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.
Thomas Niziolek's '92 notch...
Thomas Niziolek's '92 notch has a scant 24K on the odometer, but that doesn't mean Thomas doesn't enjoy his ride. The black LX features a stock 302 with GT-40 heads and a GT-40 intake, force-fed by a Vortech S-trim supercharger. A TKO-500 takes care of the shifting duties.
Some of our past readers might...
Some of our past readers might recognize Joe Sofia's '84 Mustang hatch from its feature on these very pages last year. Joe's Mustang sports custom paint, Cervini's body parts, and a carb'd small-block. Joe's Mustang took home trophies for Top 20 Ford and a First Place for Best Daily Driver.
Jim Ricchezza is an auto painter...
Jim Ricchezza is an auto painter by trade, so it's no wonder he has his '88 notch looking bad to the bone in a custom copper color. Of course, Jim has the goods to back up the stellar paint, too, with a 306 underhood boasting Edelbrock RPM heads, Victor Jr. intake, and a 750 Holley. A Dynamic Racing C4 fires all that power to a 4.88-geared, 8.8-inch rear running 28x10.6 ET Drags. We bet Jim likes to drag race. Jim's ride was awarded a Top 20 Ford, People's Choice awards for Best Engine and Best Interior, as well as First Place for Best Race Car/Pro Street.
We didn't get the details...
We didn't get the details on this Saleen, but we can only imagine the time and labor that went into completely airbrushing just about every square inch of this black beauty. Murals may not be your thing, but you have to give it up to the artist and the skill it requires.