Most racers would tell you spending eleven years in the same class is an endurance run; Fairview, New Jersey’s Carlos Sobrino would have to agree.

When Sobrino decided to run in the NMRA’s BFGoodrich Tires Factory Stock class so many years ago, it was his way of getting off the street.  Street-racing Mustangs in the North Jersey area he calls home was a rite of passage for anyone who was into American muscle cars. The decision to take his racing action off the street and to the track was a big change, and he admits that the first few years racing in the NMRA was more about fun than it was about winning.  However, the service-shop owner had a change of heart a few years back. Since that time he’s steadily been pouring money into his racing program ever since by upgrading parts and pieces as funds permit, and this weekend at the NMRA’s season-opening Spring Break Shootout he showed off all of his hard work.

Most racers would tell you spending eleven years in the same class is an endurance run; Fairview, New Jersey’s Carlos Sobrino would have to agree.

When Sobrino decided to run in the NMRA’s BFGoodrich Tires Factory Stock class so many years ago, it was his way of getting off the street.  Street-racing Mustangs in the North Jersey area he calls home was a rite of passage for anyone who was into American muscle cars. The decision to take his racing action off the street and to the track was a big change, and he admits that the first few years racing in the NMRA was more about fun than it was about winning.  However, the service-shop owner had a change of heart a few years back. Since that time he’s steadily been pouring money into his racing program ever since by upgrading parts and pieces as funds permit, and this weekend at the NMRA’s season-opening Spring Break Shootout he showed off all of his hard work.  

Factory Stock is a class severely limited on the parts and pieces which can be utilized in the quest for speed, much like Stock Eliminator in the NHRA, and Sobrino’s efforts have centered around making his chassis work more efficiently while also working hard on his engine program.  The only small-block Ford cylinder heads that are permitted in the class are Ford-cast pieces like the E7TE casting found on all ’87-’93 Mustangs and the factory hotrod GT40 cylinder heads, so much of the development work comes in the valvetrain and chassis arena.  Camshafts are limited to stock lift dimensions, shaft rockers are prohibited, and head porting is not allowed – the only modifications permitted to the cylinder heads are in the valve seat area.  There is also a specific list of intake manifolds that competitors must adhere to, making the achievements of this driven racer that much more impressive.

With all of these limitations in place, Sobrino went out this weekend and became the second-ever Factory Stock car to squeak into the 10-second ET zone, as he qualified at the top of the ladder with a stout 10.98, setting the pace for the field throughout the weekend.  Sobrino then proceeded to run through the rest of the field during eliminations, and in the final round against friend Rick Walsh, he clicked off an 11.01 – his second of the day – to take home his first win of the season.  

He credits his improved performance over the last year to engine builder Chris Smith of Atlanta, who has done wonders for his program.  The first engine the pair assembled didn’t perform up to Sobrino’s expectations, so they put their heads together, went back to the drawing board, and tried some new things.  

Sobrino explained, “Chris and I weren’t really happy with the way the last engine worked on the track, even though it put me into the winner’s circle in North Carolina last year.  When we decided to do another one over the winter, we did tried a few different things that we weren’t doing before in an effort to see if we could step up our performance, and this weekend is only a representation of that effort.”  Sobrino made the trip from New Jersey to Smith’s shop just a week ago to pick up the engine, a grueling nonstop round trip that left him with just days to install the engine and get the car running, then drive twenty-four hours back down to Bradenton.  

With four-time consecutive champion Tommy Godfrey stepping out, the opportunity is there for Sobrino to take, and he fully expects to contend for the championship in this hotly-contested class.

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