Without question, there isn’t a single category throughout the annals of drag history that have come and gone that are missed by the masses more than Modified Eliminator. This much heralded and wildly popular class featured classic Camaros, Chevy II’s, Corvettes, Ford Fairmonts, and other performance and muscle cars of the period that raced in an all-out, first car across the finish line format based on a designated index that each of the cars were classified into based on weight, engine, and the like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ7rAqjXr_8

During the age of Modified Eliminators’ existence, the use of electronics in the cars that we’ve become accustomed to in the .90 classes was virtually nonexistent, which just made the category that much more exciting. These high-winding, screaming race cars had no rev limiters and sounded like they were going to kick the rods out on the pavement at any moment. There were no throttle stops, delay boxes, or on board computers. It was hardcore racing at it’s finest. The class, which featured the likes of Pro Stock champion Mike Edwards and former Pro Stock Truck champion, the late Larry Kopp, was disbanded to much criticism in 1981 and integrated into Competition Eliminator and Super Stock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOf0EG3OJQ

The NHRA SportsNationals at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky – which is still contested today but without the status of being a national or even divisional event – highlighted the incredibly popular sportsman category throughout its existence. This footage from 1976 showcases some of the great wheel-hopping, gear-jamming action of racers such as Kopp, Rick Kelly, Pete Smith, Cotton Perry, and others, narrated by the timeless voice of Dave McClelland. In the final, Perry gets the best of Pete Smith out of the gate and is never headed as the pair scream down the quarter mile just inches apart. It’s Friday, so take a break, kick back, crank up the volume, and enjoy!