Every time I darken the timing tower door at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, I think of all the ghosts of the thousands of cars that had clamored down the drag strip. Because of this, I decided to go digging around for some old video from the place. Lo and behold I fell upon this awesome clip that highlights NHRA Modified Eliminator racers at the 1976 SportsNationals. Dave MacClelland is on the mic, and there are dry hopping, gear banging, hot rods running down the lyric little strip in Kentucky. Beech Bend Raceway is one of my favorite tracks and his video is an amazing time warp back to the days of modified eliminator and some of the other old school classes that people long for these days.

Modified Eliminator was an interesting category of drag racing because like today’s Competition Eliminator it contained a huge variety of classes that competed against each other. The Modified Production class, which was part of Modified Eliminatory is fondly remembered by many guys who loved drag racing during this time period. Those memories (like most memories) tend to be kind of flawed but the passion is real. This video should stir some of that up.

This event is significant because it was the first SportsNationals, which was designed to be a national event for just the Sportsman classes. They were run into the 1980s and then they died out for about a decade and a half until they were dug up and restarted by NHRA. The modern events have been well received and attended. After watching this video you’ll be like us, trying to conjure up ways that a modified eliminator series based on vintage rules could be brought to life. These cars were loved by fans and mechanically they were incredibly interesting.

Combine the dulcet tones of Big Mac and the small blocks revving like sewing machines and you have drag strip audio perfection. Enjoy!

PRESS PLAY BELOW AND REVEL IN THE COOLNESS!