8th Annual Nitto NMRA Ford Nationals
If there's one thing that can ruin a great weekend it's the weather. It doesn't matter if you're having a cookout, a day on the beach, or a weekend at the races. If Mother Nature wants to rain on your parade, she will. You can have all the fancy radar equipment and websites at your disposal, telling you the weekend will be sunny and dry, and it will still rain. In the case of the Atco, New Jersey, NMRA event, officially titled the 8th Annual Nitto NMRA Ford Nationals presented by Downs Ford Motorsport, the rains came and never let up enough to even get all of the racing completed, let alone have a nice day on the car show field or in the spectator stands. The funny thing is, over all the years the NMRA has been putting on its events, Atco is the only one that's been completely cancelled due to weather. Sure, there have been some close calls in the past, but never shutting down the whole event.
Fortunately for us, Saturday stayed dry enough to put on the car show and we're happy to be able to bring you some sweet-looking rides from the event. Due to Sunday's weather, the car show was cancelled and judging was left incomplete, including our usual editor's choice award. Let's all hope that next year Atco brings out some great rides and some great racing. We'll see you there.
Steve Flynn's yellow '99 Saleen...
Steve Flynn's yellow '99 Saleen S-281 convertible was honored with a Top 10 Saleen award and achieved Second Place for '99-'04 Convertible in the special Saleen classes that were offered at Atco.
What kind of special Saleen...
What kind of special Saleen event wouldn't be complete without the man himself? Steve walked the rows of Mustangs carrying his name and eagerly talked to owners, signed dashes, and more. Here Steve is posing with Mark Sperduto's '89 Saleen factory race car. One of only two built, the car was displayed in as-raced condition and has never been restored. Steve certainly had some stories to tell with this one. Mark's Saleen also took home a Top 10 Saleen award.
While no longer involved with...
While no longer involved with Saleen Mustangs, Steve Saleen's new company, SMS, as well as TechCo, a company comprised of ex-Saleen employees, were both on hand with display vehicles for the Saleen faithful to check out.