The 2014 edition of the National Championship Air Races at the Reno-Stead Airport west of Reno, Nevada, concluded this weekend. While many of the usual suspects, such as Strega, Voodoo, Precious Metal and Czech Mate, competed in the Unlimited Class, which features the fastest airplanes in the competition, this year’s race provided a lot of extra excitement.
Bill “Tiger” Destefani, the owner of Strega who has handed over the highly modified P-51D to Steve Hinton Jr. and Matt Jackson during the past few years, took back the controls of the speedster. While Destefani had not raced since 2008 when he won the Unlimited Gold, he showed the crowds on Saturday that he still has the right stuff. Destefani came from an unfavorable start position and, from centerline photos, it appears that he beat Hinton Jr. by no more than a spinner. Comments on social media from many Reno veterans said it was one of the most exciting races they had ever seen.
