Hot and humid conditions welcomed NMCA racers to the Hot Rod Power Festival at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky June 24 & 25. Defending NMCA Pro Street Champion Bob Rieger and former Pro Street Champion Tony Christian continued their battle for the 2000 NMCA series title by qualifying in the #1 and #2 spots. Rieger, running his twin turbo equipped 1957 Chevy for the first time ever in NMCA competition qualified #1 with a great 6.817 @ 210.31 m.p.h., while Christian took the #2 spot with a 6.83 @ 208. The 210.31 was a new NMCA speed record for Pro Street, as Bob Rieger backed it up for the official NMCA record with a 208 m.p.h. blast in round one Pro Street eliminations while defeating Chuck Samuel's twin turbo Chevy S-10 Truck. In the Pro Street final, Tony Christian had lane choice by .001 seconds, based on semi-final winning times, and took the favored right lane with his nitrous injected 1957 Chevy. Bob Rieger barely made the staging call with his sharp looking twin turbo 1957 Chevy after he was forced to change motors for the final. Christian ripped to another solid 6 second, 200 plus blast in the final to stop Rieger's machine that had some turbo boost problems at the start and then encountered problems in the mid-range with the tricky left lane, eventually turning a mid-seven second time. Look for the Rieger versus Christian points battle to rage on all year long, the championship will probably go down to the last race of the year at Commerce, Georgia. One racer who may throw a monkey wrench into the Rieger/Christian battle is Californian Joe Dellamaggiore with his 1999 Trans Am. At Beech Bend Dellamaggiore and his regular crew, Mike and Shannon Bowman, were joined by Pro Street hitter Mike Moran. Did Moran's tuning tips help? In air that most racers said was corrected to 3880 or 3900 feet, the normally aspirated Pontiac ran three 6 second passes in qualifying, with a best of a 6.93 for the #3 qualifying spot. Dellamaggiore has become lightning quick out of the gate with the Lenco equipped Trans Am too, it seems he can cut .430 lights at will on the pro tree. In his semi-final loss to Tony Christian, Dellamaggiore only lost by .003 of a second! Don't be surprised if the black Pontiac from California becomes a spoiler in the NMCA Pro Street points chase as the year goes on.

New Yorker Marc Dantoni was the class of the field in Outlaw Street at Bowling Green. Dantoni's 707 cubic inch, nitrous injected 1997 Chevy Monte Carlo used a 6.856 @ 208.36 to take the #1 qualifying spot and marched to the final. In the final Dantoni stopped a determined Corky Markwart and his 1999 Dodge Dakota Truck from Florida. Dantoni had lane choice and turned another consistent 6 at 200 plus in the right lane during the Outlaw Street final, while Markwart had the tire shake blues in the left lane. Markwart had qualified #3 earlier in the event with a 7.02 @ 200. The points leader coming into the event, Hank Hill, qualified #2 with a 6.97 @ 200 m.p.h., and dropped out in a close race against the Dodge Dakota Truck of Markwart in the semis. The points battle in NMCA Outlaw Street is tight as the nitrous Chevy of Dantoni now appears to have the upper hand over Hill's normally aspirated, mountain motored Ford, in the hot and humid summer conditions. This is another points chase that may go down to the last race of the year.

Home town racer Joel Greathouse was the only racer in the 7 second zone during Super Street qualifying at Beech Bend, and looked to be a good bet to win the event at his home track with his supercharged 1991 Mustang. Greathouse qualified #1 at 7.959 @ 177.18 miles per hour. Jim Huber and his 2000 Chevy S-10 Truck from Indiana had qualified #2 with an 8.06 @ 172, and Huber made it to the Super Street final to tangle with the points leading Ford of Greathouse. A rear gear change, late Saturday night after qualifying, by Huber and the BES crew paid off in eliminations as the nitrous injected S-10 Truck was strong in eliminations. The final saw the win go to the wheelstanding entry of Huber as Greathouse had traction woes with his feared Ford.

Other winners at NMCA/Bowling Green included; Todd Moyer (Hot Street), Gary Rohe (EZ Street), Dan Paolini (Real Street), Mike Kurtz (Factory Street), Bob Mosher (Nostalgia S/S), Clarence Harding (EFI 11), Richard Taylor (EFI 12), and John Travis (EFI 13). Check out www.headsupnewsonline.com for more information on NMCA events. Next NMCA Hot Rod Power Festival is at Joliet, Illinois the weekend of July 8 & 9.