The recipients of the NMCA Wes Series Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Championship rings | We joined the folks from Promedia, Aerospace Components, and a couple hundred of the area’s fastest on the evening of January 21st for a celebration of the 2016 NMCA WEST VP Racing Fuels Street Car Nationals. With the 2017 NMCA West season right around the corner it was time to celebrate the winners and possibly inspire some new victors at Vic’s Garage, home of the legendary Vic Edelbrock Jr.’s incredible museum and car collection! The atmosphere was festive and animated. The dragstrip tales of the competitors led to some lighthearted banter with the idea that there would be a next time! 
Some amazing championship hardware presented by Aerospace Components Winners Circle | Hosted by Brian Lohnes, the awards ceremony included several exciting video recaps of the year along with the presentation of the Nitto Tire Diamond Tree Championship rings, the NMCA Victor Championship trophies and Top Ten awards, presented by Aerospace Components. 
Host Brian Lohnes with Kim Kussy of Aerospace Components and Steve Wolcott of ProMedia | The NMCA WEST Champion Cooling System Pro Comp Champ and K&N Driver, Kevin McClelland, competed in multiple series during the 2016 racing season including the NMCA WEST Series and the NHRA Summit Series. 
K&N Director of O.E.M. Business Kevin McClelland, getting a little lift on the drag strip. | Kevin McClelland has been known to lend a hand to fellow competitors on more than one occasion. McClelland who serves as K&N’s Director of OEM Business, in a manner of speaking, comes from drag racing royalty as many people refer to his father Dave McClelland as “The Voice of NHRA.” This four-time NHRA National Event winner is continuing the racing legacy and competing in earnest with his son Daniel in the series. Kevin's wife, Lisa McClelland, even gets in on the action and won 2016 Crewmember of the Year thanks to her efforts throughout the season. 
Kevin McClelland smoking the tires on his 1927 Davis Roadster at the NMCA WEest Spring Nationals | At the season opener in April, the 5th Annual NMCA WEST Spring Nationals, in Champion Cooling Pro Comp Class, fellow competitor Paul Wiechmann took pole, but it was McClelland in his 1927 Davis roadster who would meet Gary Cooke and his 1961 Corvette in the final. Both racers ran 9.91 on their 9.90 index, but it was McClelland's .011-second reaction time that gave him the win over Cooke's .042. At the Lucas Oil West Coast Shootout in June, Kevin McClelland came out on top once again with Zach Meziere as the event runner up at Autoclub Dragway, in Fontana, California. Record breaking temperatures may have had something to do with McClelland’s outcome at the Energy Suspension Street Car Nationals in September. Separated by a mere hundredth of a second from first place, Kevin would land in fifth place at the end of competition. It’s incredible that the winner and events runner up were decided down to thousandths of a second. 
Vic's Garage, located in Torrance, California, was the ideal venue for this high performance group | The competition is thick in the Champion Cooling System Pro Comp class with winners being just thousandths ahead of their rivals. And the competition at the 5th Annual Mickey Thompson NMCA West Finals was fierce. K&N’s Kevin McClelland would qualify and run against Dennis Sato where he would have the advantage and move up to the next round. In the end he would finish fourth with one hundredth of a second separating him from the winner Zach Meziere. 
Aerospace Components, Kim Kussy with Sportsman of the Year, Dave Gotts and his wife Jennifer | Take a look at the 2016 Season Winners:Kevin McClelland, Champion Cooling Systems Pro Comp Jan Vanderpool, Street Comp Marvin Roles, Calvert Racing Quick Street Brent Calvert, MMR Mustang Madness Brent Calvert, JET-HOT Open Comp Steve Cox, Hedman Hedders Nostalgia Street Car 
NMCA West Series Edelbrock Super Quick Champ Zach Meziere, staging. | Doug Crumlich, Meziere Enterprises Top SportsmanZach Meziere, Edelbrock Super Quick Greg Seth-Hunter, Pro Mod Mike Silva, Ultra Street Tony Smith, ARP Outlaw 8.5 Ross Wilson, Lucas Oil N/A 10.5 James Lawrence, Pro Charger Limited Street 
NMCA West Champ, James Lawrence staging in his Drag Zine, ProCharger Limited Street | Special Awards Winners: Driver of the Year Winner: Mark Miyashiro Crew Member of the Year Winner: Lisa McClelland Sportsman of the Year Winner: Dave Gotts Ambassador of the Year Winner: Paul Wiechmann We’d like to congratulate our very own Kevin McClelland for his success at the drag strip and can’t wait to see what transpires in the 2017 race season. |
