It seems like just yesterday we were in the warm Florida sun ready to kick off the 2022 NMCA season down in Bradenton. It was like being on Spring Break but instead of sandy beaches, bars and nightclubs to entertain us, we witnessed the excitement of watching race and street cars attack the quarter-mile and put down some fast times. It was the NMCA season opener, known as “Muscle Car Mayhem“, an event for which many northern competitors looking to escape the icy cold grips winter head south to get back in the groove. That was just last March and now as we’re heading into September, we’re about ready to pull the chutes on a season that has its share of thrills and spills for the hundreds of competitors that will come and play for one last time at the 21st Annual NMCA World Street Finals. Held at the prestigious and somewhat iconic Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP), this racing facility also plays host to the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA US Nationals. There’s something magic when you roll under that walkover bridge at IRP and think of the many legends that came before you and laid rubber down the same drag strip that you’re about to make a pass on. I don’t know about you, but I get shivers going up and down my spine when I make a run down IRP.
For the competitors in the Dodge//Mopar® HEMI® Shootout class, they’re looking to make one more hit in their Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT® Hellcats and Scat Packs while putting some great times as cool fall-like weather conditions will descend on Indy. The NMCA World Street Finals also provides owners one more opportunity to power down the drag strip before the snow begins to fly and they have to put their pride and joy away for winter hibernation. But, for the participants who race Durango 392 SRTs or even the SRT Hellcat engine-powered leviathans, they’re probably looking forward to white stuff in which they can take their fast SUVs and play in the snow. With the impressive car counts in this Dodge//Mopar HEMI Shootout class, and the increasing number of 2021 Challenger Drag Paks racing in the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars category, the NMCA World Street Finals will cap off the successful season the event organizers have been working on all year. “The 2022 season has been awesome as we’ve seen so much support from our racer and sponsor base,” said Steve Wolcott, Founder and CEO of the NMCA Muscle Car Nationals. “Just like last year, the Dodge and Mopar HEMI Shootout program gained more traction among grassroots street enthusiasts as it continues to thrive and grow at every event. The number of entries in this class keeps increasing and we welcome these racers into the NMCA family as we provide them a safe and controlled environment to race their incredibly fast late-model HEMI powered machines. We’ve also seen more Drag Paks this year competing in our Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class which is a big deal for us. The fans really love these cars and it’s great to see the commitment from Dodge, Chevy and Ford supporting this class.”
Last year, Dennis Chaisson scored his first victory in his 2021 Drag Pak at the NMCA World Street Finals. As a matter of fact, it was the first win ever for the new ’21 Drag Pak and Dennis is ready to do it again. “We’ve struggled this year but we’re ready to go out defend our victory at Indy. We’ve put everything into the car including a new engine, transmission and other parts. We’re going to do our best to represent the Dodge//Mopar brand and put this Drag Pak back in the winner’s circle,” said Dennis.
Among the other classes that’ll be hotly contested during among Mopar racers during the NMCA World Street Finals will be Nostalgia Super Stock (NSS) and F.A.S.T. (Factory Appearing Stock Tire). They’re both “old-school” but with a different twist. The NSS class is intended for vintage cars that raced in the A/FX and Super Stock classes of the ’60s. There are some exceptions allowed in the authenticity of these cars for modern safety equipment, but it’s like going back in time to the golden era of drag racing during its infancy. Doug Duell’s “Drag’n Wag’n” Plymouth has been a multi-time winner in NMCA and he’s looking to repeat at the World Street Finals.
The F.A.S.T. class is another fan favorite with an almost cult-like following on the internet. Stock appearing muscle cars run some serious fast times on skinny bias-ply tires – what’s not to get excited about? These cars retain their production body panels and interiors and must run on the stock wheels. No aftermarket Mag wheels for these guys. Leading the Mopar brigade is Dave Dudek and his stunning 1971 Plymouth HEMI engine-powered ‘Cuda. This has been a challenging year for him and the NMCA World Street Finals will ironically be his first event of the season. “We’re coming to Indy with a new engine, trans, and for first time, I’m using electronics in the car to capture data. We’ll basically use this event to test different jetting and timing settings on the HEMI,” noted Dave. Regardless, Dudek’s “stock appearing” HEMI ‘Cuda will put down some impressive speeds as it marches down IRP.
So, before you begin to winterize your toys and start to dig out the snowblower from the shed, check out the NMCA World Street Finals this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park and take in the sights and sounds of pure muscle in its natural habitat.
