Ten years ago, the Ford-versus-Ford battles were happening monthly at the NMRA’s traveling circus and perhaps no class was more brutal and on-the-edge than the Ten Inch Tire Freak Show, Super Street Outlaw. Today we think of fast small-tire cars as the norm, but a decade ago running an eight-flat on the 28×10.5-inch tire was a pretty big deal, and you were no doubt guaranteed local-hero status the instant you cracked the threshold.

The best-of-the-best latched on to the NMRA’s then-premier class and took small-block Ford engine development, chassis and suspension development, and track management to another level in pursuing the series’ coveted Top Ten jackets. Those racers laid the groundwork for those of you who are competing today in classes like X275 to achieve the incredible elapsed times and speeds possible with today’s power-adder and powertrain technology. 

Remembering the “old days” is something many of us do on a regular basis – in fact, there are multi-page threads on the topic on nearly every drag racing message board out there. The days of $1.50 diesel and 20 or 30 contingency stickers are long-gone, but the small-tire wars are alive and well at nearly every drag-strip in the country, and you have the guys in this video to thank.

Check out the great footage of stars from years gone by – names you haven’t heard in a long time like event top qualifier Steve Topletz, who took the pole at this event with a 7.84 at 178 MPH (!) from his supercharged machine, along with familiar names like John Urist, who competed with a turbocharger in 2003, and even some video of Sammy Vincent’s machine with a small cowl hood. And of course, the golden pipes of one Dr. Jamie Meyer, the former NMRA announcer and current Performance Marketing Manager at General Motors. Enjoy the trip down Memory Lane, we sure did – the goosebumps were worth the price of admission.