History Question
 

When did Super Stock/Stk eliminator change from just class winners to class winners and low qualifiers? Any ideas?

John DiBartolomeo
johnd@dragracingaction.com

Re: History Question
 

1980???????????????

Re: History Question
 

I believe that it occurred at about the same time that they began to stage "National" events without running Stock, Super Stock, and Modified class eliminations. I know that the 1972 U.S. Nationals required the winning of class to race in Super Stock Eliminator. By 1978 or so, they ran up to 128 cars. In about 1975, there was a mercifully brief period of time when cars dialed off the record or the index and there was no breakout. Buck Jednak and Buddy Ingersoll were pretty dominant in Stock and Super Stock respectively during that era. Seems like that disasterous experiment and 128 car qualified fields came at about the same time. John, I know you're looking for the exact date but I don't have the material at hand to tell you for sure but I'm betting that someone still has the National Dragsters with the information you're looking for.

Re: History Question
 

1978 was the first year. Quote from National Dragster on 1978 Winternationals "Field of 48 was made up of 30 class winners and 18 low qualifiers. The winner was Ron Zolle in a 1964 Chevelle Wagon SS/MA, got to love Chevelles.

Re: History Question
 

1978 sounds right & at that time they had an index for every class & if you could run under the index
then naturally you could dial down.

I ran SS/JA and the index was 11.38 at that time.

I'm not sure, once you dialed faster you couldn't dial slower .

So if you went down to 11.30 one round you couldn't dial 11.32 the next.

Re: History Question
 

1970 SummerNationals was the first year for that race and it was held at York Dragway. There were no class runoffs and the eliminator was made up of low qualifiers compared to their class records. My partner and I raced in H/S and we never made a decent run and did not make the show on Sunday. I don't recall the number of cars that made up the field but vaguely remember needing to run somewhere close to the record to get in and the record was in the 12.30's at the time. I can distinctly recall some of the good runs made.... Bobby Warren in his brown Chevy II in J/S running in the 12.2's and that was amazing to me at the time. I think the winner on Sunday was Dave Boertman in a full size Impala or Caprice with a 350/255 and that is also what Bobby Warren was running in his Chevy II...........The first round of SS was full of red lights in the right lane......Word got spread back to the racers that something wasn't right up there so a lot of racers that came up in that lane and cars that could easily have won that day were out early......one was Ray Allen in the Chevelle.......well that's how I remember it......

Re: History Question
 

It was in the late 70's or 1980. Can't remember exactly.
There were 50 stock classes And at Indy they had a 64 car field Class winners and the rest made up by the fastest losers. And thats the way it was till this year (except for the change to 128 cars).
I was at the first race with that format. (we won the class B/SA)

You were allowed one dial under it had to be in the tower no later than one hour before first round, and thats what you ran all day. If the meet got postponed to another day you could change your dial

Re: History Question
 

At Indy, it was 1979.

Jerry

Re: History Question
 

1972 Grandnational S/S was all qualify off the record. If you went under the record, you had to run off it. Fast as you wanted in the final, but it was a new record .

Re: History Question
 

Thanks to everyone for the input. Needed to get my facts straight (or at least kind of) for a future article.

John DiBartolomeo
http://www.dragracingaction.com