Strap in tight and hang on good. We’re going to sunny Southern California for the 1987 NHRA Winternationals.   

Wow, could it really be 33 years already? The time goes roaring past like it’s fueled by nitromethane. For us, the 1987 NHRA season seems like yesterday. Big Daddy Don Garlits was back at the top of his game with his innovative hammerhead Top Fuel dragster, running tiny front wheels and a plexiglass driver canopy. The King, Kenny Bernstein, had just switched from Ford to Buick bodies on his championship-winning Funny Car, while Bob Glidden and Warren “the Professor” Johnson were fighting for leadership of the Pro Stock ranks. And we got to see much of it back then in our very own living rooms, thanks to the extensive coverage by The Nashville Network on newfangled cable TV.

Courtesy of some clever editing by the crack NHRA video team, we have the original  broadcast footage from the season-opening 1987 Winternationals in Pomona, here whittled down to a speedy five-minute version for our internet viewing pleasure. Naturally, the announcing duties are handled by two drag racing legends, Steve Evans and Dave McClelland. There are a ton of great stories and matchups here—enjoy the video.