{"id":64212,"date":"2022-08-25T13:43:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T17:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=64212"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:20:19","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:20:19","slug":"screaming-hellcats-and-smoking-tires-nmca-takes-over-norwalk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/racing\/2022\/08\/screaming-hellcats-and-smoking-tires-nmca-takes-over-norwalk.html","title":{"rendered":"Screaming Hellcats And Smoking Tires – NMCA Takes Over Norwalk!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summer may have just shifted into high gear, but there\u2019s plenty of real estate left for it to stretch its legs. The NMCA All-American Nationals<\/a> rolls into Summit Motorsports Park<\/a> for the second-to-last race of their exciting 2022 racing season, which has seen tire smoking action all over the Midwest and Southeast. \u201cRolling into Norwalk, Ohio, NMCA always has strong momentum and that includes Dodge \/\/ Mopar HEMI Shootout participation as well,\u201d said Steve Wolcott, CEO of NMCA. \u201cAlmost all 75 free entries (courtesy of Dodge) are spoken for, so the staging lanes will be filled with modern-HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> powered Dodge, RAM, Chrysler, and even Jeep vehicles that have this legendary powerplant under the hood. These guys and guys let it fly down the 1320 and have a blast. The NMCA invites all HEMI racers to bring their street and race cars and have fun with us at this weekend\u2019s All-American Nationals.” \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During the last NMCA race at US 131 Motorsports Park<\/a>, the car counts were huge, the competition was intense, and mother nature decided to have the last word. Sunday morning, drenching rains soaked the pits and staging lanes and put all the eliminations behind schedule. Racing was put on hold until the skies cleared, and the track was able to dry out, but some of the class eliminations had to be postponed and rescheduled for this weekend\u2019s Norwalk race. This included the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, as Drag Pak pilots AJ Berge and David Davies made it past round one at Martin until the rains came. Now, they, along with the other racers, will duke it out in Norwalk first for the Martin winner\u2019s trophy and check during the qualifying sessions. Our racers can also possibly \u2018double-up\u2019 if they win Sunday\u2019s eliminations at Norwalk so this weekend can have a big payout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AJ Berge of Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) will once again be doing double duty tuning and keeping the DSR Drag Paks in the groove. He\u2019ll also be racing his Security Dodge Power Broker<\/a> sponsored Challenger Drag Pak in the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars category. It\u2019s no easy task, but AJ and DSR Drag Pak co-crew chief Kevin Helms<\/a> are up to the task taming these 1500-horsepower beasts and getting them to hook-up on nine-inch slicks. \u201cWe had no rest during the break! We discovered during maintenance that we actually hurt the transmission during round one at 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, so it looks like we dodged a bullet. While we were at it, we swapped engines knowing we have a double-header so we are going to give it all we can to double up and get our first win in competition,\u201d noted AJ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBeing\nbased in Cleveland, this is a home race for me. It will be a busy couple of\ndays with finishing up Holley EFI Super Cars elimination rounds that got\ncancelled while we were at the NMCA Power Festival at 131 Motorsports Park up\nin Michigan last month. Now, we\u2019ll finish those up during qualifying sessions\nhere at Norwalk. The schedule is a little tight, but we are just going to run\nour normal deal that we\u2019ve done all season,\u201d said Dave Davies, CEO of Constant\nAviation. \u201cThe carry over race from Michigan will make it challenging and fun\nthis weekend. I\u2019m looking to get some test passes in on Thursday, then make our\nfirst qualifying run during Friday count. The second qualifying run will really\nbe an elimination round from the NMCA Martin, Michigan race. My crew and I will\nhave a good handle on my Drag Pak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m\nlooking forward to racing at my home track in Norwalk again. Last time I ran an\nNMCA race was last March at their season opener in Bradenton, Florida. I was\nlucky enough to get to the Winner\u2019s Circle. Happy to support the Bader Family\nat the track this weekend and will be thinking about Bill Bader Sr. who\nrecently passed away,\u201d said DSR Challenger Drag Pak driver and multiple event\nwinner Mark Pawuk<\/a>. Since Mark\u2019s performance has massively stepped up this\nseason, he and rest of the Drag Paks racers will be ready for whatever those\nCOPO Camaros and Cobra Jet Mustangs have under their hoods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There will also be a contingent of old school muscle competing at the NMCA All-American Nationals as both the FAST (Factory Appearing Stock Tire)<\/a> and Factory Stock machines will be blasting down Norwalk\u2019s drag strip on skinny reproduction bias ply tires. For these casual racers, it\u2019s still a challenge not to shred the tires at the hit of the throttle in their big block powered machines, that produce enough torque to rotate the earth. \u201cWe are looking forward to racing at a great track as the NMCA does a wonderful job prepping the starting line,\u201d said Bob Karakashian. The Farmington Hills, Michigan resident and lifelong Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> racer is bringing his mint 1970 Plymouth HEMI \u2018Cuda to Norwalk to rumble with the competition. \u201cI love this race and my \u2018Cuda is dialed-in and ready to rock. These past few weeks, I\u2019ve done the usual routine maintenance to keep my HEMI happy!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mike\nMarple from South Lyon, Michigan, is a product designer during the week, but on\nrace weekends, he\u2019s going wide open in his gorgeous (and original) 1969.5 A12\nPlymouth Road Runner. With a 440 Six Barrel under the factory fiberglass lift\noff hood, starting line finesse and traction are key to laying down fast times\nand going rounds. \u201cNorwalk is a really good facility, and my Road Runner really\nhooks hard at this track. It\u2019s also fun to just hang out with friends and bench\nrace in the pits,\u201d smiled Mike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summer\nis reaching the finish line pretty quick, so if your need for speed is still\nnot satisfied, head over to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in\nNorwalk, Ohio, and get your ticket punched. If not, here\u2019s what you\u2019re missing!\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n