from centrifugal force makes for a footprint far narrower than rim width and places top priority on driving ability.
Madman Pete Ricart’s one-of-a-kind ‘65 Fairlane 500 used a new Kuntz-built 638-inch nitrous Ford wedge to run a career-best 7.68/176 in NMCA Nostalgia Pro Street; the “Gangster” went three rounds before losing a tight one to eventual runner-up Joe Bucaro’s Illinois smallblock Mustang.
Vinnie Budano and Scott Shafiroff absolutely stunned the Denso Pro Street contingent with an ungodly 6.465/218.83 qualifier in horrific atmospheric conditions, just missing his own 6.460 NMCA ET Record but annihilating the speed mark. Subsequent runs of 6.48/219.04, (over David Janes’ show-quality Grand Am), and 6.56/215, (over Chad Morgan’s blown South Dakota ‘01 Camaro), were the quickest of every round until IHRA Pro Stock star Rick Jones used a tenth of a second holeshot and a 6.58/213.16 in the semis to destroy Budano’s 6.50/218.23!
