Ohio’s Mike McIntire drew first first blood within the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car class during the IHRA’s 2015 season opening event held at Southwestern International Raceway near Tucson AZ….

McIntire, of Mentor, Ohio, set a new IHRA Nitro Funny Car world record when he made a blistering pass of 5.680 seconds (256 miles per hour) in his new “McAttack” second-generation Camaro during the third round of qualifying and backed it up with a run of 5.708 seconds (251.06 miles per hour) during the second round of eliminations.

McIntire defeated Jason Rupert of Yorba Linda, Calif., in the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car final, when his opponent fouled (“red-lit”) on the starting line. McIntire caught a break as his car’s burst panel activated as broken parts scattered from the orange Chevrolet after leaving the starting line. For the record books, McIntire crossed the finish line at 13.555 seconds (62.89 miles per hour).

When asked if he thought he would set a new Nitro Jam Funny Car record at this event, McIntire simply replied, “No. We were just doing our normal deal and it just happened to happen. My crew, I couldn’t do it without them. My wife, it’s a family deal, friends, all volunteers. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

(Mike McIntire won the IHRA’s season opener driving his great looking ’70 bodied Chevy Camaro)

To face Rupert in the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car final, McIntire defeated Will Martin in the first round and Kris Krabill in the second. Rupert defeated Mark Sanders in the opening round and took out Tim Boychuk in the second.

Photos by:  Chris Simmons

Posted by:  John Busci