:::::: TODAY'S VIDEOS AT COMPETITIONPLUS.TV ::::::

#CLASSICDRAGRACING: 1987 IHRA U.S. OPEN NATIONALS, ROCKINGHAM, NC

The penultimate race in what has been an exciting 1987 IHRA season brings the tour to Rockingham, NC, where titles are on the line for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Alcohol Funny Car divisions.

Mark Oswald and Gene Snow exert their dominance in the fuel categories but it is the Pro Stock division to watch. Pro Stock rookie Doug Kirk makes his debut in Pro Stock driving for Roy Hill, who has stepped aside from the cockpit. See how he fares against the seasoned veterans.

You'll see a feature on the exciting Top Sportsman division with cameos by Charles Carpenter and Scotty Cannon.

AMERICAN HOT ROD ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS "EDDIE HILL: THE FOUR-FATHER OF DRAG RACING"

If there was ever a season that defined a drag racer, for Eddie Hill, it was 1988.

Hill, who left drag racing on asphalt to race boats, returned in 1985 after a 20-year absence. Taking the engine from the boat, which nearly killed him in 1984, Hill put it in a dragster purchased from ex-NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini.

Using footage from Dean Pappadeas’ incredible Thrill! The Eddie Hill Story,” and Master’s Entertainment presentation of IHRA drag racing, as well as NHRA’s Diamond P race coverage, Darin Williams Jr. presents one of the greatest stories in drag racing history in his debut of American Hot Rod Entertainment at CompetitionPlusTV.

The 1988 season’s triumph and heartbreak epitomize the spirit of a drag racer who gave up everything for the thrill, inspiring the spirit of drag racers worldwide.

#CLASSICDRAGRACING - 1970s NHRA DIVISIONAL ACTION FROM EDMONTON, ALB.

If you love classic drag racing, then you are going to love this presentation of divisional racing from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You'll see everything from gear-jamming class racing to nitro competition. If you listen very closely, the host sounds a lot like NHRA VP of Operations Graham Light, who used to run the track.

CLASSIC VIDEO: GLIDDEN VS. SHEPHERD: 1980 AN UNLIKELY CHAMPIONSHIP

 

There was no Countdown to the Championship necessary to build excitement for the battle which took place the season someone stood up to what seemed like NHRA's Pro Stock bully.

The reality is, Bob Glidden was not a bully anywhere but behind the wheel of Pro Stocker. He was one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet but on the race track he pushed the competition around. In fact, once Glidden took over the NHRA Pro Stock point lead in 1978, he never relinquished it until January 1980 when a trio of Texans stepped up to say enough is enough.

Reher-Morrison-Shepherd proved to be this Superman's kryptonite. In this documentary style feature from CompetitionPlus.com, travel back to a season when Lee Shepherd raced the seemingly unbeatable at every race throughout the season, setting the stage for the final event. Hear the story from those who lived through this war, including an interview with the late Bob Glidden.

#CLASSICDRAGRACING: THE 1981 WORLD FINALS, THE FIRST NHRA RACE AT OCIR

Travel back in time to an era when the NHRA, seeking a more permanent home for its quality broadcasts produced by Diamond P, often ventured into the major networks such as ABC and NBC.

The 1981 NHRA World Finals, moved to the famed Orange County International Raceway after Ontario Motor Speedway closed down, was broadcast on NBC's Sportsworld.

 

STORYTELLERS WITH DALE PULDE: BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST, THE WEEKEND WARRIOR

https://competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/encore-dale-puldes-warrior-buick-remains-iconic-funny-car-37-years-laterDale Pulde just wanted to be unique.

In 1985, the world of professional Funny Car racing was in full swing with competition in the NHRA, IHRA (with only floppers and no Top Fuel) and to a lesser extent the ADRA (American Drag Racing Association, formerly AHRA) where mostly every other entry was a Firebird or a Mustang.

Pulde dared to be different.

LEGENDS: THE SERIES - THE LEGEND OF PAT MUSI

STORYTELLERS WITH MIKE ASHLEY: DID HE JUST RUN 211 THRU THE GRASS?

Back in 1989, few, if any, knew who Mike Ashley was.

The rookie doorslammer racer from New York’s Long Island had purchased Bob Losordo’s neat Top Sportsman Thunderbird, and when the car didn’t turn heads the way he hoped, he went to veteran chassis builder Jerry Haas to purchase a new Trans-Am. He went to engine builder Scott Shafiroff and purchased a large-displacement nitrous-injected engine.

In those days, long before the internet, much less social media, Ashley’s bold moves barely made a ripple in the growing sea of the doorslammer world.

MUST SEE VIDEO: NITRO REVIVAL WHY CACKLE?

The term Cacklefest is one that Steve Gibbs or anyone outside of the NHRA cannot formerly advertise with his Nitro Revival out of trademark reasons, even though he's the one who made the practice famous amongst those celebrating the history of drag racing.

The name might be trademarked, but the practice isn't.

Every year at Gibbs' Nitro Revival, a good number of vintage race cars line the racing surface at Irwindale and participate in the ritual of firing their nitro-burning engines and letting them idle with an occasional throttle whack. They simply sit there and cackle, just like in the good old days.

Video artist Les Mayhew captured the spirit of this practice in a video feature. Turn up the sound, you're going to be mesmerized.

TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME: TOP FUEL RACING IN THE 1970S VIDEO

The 1970s was the decade of transition for the Top Fuel dragsters. Of course, there's the obvious where the engines went to the rear from the front. But there are little tidbits we picked up on along the way, such as a crewmember adding nitro to a dragster's tank while running after the burnout.

There are the cameos by Buster Couch showing he was more than the starter, but a champion for the racer as he pushed Don Garlits back from the burnout in his triumphant return victory. A few years later, Couch sticks his head in the cockpit to inform Pat Dakin he has a single, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Then, after Garlits wins Pomona, there's the random person who runs on the track in celebration. How about a shirtless Top Fuel racer or two once they remove the fire jacket?

There's the advent of the female Top Fuel driver with Shirley Muldowney and the men who hated to lose to her. None hated it more than Don Garlits, with Richard Tharp, the 1976 NHRA champion coming in a close second.

There are all kinds of gems in this compilation that will leave you scratching your head and wondering, "How didn't we kill a driver, media or race fan."

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