Second Street
BG Racing’s Nina Gusler is fielding a street ’Stang in NMRA competition
By Steve Turner
We live in a time where things change quickly. Technology disrupts industries and what’s new can suddenly be old news. Case in point is Ford’s EcoBoost technology, which has successfully delivered larger-engine performance in a smaller package. Moreover, it has proven that it performs even better with modifications, just like its naturally aspirated and supercharged cousins.
Just a couple of years ago BG Racing’s Nina Gusler was the champion of the NMRA’s Truck and Lightning class so you might have expected her to stick with drag pickups. However, upon seeing her husband Brad make a record-setting jump to the EcoBoost Mustang, Nina, too, felt the attraction to something new, so she’s racing both.
“I started my first full season of drag racing in 2014 in NMRA Truck & Lightning class and won the championship,” Nina said. “In January 2015 before next race season started, I broke my hip and had a rough start to the year but raced the full season.”
During that time Brad did some pretty amazing things with the brand-new EcoBoost Mustang platform and he’s still at the forefront of that development. Nina decided to joining the EcoBoost party but take a more mainstream approach than Brad’s all-out racer.
At the NMRA season opener in Bradenton, Florida, a few weeks back, Brad’s pioneering pony sported an upgraded combo and a new matte-gray wrap. His car ran well and went rounds in the Livernois Motorsports EcoBoost Battle class presented by your friends here at SVTP. However, pitted next to it was a new car. Nina’s 2016 Mustang.
“In 2015 Brad built a 2015 Mustang EcoBoost and currently holds the record of the world’s fastest EcoBoost. After the success with his car, we decided to purchase 2016 Mustang EcoBoost for myself. We got the loaded Premium/Performance Pack, Nina explained. “The goal is to keep it a ‘street car’ and get some impressive numbers on the track. I will be competing in the EcoBoost shootouts and when I’m not racing in the shootout, I will be racing True Street at the NMRA events. The goal for this car is to be 100-percent bolt on car.”
Despite some first-race gremlins, Nina plans to campaign the car this season, and that began with last weekend’s NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals in Commerce, Georgia, where she ran a best e.t. of 13.46 seconds in True Street eliminations. As the season moves on Nina has some goals in mind. Obviously she wants to run even quicker.
“To beat Brad,” she joked. “(And) To see what a true, bolt-on EcoBoost Mustang can do with 100-percent bolt-ons and no custom, one-off parts,” she said.
And she’s not kidding, as you will see in The Mod List below, the car is largely stock and augmented by bolt-on improvements. A larger Precision Turbo increases the boost and it’s helped out by a cp-e intercooler and a custom SCT calibration from Adam Browne at Revolution Automotive.
Both cars are getting support from a host of aftermarket manufacturers, including Custom Performance Engineering, Race Star, Watson Racing, and a new addition, longtime EcoBoost specialists, Mountune.
“We are very excited to have Mountune on board this season,” she said. “They are a huge benefit in the EcoBoost engine/engineering and development. They know how to make power with these motors.”
The BG Racing team knows a bit about making them run well too, so with new sponsorship and a two-car team this season we look forward to seeing how they move the EcoBoost platform forward in 2016. Look for both cars to race in the second round of the EcoBoost Battle at the NMRA Super Nationals in Hebron, Ohio, on June 9-12.
By then Nina will have a lot of experience in the Mustang, so Brad better watch out for that "street car" pitted next to his racer…
Nina Gusler’s new EcoBoost 2016 Mustang racer is mean and clean with a matte-gray wrap adorned with a host of sponsor logos. Lurking under that racy exterior is a relatively stock Mustang.
Under the hood is a stock 2.3-liter engine boosted by a Precision 6062 turbocharger cranking out over 30 pounds of boost. That boost is cooled by a cp-e intercooler and a custom calibration from Revolution Automotive makes it sing to the tune of 442 horsepower at the wheels.
As you might guess from the large logo on the side of Nina’s car, it rides on Race Star drag wheels fitted with Mickey Thompson rubber. The car still launches easier thanks to a Watson Racing K-member and A-arms but it is still dampened by the stock shocks and struts. The IRS is still stock, but it’s kept under control by a Ford Performance bushing upgrade.
A proven champion in the NMRA’s Truck & Lightning class, Nina Gusler has set her sights on running in the EcoBoost Battle and True Street classes this season with her bolt-on EcoBoost Mustang.
Aside from a racing driver seat and harness belt, this Performance Pack EcoBoost Mustang is pretty stock on the inside. Of course, Nina is kept safer thanks to a Watson Racing six-point roll cage and the car is lightened thanks to a Watson rear-seat delete.
Two bottles of just in case in the trunk feed those Nitrous Express solenoids in the engine compartment. When the occasion calls, Nina can spray in anywhere from 35 to 175 more horsepower.
The Mod List
Powertrain
Block: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Crankshaft: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Rods: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Pistons: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Camshafts: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Cylinder Heads: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Intake: Stock EcoBoost 2.3-liter
Fuel System: DeatschWerks Dual 340 Pumps w/ -8 PTFE Stainless Hose, cp-e Torpedo in-line fuel filter, DeatschWerks 1700cc injectors and Fore innovation F2i fuel pressure regulator
Power Adder: Precision 6062 turbocharger w/ cp-e front-mount intercooler and Nitrous Express kit (35-175 hp)
Exhaust: cp-e QKspl downpipe w/ cp-e Austenite Singe 3-inch cat-back system
Transmission: Stock 6R80 automatic w/ Circle D torque converter
Rearend: Stock IRS Super 8.8 w/ Ford Performance/Torsen differential, Ford Performance halfshafts and Ford Performance 3.73 gears
Electronics
Engine Management: Stock Tricor PCM w/ custom calibration by Adam Browne of Revolution Automotive
Ignition: Stock
Front Suspension
K-member: Watson Racing chrome-moly tubular
A-arms: Watson Racing chrome-moly tubular
Struts: Stock
Springs: Ford Performance 1-inch lowering springs
Brakes: Stock
Wheels: Race Star, 17x4.5-inch
Tires: Mickey Thompson ET Fronts, 27.5/4.5-17
Rear Suspension
Shocks: Stock
Springs: Ford Performance 1-inch Lowering
Brakes: Stock
Wheels: Race Star, 17x9.5-inch
Tires: Mickey Thompson Drag Radial, 295/45R-17
