IHRA MODIFIED ELIMINATOR, BRAINERD OPTIMIST DRAG STRIP, MID 80'S

[charliecollier1]

I was 13 in 1985 and to me there was nothing better than this!

[65chevyIISS]

Was at this race ..... You can see our blue duce in fromt of Rocky Powells white vega wagon 6:40 heads up. Nothing like the sound of a small block chevy with a heavy flywheel.

[camaro517]

automatics should be banned from drag racing..stick shift is real performance drag racing..the way it was intended...not the pussified racing we have today

[57Custom406]

I was there....I was just a kid, but I was there, awesome!

[Mikes66442]

I keep coming back to this video again and again. The burnouts and dry hops were a show unto itself. Too bad that building was obstructing the rest of the track, would've loved to see them battle it out till the end of the track. Awesome vid!!

[slimkuttah420]

lovin how every pair does a dry hop too. dont see that stuff much these days

[Gavin84w]

@slimkuttah420 What you don,t get enjoyment out of a crew member adjusting the wheelie bars to within a thou of each other as opposed to dry hops?......!!!!! Yeah the pre race shit of today is, well there is none, no wonder nostalgia is so popular. I will be in Vegas at my first NHRA meet in 19 years and can,t wait for the crowd to clear off so i can watch comp eliminator.

[slimkuttah420]

think i just died and have found myself in small block heaven

[Gavin84w]

Listen to the auto equipped car in about the 3rd or 4th pairing, absolutely not 1 ounce of character compared to the high winding stick cars, and it is still the same today. 3 pedals all medals.

[jay89allday]

what were the rules for this class(small blocks and stick shifts)? why dont they run it anymore i think people would love to see this class again this is real racin

[Mikes66442]

I've watched this dozens of times and I don't get tired of it! High RPM burnouts and dry hops are the shit!!

[Dsmpsn63]

sure be nice if any of these cars were still around but i highly doubt it ;(

[jcvol]

I am sure I was on the fence or working in the pits during this!!! didn't miss a week of racing for 5 years in a row!!!!

[Dsmpsn63]

this was were men were men! screaming small blocks & 5 speed. this way better than sex!!!

[pb8700538]

@Dsmpsn63 not only small blocks rev and sound like that , my dads injected 427ci rev and sounding just like that . and he used to do dry hop burn outs just like these guys did , the way that black corvette did at the begining of this video .

[TheNovaMan]

Awesome vid! Thanks for taking the time to digitize and upload it.

[sooeedog]

this is what i grew up on.this is the best one i found

[tdrspence]

There are still stick shift racing clubs around the country like the "Classic Gear Jammers" out of Va/N. Carolina that feature all the who's who of Modified and S/S. Including Mike Boyles 8-Time S/S World Champion

[dfinkie]

" Whats happened to drag racing as this vid shows it when it was a freakin blast to watch and to race! "

Politics, cost, marketing, and corporate greed.

[HOTROD74GremlinX]

Wow,always was beat into my skull that you could never run past 8 k in a V8 drag car. Whats happened to drag racing as this vid shows it when it was a freakin blast to watch and to race!

[dfinkie]

And before we go there, 11,000 RPM with a small block is not the same as a 11,000 RPM import with 10 horsepower.

[blackfriday13th]

These cars were always my favorite at 80's IHRA meets. My local strip ( Shuffletown in Charlotte NC) used to hold points meets. I got some videos from those I need to convert and upload. I also have some older quick 8 ( top sportsman) videos of some of the local heroes, i.e. C. Carpenter, Michael Martin, Ed Hoover, Ken Regenthal, Blake Wiggins, etc in the early years.

[VA482GG]

We were so lucky to be able to go to these back in the day. I can still remember being on the starting line, watching those cable drive tachs going to 12,000 or more, motors screamin their guts out and cars lined up as far back as you could see.Still get goosebumps thinking about it!

[reckstadt]

Miss that kind of racing.Super classes, well time to go get a coke and see what the fuel guys are up to in the pits. LOL

[RacerRose]

And that is a shame. I have friends that run in the Super classes, and when I was a kid, the .90 classes weren't that bad to watch until the age of electronics made it to the classes. It then became the worst form of drag racing to WATCH. Hey, a 9.90 would still be a fun ride, but not the way they are setup. Put it like this: I think driving a 10.50 @ 130 mph ,288 cid 5 speed car would be more fun to drive than an 8.90 throttle stop, delay box fingertip controlled racer would be.

[mcponch56]

ihra should not run the super classis at major events nhra should not also. put modified elm back in the program.

[Mikes66442]

I agree. The Super classes are boring as hell. I must have watched this video over and over dozens of times and my God how those motors screamed coming off the line!! AWESOME!

[mcponch56]

hi, if you check out the ss/classes< ss/k ss/i. there are a lot of high wineding small blocks. stockers too. mcponch.

[Mikes66442]

True, but there will never be another time like Modified Eliminator. I had to get my dose of Modified racing tonite, watched it about 5 times already!!

[65Cyclone]

I was there, and yes, this was the best drag racing to be had. I was just 20 or 21 at this time, but wanted to build and drive one so bad I could taste it. Sadly, now that I can afford it, there isn't anything anywhere that remotely resembles this. Yeah, you can build one and be cool, but when the delay boxed, throttle stopped turd in the next lane can beat you with electronics, why bother. Thats why I'm building a footbraking 4 speed car now, just having fun.

[vicodumb]

How both HRA's could kill this class is beyond me. Absolutely

the best drag racing had to offer (fuel included - IMO). Someone mentioned spectators, yes..there used to be something to watch. This is what drew me to drag racing in the first place. Thank you for posting!

[Gavin84w]

The clinical precision that is drag racing today has nothing on the sound of these small blocks, like you guys say spectators enjoying skilled drivers. I was in Bristol in 92 and for an aussie with a passion for rpm this class was heaven. Still to this day i remember the best sounding car in the burnout was the Bowman Brothers Camaro, big heavy car with no cubes, 3 pedals, plenty of flywheel and 5 digits+ of RPM!!!!!

[59Mack]

Awesome vid! Hmmm, I see actual SPECTATORS at a drag race......Oh, that's right there weren't any delay box-cross over-cross talked, throttle stopped dragsters there!!!!

[Mikes66442]

One of NHRA's many stupid mistakes. Take out the boring Stupor Gas classes and bring back Modified Eliminator with the old rules. No Lenco's, no electronic delay box crap, just pure motor and adrenaline!!!!!!

[RacerRose]

Some of the greatest sounding race cars ever!

[Mikes66442]

This is an awesome video clip!!!! I loved Modified Eliminator with their highwinding smallblocks, revving the snot out the engines and dumping the clutch! God how I miss those days!!!

[RacerRose]

This class NEVER should have been disbanded. By far, the best drag racing sportsman class ever.

[HDHTJH2]

NHRA had Modified Eliminator through 1981, then the cars were split between Super Stock and Comp. Elim. IHRA continued a few years longer with the Modified class.

[fueldragster]

The sounds are amazing

Was this IHRA's equivalent to Comp Eliminator?