Written by Mary Lendzion
Photos by NMRA Staff
Dennis Corn is an accomplished and acknowledged racer.
He has amassed a number of wins through the years, and he had earned NMRA ARP Open Comp championships in 2016, 2017 and 2019 before entering 2022 with his heart set on earning another one.
So the Michigan resident, who works for Roush Engineering and Engine Build Operations, went through his 7.0L Ford engine which was built by the Roush Competition Engines Crew to ensure that everything was exceptional before heading to the NMRA Spring Break Shootout in March at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida. He qualified in the tenth spot out of 31 racers with a .009 reaction time and chose a 9.00 dial for the weekend. He won the first and second rounds of eliminations with a 9.02 and 9.03, and exited eliminations in the third round, with a 9.04, after a very close race.
Corn, who rows the gears of a manual transmission from G-Force Racing Transmissions, which is owned by 2022 NMCA Dart NA 10.5 champion Leonard Long, went on to qualify in the eleventh spot out of 31 cars with an .012 reaction time and dialed in at 9.02 at the Scoggin Dickey Parts Center NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals presented by MAHLE Motorsport in April at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina. He got by the first round of eliminations with a 9.06, followed by the second and third rounds of eliminations with a pair of 9.03s. He lost in the semifinal round of eliminations with a breakout time of 9.01.