 Vic Edelbrock Jr. presented Charlie Booze Jr. with his championship award for the Hot Street class. |
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NMRA and NMCA Wrap Up 2012 Season with Awards Ceremonies at the 25th Annual PRI Show
Every year the NMRA Keystone Automotive Ford Nationals and NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals celebrate another event season with awards ceremonies held at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in Orlando, Florida. NMRA and NMCA racers, crew, family, sponsors and media packed Orange County Convention Center's ballroom for ceremonies that featured championship awards, specialty awards, custom jackets for all top-10 competitors, highlight videos and slide shows and Nitto Tire Diamond Tree championship ring presentations. Because of NMCA's relationship with NHRA's Unleashed program, all NMCA class champions were presented with NHRA Wallys courtesy of Aerospace Components. Famed TV announcer, Bret Kepner, hosted both ceremonies with his trademark enthusiasm and knowledge of street-legal drag racing.
NMCA's award ceremony began with a special appearance from Nate Shelton, Flowmaster's chief marketing officer and SEMA's incoming chairman of the Board, who presented special 5-Second Club jackets to all Pro Street competitors who ran five-second, 200+ mph passes in 2012. Vic Edelbrock Jr. has always been a regular at NMRA's awards ceremony and he gave a rousing speech before presenting Charlie Booze Jr. with his championship award for the Hot Street class. Eight-time NMRA Super Street Outlaw champion, John "the fireball" Urist, gave an emotional speech as he described this year's world championship and the birth of his new daughter, Lauren. More than 400 people packed each ceremony.
 Bret Voelkel has won the 2012 Goodguys AutoCross PRO class points title behind the wheel of his ’33 Ford hot rod. |
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Voelkel Wins Goodguys Autocross Pro Class Points Title
Ridetech founder Bret Voelkel has won the 2012 Goodguys AutoCross PRO class points title behind the wheel of his ’33 Ford hot rod. Voelkel sealed the victory at last weekend’s Goodguys second Fall Del Mar Nationals presented by Meguiar’s by taking the PRO class event win in the ’33 Ford, giving him enough points to take the season-long championship over rival Kyle Tucker of Detroit Speed. Driving a variety of entries throughout the season, Voelkel competed at 11 Goodguys AutoCross events across the country, winning the PRO class four times. He also won the year-end Street Rod Class title, making him the first multi-class Goodguys AutoCross champion.
Other year-end Goodguys AutoCross class champions included Kyle Tucker/Detroit Speed (Street Machine class) and Rob McGregor (Truck class). Next year, Goodguys will stage a year-long AutoCross Shootout Series, with the Goodguys AutoCross Shootout Finals to be held at the 16th Southwest Nationals November 15–17, at Westworld in Scottsdale, Arizona. The winner of the Shootout will receive $10,000.
 Jones Motorsports finished eighth place overall in the Tecate, SCORE, Baja 1000. |
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Jones Motorsports Drops to Eighth at 45th Tecate, SCORE Baja 1000
Jones Motorsports looked to be a safe bet for the overall win at the 45th running of the Tecate, SCORE, Baja 1000. They were teamed up with Menzies Motorsports again for the 1,121.55-mile peninsula run starting on the Pacific Ocean in Ensenada, Baja, Mexico, and finishing on the Sea of Cortez in La Paz.
The team had been looking forward to a great race at the 1000. They were still buzzing from the results they achieved at the Baja 500 where they combined both crews to support each driver in their own truck. Bryce Menzies got his second consecutive Baja 500 victory, first overall, and Jesse Jones, who started 34th, was close behind, finishing on the podium in third. For the 1000, drivers Jones and Menzies would share the same truck.
Menzies and navigator Peter Mortensen would take the first stint behind the wheel starting seventh behind BJ Baldwin and the two were in a tight back-and-forth battle right from the start. By the time they reached San Felipe, Baldwin was out front with Bryce on his bumper in second.
After two routine pit stops in San Felipe and Bahia de Los Angeles, they were running fast and making great time. As they reached El Crucero, darkness had fallen on the course. North of San Ignacio, they started to smell burning oil. A $10 AN fitting had developed a crack causing engine oil to seep onto the engine. They made it to the pit at Vizcaino and the crew changed it out before Menzies and Mortensen continued to San Ignacio where Jones and his co-rider Alberto Rodelo took over.
Jones pushed the truck as hard as he could but the competition was doing the same. As the night wore on, the fog began to emerge, making it near impossible to see, and with each minute that passed, the challenge grew more daunting. In the end, the time deficit could not be overcome, finishing eighth place overall.
2013 NMRA Ford Nationals Event Schedule Announced
The NMRA Ford Nationals Series has announced its 2013 event schedule. Next year will feature the NMRA’s 15th anniversary tour with special events planned at each and every race.