Victory NSS at Cordova, IL

Super Stockers close the Door Warz

Words by Chris Schneider

Photos by Dennis Mothershed

Kevin Miller

The Victory NSS Series racers always love competing at Cordova International Raceway, but the July 27-28 weekend they were especially thrilled when they were greeted with Spring-like weather. Combine the always sticky Cordova starting line, cool temperatures and high horsepower classic Detroit muscle cars and you have a recipe for excitement! Cordova’s Door Warz event was Race #3 in the Victory NSS Points Series. Thirty-two of the Midwest’s best Nostalgia Super Stockers made the call for two rounds of qualifying on Friday night.

Saturday morning brought another gorgeous day and the anticipation of a great day of racing. The Victory NSS cars rolled out for the final round of Qualifying. When the smoke cleared, Illinois racer Kevin Miller held the coveted B&K Trucking #1 Qualifier spot.

Matt Mothershed powered his father's Plymouth to the Kramer Automotive Top Gun Award with a great .001 Reaction Time.

With Qualifying over, it was time to see who would take home the Door Warz Crown. Two cars suffered mechanical issues in Qualifying, leaving 30 Super Stocks to battle it out. The first pair out set the tone for Eliminations. George Justice launched his Wedge-powered Mopar with an incredible .006 light, but Tom Gaines was still riding high from his Eddyville victory and left right with him with a .010 RT. At the finish line, Gaines took the win by inches.

Mike Volkart took the Clay Kossuth & Sons Star of the Race Award back home to mid-Missouri.

Mike Volkart left with a .016 Light and took the win over a slowing Dick Monaco. Mid-Missouri racer Jim Shelton strapped a .007 light and a 10.03 on a 10.00 Index forcing the always tough Bob Westhoff to break out in his big Ford.

The closest race of Round One went to local favorite Dan Beale (shown) and Bob Mosher. Beale and his Dan Driscoll-owned Pontiac had a .045 Reaction and a 11.002 on a 11.00 Index was enough to force Mosher’s Ford to go too fast with a 10.998 on his 11.00 Index.

Round Two had the Queen of Victory NSS, Rosie Kossuth and her “Lady Max” Dodge defeating Volkart’s Chevelle.

Shaun Johnston and Tom Gaines put on a clinic in their match-up. Shaun’s .005 Light and 11.02 on a 11.00 just edged out Gaines’ .014 Reaction and 10.526 on a 10.50 Index. Dennis Spurgeon’s .01 over was just enough to defeat 2017 Champion Tom Hoffman’s .008 under run. Jim Hagenhoff’s high flying Hemi took out Eddyville Runner-up Bob Lantero and his new bright orange Dart.

Dalton Bruemmer

Gateway runner-up Dalton Bruemmer defeated Dan Beale. Kevin Miller received the Bye courtesy of his #1 Ladder Position.

Dennis Spurgeon started Round Three with another .01-over 10.01 victory. Dalton Bruemmer defeated the red-lighting Jim Hagenhoff. Kevin Miller’s .06 light and .02-over 11.77 took out a tardy Don Bruemmer in his big ’65 Plymouth. Shaun Johnston’s .038 Reaction and .01 over 11.018 defeated three-time Champion Russ Berens and his slick ’67 Hemi Plymouth.

Shaun Johnston

Round Four began with a battle of the “Young Guns” of Victory NSS. Shaun Johnston coupled a .023 Reaction with an 11.005 on his 11.00 Index to just top Dalton Bruemmer’s stout .045 light and .009-over 11.259. Not to be out done by this duo, Miller used a .002 margin of victory to defeat Dennis Spurgeon.

With the sun going down and the fans on their feet, Miller and Johnston pulled into the water for the Victory final. Both Mopars billowed smoke from the heated racing slicks. The excitement rose as the two staged their Wedge-powered Plymouths. They both launched hard with identical .06 Reactions. As they thundered down the historic Cordova track, the two cars were separated by inches. The crowd roared as Miller’s win light came on, edging out Johnston by less than .02 of a second.

Miller did the almost impossible, taking the #1 Qualifying position all the way to victory lane. In the Winner’s Circle, Miller was greeted by a large crowd of family, friends and Victory members. In a great show of sportsmanship, Johnston was one of the first to congratulate Miller on his hard-fought win.

The celebration went from Victory Lane on to the Victory Pits and carried on well into the night. Another successful Victory NSS race was in the books.