I look toward the 2018 NHRA Auto Club Finals with a bit of a jaundiced eye each year. The event is always big fun, full of action, and followed by some rockin’ parties but it is the last race of the season, so that kind of stinks. I’m sure many of the racers, fans, and media guys looked at the event the same way in 1988 when this video was made. You are going to watch the NBC Sports World coverage of the 1988 NHRA World Finals hosted by Gary Gerould, Steve Evans, and Don Garlits. The race was spectacular and at that time, the capper of a 16 event season.
The biggest battle of the end of the year was for the Funny Car title, much like it is 30 years later in 2018. Joe Amato locked up the top fuel title early in the event and it was a proper reward for a season well run by he and Tim Richards. The two major combatants in funny car were Mark Oswald and Kenny Bernstein. Much like 2018, it went into the event so tight that everyone knew it would not be settled early unless someone really made a huge mistake in qualifying.
In top fuel, the fun story was the big guys vs the little guys with people like Dennis Forcelle and Lori Johns brining the fight to the likes of Frank Bradley, Dick LaHaie, and others with marquee names. Auto Club Raceway Pomona is a special place. It is the longest continuously operating drag strip in the world and it completes the massive 24-race circle of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Plus, it is drag racing in SoCal. What’s better than that?!
