Latest Racing News from Modular Performance
Modular Performance - NMRA Atco Wrap up
Factory Stock
Jeff Schmell and Brian Marr attended this event with thoughts of improving their standings in the FS point’s race. Both are sporting MP FS legal 4.6L 4 valve engines. Jeff qualified #1 at 11.473 @117 and Brian #10 at 11.98 @ 115. Jeff ran 11.51 in the first round of competition and beat Louie Sylvester. Brian had Tom Godfrey and his 11.83 wasn’t enough for Tom’s 11.535.
In round two, Jeff got a bye run (14 car ladder) and ran it out for lane choice with an 11.563. In round #3, Jeff faced off against Tom Godfrey. The winner would have the lead in the FS Championship race. Jeff’s rt of .035 combined with the ET of 11.472 made short work of Tom’s .044 rt and 11.684 ET. Jeff was moving on to the finals to face Steve Gifford.
In the final, Jeff’s slow .145 rt to Steve’s real slow .204 rt helped Jeff stay in front of Steve’s hard charging Mustang. Jeff crossed the finish line first with an 11.425 at 117.93 to Steve’s top end charge of 11.455 at 119.63 mph.
Congratulations Jeff on your second win in Factory Stock. Thanks for using MP 4v Power to Win.
NMRA Joliet Event
Real Street
Shawn Johnson continued to work the bugs out of his Cobra and this weekend the work started to show. Shawn also met the treaded really big wheel stand syndrome. During practice, Shawn made two passes and each started out with sky-high wheel stands. After each pass, we changed the clutch or the trans or both. In qualifying, Shawn ran a 10.61 and that was good for #7. In the first round of eliminations, Shawn met #2 qualifier Jim Breeze. Jim ran a 9.99 to Shawn’s best ever 10.34. Shawn still wooed the crowd with a big wheel stand. (See video page)
Pure Street
In the first round of qualifying, Mike ran a 10.46 and that was good for #5. Then the electrical problem arrived. We spent two days trying to get our hands around it. No luck. In the first round of eliminations Mike’s 10.68 bested Amy Sherwin’s 10.91. In round two, Mike’s 10.64 was no match for Ron Anderson’s 10.36. Cobra X is back in the garage and we‘re chasing wires.
Factory Stock
Both Jeff Schmell and Brian Marr were in attendance and Brian was looking to extend his streak. Jeff qualified #2 with an 11.49 and Brian #7 with an 11.92 With an 11 car ladder, Jeff had Brian in the first round. Jeff had an 11.57 to Brian’s 12.07 and that ended Brian’s day early. In round 2, Jeff had Eric Holiday. Jeff dispatched Eric with an 11.54 to an 11.90. In round 3, semi finals, Jeff had a bye and would get the winner of the Steve Gifford / Alan Cann match. Jeff ran an 11.56 to try for lane choice. Alan had an easy win as Steve left too early. In the final round, Jeff out ran Alan with an 11.51 to Alan’s 12.01.
Congratulations to Jeff on his second final round appearance and his first Factory Stock win of the season. Thanks for using Modular Performance’s Power to Win!
Modular Performance - NMRA Milan Wrap up
Factory Stock:
Jeff Schmell and Brian Marr sporting MP FS legal 4.6L 4 valve engines did quite well at their local track. Jeff qualified #3 at 11.61 @115 and Brian #5 at 11.74 @ 115. Jeff ran consistent 11.75 in the first two rounds of competition. In the semi-finals, his 11.691 wasn’t enough for tom Godfrey’s 11.688. The battle was lost at the tree. Brian also ran consistent in the first two rounds and that earned him a bye in the semi-finals. Brian met up with Godfrey and the battle for the class win. It was over before the light turned green. Godfrey needed a holeshot and guessed to early. RED! This gave Brian his first ever win in NMRA Factory Stock. Congratulations to Brian on his win. And to Jeff on his semi-final finish. Thanks for using MP 4v power.
Real Street:
Shawn Johnson qualified #7 with a 10.40 @ 129 mph. Shawn is still sorting out the car and as such lost in the first round when the blower belt broke. We are working with Shawn to continue the debugging process.
Pure Street:
Mike qualified #7 with a 10.59 @ 127 mph. Mike won the first round as his opponent broke during qualifying and could not make the call. Mike lost in the quarterfinals.
2007 NMRA Bradenton Results
ModularPerformance was well represented at the NMRA opener in Bradenton Florida. Jeff Schmell and Brian Marr trekked down to Florida to compete in NMRA’s Factory Stock class. Mike Tymensky entered the MP Cobra in Pure Street. Shawn Johnson was still trying to assemble his Real Street entry.
