In honor of IHRA Palm Beach Nitro Jam at Palm Beach International Raceway that officially kicks off the 2011 racing season, we decided to pull some old footage from the Moroso Motorsports Park out of the cobwebs to get everyone amped for the new racing season (and itching for a little Florida warmth). And because we’re all doorslammer fans here, why not do it with some NMCA action from what might be described as the heyday of street car drag racing.

These clips dated from 2000 or 2001 contain some of the baddest machines to ever grace the quarter mile during a time period that saw the toughest competitors ever to compete with the NMCA waging battle against one another – headed up by Bob Reiger and his incredible twin turbocharged ’57 Chevy. Also in attendance at the swamp that year were racers the like of Randy Adler and his blown ’63 Corvette, Marc Dantoni’s nitrous-fed Chevy Lumina, Chuck Samuel’s turbocharged S-10 pickup, Pat Musi’s familiar Firebird, Hank Hill and his Ford Thunderbird, and Tony Christian’s ’57 Chevy. It wasn’t that long ago, but it sure seems like it. And boy, has street car drag racing changed tenfold since that time. Only two of the above mentioned names still compete to this day, and performances have increased nearly eight tenths of a second.

Just two years after an ownership change and a complete remodel of the facility, the old Moroso Motorsports Park is hardly recognizable in it’s current form as a major, state-of-the-art house of speed.