8-Second Action at 2021 Mod Nationals TREMEC Modular True Street Drag Race

The Ford modular V8 engine family debuted to the world with a lot of controversy, but it quickly matured and, thanks to the power-enhancing magic of boost, it now powers Mustangs of various generations to neck-snapping speeds and elapsed times (E/Ts) at the dragstrip. The performance success of these engines and their large following led to the creation of the Mod Nationals in 2013. This annual overhead-cam drag race battle royale is an event exclusively for modular-powered Fords.

After a COVID-19 hiatus in 2020, the Mod Nats returned to South Georgia Motorsports Park November 11-14, 2021. And excellent cool Georgia fall air unleashed even more mod-motor power for some great low E/Ts. TREMEC joined the series this year as sponsor of the Modular True Street racing class which is for street-legal Ford vehicles. In addition to an overall winner, cash prices were paid for the winner in categories for each second breaks of E/Ts, ranging from 8 seconds to 14 seconds. The overall winner and the quickest car in each second category was selected by averaging 3 back-to-back rounds. For the complete Modular True Street rules, visit the Mod Nationals website.

Competitors in Modular True Street must participate in a 30-mile street cruise, after which the cars are led directly to the staging lanes to make pack to pack rounds. They are allowed to open the hoods  after the street cruise plus in-between rounds to help cool the engine. Competitors are also allowed to add ice to the intercooler tank. But they are not allowed to change equipment on the cars between the street cruise and all three rounds of racing.

If there is one constant in drag racing, it’s that anything can happen. A missed shift, unexpected loss of traction or red lighting can scuttle what looks to be a winning average E/T. The Modular True Street competition was no exception, with last-minute surprises that ended up affecting who would take home the honor of overall winner. Read on to see the individual E/T category winners, and who came out on top to claim these payouts in the winner’s circle:

Tremec Modular True Street Class

Overall Winner                                  $1,300

8-second                                              $700

9-second                                              $500

10-second                                            $450

11-second                                            $400

12-second                                            $350

13-second                                            $300

14-second                                            $275

15-second                                            $250

14-Second Winner: Ben Bromlett, 1996 Mustang GT

Ben Bromlett’s 1996 Mustang GT is usually a solid 9-second performer. However, from the outset, the 4.6 four-valve motor exhibited signs of trouble. Ben went 9.727 in his first pass, but slowed considerably in the following runs, with 11.219 and 23.164 as he tried to nurse the engine through the required three passes.

13-Second Winner: Randy Thomas, 2010 GT500

Another heartbreak happened to the 13-second category winner Randy Thomas and his 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500. Randy’s first two passes were 8.430 and 8.462, setting him up to secure the overall event win, with only one other car running in the high-8s that could potentially beat him. But Randy had trouble during his third run and ended up running a shocking 22.211 E/T that wrecked his average and placed him as the 13-second winner.

12-Second Winner: Jason Wagner, 2019 Mustang GT

Jason Wagner took home the 12-second category win. The 2019 Mustang GT Mustang normally runs in the high-11s, with his first and third runs lighting up the scoreboard with an 11.817 and 11.790, respectively. But a 12.488 E/T at the end of his second pass skewed the average to 12.032, giving him a narrow .072-second edge over the next-fastest 12-second average.

11-Second Winner: Cody Mendheim, 2011 Mustang GT

The 11-second category featured some tight competition that left no margin for error to win. Cody Mendheim’s 2011 Mustang GT was the picture of consistency, with only a .02-second spread between his fastest and slowest passes. Runs of 11.078, 11.060 and 11.098 netted a 11.079 average E/T that topped the second place average of 11.091.

10-Second Winner: Matt Favaloro 2020 GT500

The 10-second category featured some of the toughest competition, with the top five average E/Ts separated by only a tenth of a second. And inside this tight group was the very unlikely occurrence of identical 10.006 E/T averages between Matt Favaloro and Mindy Coon in her 2009 GT500KR.  This meant a tiebreaker was needed, and the best reaction time used as the deciding factor to put Matt in the winner’s circle.

9-Second Winner: Elijah Franklin, 2017 Mustang

The only category that didn’t have some sort of drama or numerical anomaly was the 9-second class. Elijah Franklin was lights out in his 2017 Mustang, firing off passes of 9.043, 9.080 and 9.107 for a 9.077 average E/T that put the 9-second trophy in his hands.

8-Second Winner: Scott Boda, 2018 Mustang GT

The 8-second category was a straight duel between Randy Thomas and Scott Boda with the only two 8-second cars in the field. Scott was behind the wheel of the Steeda 2018 Mustang GT, running an unproven combo that had just three previous dragstrip passes and had been dyno tested only two weeks before the event. Scott’s original goal was to race for the 9-second category win, but at the last minute, he decided to go all in and try for the 8s. He ran passes of 8.797, 8.829, and 8.698 for an 8.775 average e.t. which gave him the overall win in the TREMEC Modular True Street class as well the 8-second category.