Factory Stock:
Brian qualified #4 with a 11.82 @ 114.89 mph. Jeff qualified #6 with a 11.84 @ 113.49 mph. In first round of eliminations, Sleepy Brian’s 11.94 @ 115.34 got him by Eric Holiday 12.38 ET. Jeff had Benjii Bordelon and quickly dispatched him with a 11.55 @ 117.3 to Benjii’s 12.41 ET
Second round Brian faced Carlos. Carlos treed Sleepy Brian and stayed in front of him with an 11.77 to Brian losing 11.80. Next up was Jeff versus Jonathon. Jonathon was out first but Jeff reeled him in with an 11.77 to Jonathon’s 11.98 ET.
In the semi’s, Jeff faced #1 qualifier Steve Gifford. The lights were close - .007 in Steve’s favor. At the end, Jeff pulled an upset with an 11.56 to Steve’s slowing 12.08 ET.
In the finals, Jeff faced newcomer and #2 qualifier Tommy Godfrey driving the old JPC / Washington Mustang. Jeff knew he needed a good light and run as Tommy went 11.50 in the semis. Jeff pushed the tree and lost with a .047 RED.
Good finish by both Brian and Jeff, considering Michigan is still under snow and our tracks don’t open until mid-April. With no testing, they did quite well. Thanks for relying on ModularPerformance to deliver your power.
Pure Street:
In the same no testing situation at Jeff and Brian, Mike qualified #3 with an 10:441 @ 124.7 MPH. In the first round of eliminations, Mike faced David Hill. The lights were close, .058 / .060 in Mike’s favor. At the big end, Mike’s 11.44 bested David’s 10.78 ET. Mike lost the clutch going thru the traps. After a quick disc swap, Mike was ready for round 2.
Ryan Hecox was Mike’s opponent. With the new disc, although adjusted in the pits, came out of the water with no gap. Mike tried to stage but as soon as he raised the rpms, the clutch pushed him thru the lights. A quick end to this round and the weekend.
The weekend was a success. Mike won his first round in Pure Street and no transmission were destroyed. Next stop is Reynolds GA. the weekend of March 30th.
NMRA Racing 2007
ModularPerformance will be supporting / working with 3 individuals that are looking to be competitive in their respective classes.
Shawn Johnson – reigning two-time Factory Stock Champion is updating his car to compete in NMRA’s Real Street. His 4-valve Cobra motor has been removed and a new MP 2v is sitting between the strut towers. The Paxton Supercharger will be compressing and forcing the air by the Anderson cammed Renegade Racing ported PI heads. Mike has assembled a stout engine, that with a couple of test passes under Shawn belt, will keep him in the top half of the Real Street crowd.
Jeff Schmell – #2 finisher in Factory Stock has a new MP Cobra 4-valve engine that has been updated to the latest rules. Jeff is looking to carry on the 4-valve tradition in Factory Stock.
Brian Marr - #7 finisher in Factory Stock has a new MP Cobra 4-valve engine that has been updated to the latest rules. Brian is looking to move on up in FS and challenge Jeff for the title.
Mike will campaigning our MP R&D Cobra 4-valve in NMRA Pure Street. The Mustang has been recently upgraded with Stainless Works headers and exhaust system.
Mike and & I will be trackside to support these racers any way we can. Look for updates after each race.
ModularPerformance’s Pure Street Update
After leaving NMRA’s Columbus event with an ignition problem and 2 broken transmissions, both Mike and I worked diligently to resolve them. Expecting complete success on these issues, we stopped by Precision Autosports in Dayton the make a couple of quick dyno pulls. Jeff and Chris were waiting at the door of the shop when we pulled in. A quick update – it’s midnight. After a couple pulls to verify that the ignition problem is gone. A couple more pulls to very the tune, we packed up and headed to Bowling Green. Update – it’s 2:30 am.
We arrived at BG with aspirations of having a good weekend of racing. We get in line near Shawn Johnson to make our first T&T hit. Shawn was first and as I watched him shear the pinion gear teeth off and stop 15’ out, I felt the aspirations slipping away. Mike was next in the left lane. The car left up and straight, I heard Mike hit second, then 3rd then, then, then, then. No fourth. Another %$$! G *(&$#%%#@ Force transmission busted. Dog ring looked liked a steel spacer. Or a dog with no teeth!
With just an hour before first round and no parts insight, we decided to put the car in staging, and run it out thru 3rd. We would be on the ladder and have all night and most of Saturday to get it fixed.
After qualifying, we found Tim Matherly and Walt (Pro-Motion) looking thru a “care package” of transmission parts. They have a dog ring and a shifter fork. Walt comes back to the trailer and works with Mike and Doug (vrtical) to get it all back together. Walt verifies our process for adjusting the shifter and we’re back to installing it.
