There’s nothing in this world that’s more American than muscle cars, raw V8 horsepower, smokey burnouts, the sound of tires being shredded and side-by-side drag racing. As the summer of 2023 slowly winds down, it’s your patriotic duty as a red-blooded gearhead to head to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the annual NMCA All-American Nationals. Along with the Dodge//Mopar_® HEMI^® Shootout and HEMI Quick 8 Shootout, the NMCA has many classes for grassroots and semi-professional drag racers to compete in. These include the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars, Super Stock and Stock Eliminator, True Street, Pure Stock/FAST and just about anything else that will get you off the grandstands being a spectator and into the staging lanes suiting up and getting ready to pass down the strip. There’s also the NMCA Car and Truck Show and Shine that features a host of modified and stock vintage and late-model vehicles that will dazzle your eyes. When the NMCA rolls into your local track, there’s no shortage of high-octane fun and excitement.

“With the NMCA All-American Nationals being the second-to-last race of our season, we’re seeing the champion points standings among all the classes starting to take shape as there’s a lot on the line for these racers,” said Rollie Miller, NMCA General Manager, and Race Director. “There’s a lot going on this weekend at Norwalk as we also have many specialty shootouts happening at Summit Motorsports Park. The NMCA crew will be working hard making sure the track’s racing surface is well prepped. For the NMCA staff, this drag strip (Summit Motorsports Park) is like their second home and, with the great partnership we have with the team at the track, this will be an awesome event for racers and spectators!”

As Rollie noted, there are many championships on the line, especially for one diehard Drag Pak racer, AJ Berge. He’s a hardcore and fearless competitor in the Holley EFI Super Cars class and is currently third in championship points. AJ knows he’ll need to go rounds this weekend at the NMCA All-American Nationals if he wants that World Champion title and trophy. “We made it to the finals at the last NMCA race (Martin, Michigan), but I red-lighted against my opponent and I was really disappointed in myself for doing that. We also had a pulley rule change thrown at my HEMI engine combination from both the NHRA and NMCA to add more parity to the class, but that’s fine. It just makes us work harder and find more power from our engine combination,” said AJ Berge, who’s raised the bar in the class with his Revolution Paradox/Ramchargers Challenger Drag Pak. “Regardless of the rule change, we really love racing the NMCA events. Their staff and crew treat us great, and the track prep is always top-notch.” When asked about his thoughts of possibly being a world champ in a class dominated by COPO Camaros and Cobra Jet Mustangs, AJ had this to say, “Anything can happen in this class. The racing is really tight, and one engine/body combination doesn’t really have a huge advantage over another. In the end, it’ll be up to the tuner to make the right call and the driver to do their job on the starting line.” For AJ’s racing operation, he handles both of these duties very well. If it’s any consolation, it was at this event last year AJ had his first NMCA win. “I love this track and if we’re lucky, maybe we can repeat!”

Another racer getting ready to attack the strip at Norwalk is Jess Richards. She was a rookie in the Dodge//HEMI Shootout just a few years ago but has slowly refined her Challenger SRT^® Redeye to the point that she’s now a consistent player in the HEMI Quick 8 Shootout. “Back in March of 2023, my race season started in Orlando with NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem. Little did I know at the time the issues I was about to face would have an impact on three races, but it has been uphill since. We are over the midway point of the season with only about six events left for the year, but that’s plenty of time to take some big steps with the car,” noted Jess.

And big steps she’s made in her Challenger’s performance. “After some mid-season changes, I got my first-ever event win at Dragway 42 Mopar Madness in the Hellcat Bracket Race as my car ran a new personal best of 9.27 seconds racing in the Heavyweight class during the Modern Street HEMI Shootout (MSHS) at Milan Dragway the weekend after making an appearance on Woodward Avenue for Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge. With only one MSHS event left and two NMCA/HHP Racing Quick 8 events left, the point chase in both classes is still on. Other remarkable events coming up include Holley MoParty, Summit Motorsports Park Halloween Classic, Haltech World Cup Finals, MSHS Final Stand and Mopars at the Rock. More changes are planned for the car for the remaining races, with even bigger changes in the works for the off-season!” 

With only two NMCA races left for this season, don’t let summer slip away without hitting the drag strip one last time before the snow flies and we’re all hunkered down for winter. Exercise your right to turn your tires in anger and send your opponent packing.

Maybe these pics will motivate you even more to come out and race your car!