For second round of qualifying, Mike comes out of the water box and the engine doesn’t sound snappy. Mike stages. The car leaves up and straight, Mike hits 2nd, next is 3rd (yippee) now I hear the engine rattle. Mike coasted thru to the end of the track in fourth. I go to the scales with the quad and tow him home.
A cylinder-to-cylinder leak down shows us that we have some bent valves. Hmmm! We can pack it up and then support Shawn’s quest for a repeat championship or try to fix the bent valves. Mike is off to find an engine stand and hoist. I start jacking up the car and taking off the exhaust, trans etc from the underside of the car.
Mike arrives with an engine stand borrowed from Kentucky Sam. Fireball Urist will lend us his hoist. Chip Wilson from SC, who is there to meet Mike and I, volunteers one of the boys to help Mike drag the engine hoist back.
Shawn Johnson Wins Back-to-Back Factory Stock Championship
Shawn Johnson wrapped up the 2006 Championship at NMRA’s Final in Bowling Green Kentucky this last weekend. Shawn held a 245-point lead going into the final event and would need to qualify in the top half of the class and win at least two rounds to secure the class championship. Shawn qualified #3 and lost in the semi’s and as such secured the 2006 Champion’s Ring.
Congratulations Shawn for your Back-to-Back Factory Stock Championship. You have won more events in Factory Stock than any other driver. Thank you for selecting ModularPerformance as your engine builder. We look forward to the 2007 season and whatever your goals are.
10 consecutive wins in NMRA Factory Stock
Shawn Johnson next stop on the NMRA circuit was the 22nd Annual Toyo Tires NMRA Ford Motorsports Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA. Shawn was looking to continue working on his consecutive championship in Factory Stock. There were numerous rules changed that gave the push rod guys cams and LT's. We did not know what to expect out of the push rod guys with these changes. Eleven cars entered with Shawn qualified #1 with an 11.58 ET. The first push rod has 3rd at 11.81 ET. Shawn had a first round bye and then quickly dismissed Paulk and Washington.
The final round had Shawn facing Jeff Schmell. The finals were over quickly as Jeff needed a holeshot for a prayer beating Shawn and all he got was the Red bulb. Shawn cruised the track at 12.00 ET and his 10th consecutive win. Mike and I are excited about being on your team. Shawn thanks for relying on ModularPerformance for your engine needs.
Shawn Johnson Wins Georgia NMRA Event
Congratulations to Shawn Johnson for his 9th consecutive win in NMRA Factory Stock class. Reynolds Georgia hosted the NMRA’s second stop of the season this weekend. With Shawn fresh from his win at the NMRA’s Bradenton event, he stepped up to take the #1 qualifying position on his first pass on Saturday with an 11.59 ET. On Sunday, Shawn worked his way thru the field until he met Jeff Schmell in the finals. When the light went green, Shawn pulled in front and stayed there all the way to the end. Shawn ran an 11.67 to Jeff’s 11.72.
Thank you Shawn for counting on ModularPerformance to give you the Power to Win and keep on winning. Next stop is Reading PA in mid-June. John & Mike
Shawn Johnson Takes Bradenton
With Shawn's Championship success of 2005, NMRA attacked the Factory Stock with quite a few rule changes. The most detrimental to the 4 valve Modulars was the 3.90 rear gear ratio. Shawn ran a 4.56 last year and the new 3.90 would wreck havoc on something. For 2006, NMRA's Bradenton was the first event to see what would break. Well the something was the clutch. After 3 test passes and one round of qualifying, the new clutch was shot. We installed a new setup Friday night. Shawn was not alone with the clutch issues as Jeff Schmell went thru 3 clutches.
Shawn was ready for the second round of qualifying and managed an 11.613-second run to qualify at the top of the ladder. The odd field and his number one slot gave Johnson the opening bye, which led him to Dennis Merrow, ranked fourth in 2005 and qualifying fifth at Bradenton in round two. Dennis got a tiny .007-second hole shot, but was immediately passed by Shawn, who ran a 11.591. Next round had Shawn against Jonathan Paulk, who qualified at the back of the pack. The race was over quickly as Paulk left early, a -.104 red-light, to send Shawn on to the finals.
The final pairing would be against the number two qualifier and 2005 class runner-up Jeff Schmell. Here, Shawn left with a .093/157 advantage at the tree and never looked back, clicking off an 11.634 against Jeff's 11.668 for the win.
Congratulations to Shawn for his first win of the 2006 season and his 8 consecutive win in NMRA Factory Stock. Power to Win by Modular Performance
