1980’s – Drag Racing 16 : IHRA 1987

Two complete races from the 1987 IHRA season, along with the 1987 IHRA Hurst Pro
Stock Challenge, make up this 143 min DVD. These are the original TV broadcasts.

1987 IHRA Pro-Am Nationals – Rockingham, NC  (59 min)
Also known as the Motorcraft Nationals, this race was held at Rockingham, NC early in the season. Many
of the big NHRA stars ran the IHRA circuit, and this one was no exception. Darrell Gwynn, Joe Amato,
Jim Head, Kenny Bernstein, and Pat Austin were here. This was the year of the radical funny car body,
with the controversial Buick of Kenny Bernstein getting all the media attention. In this race, the Pro-Am
Nationals, Darrell Gwynn wins Top Fuel, Kenny Bernstein wins Funny Car, and there is also some
Sportsman classes covered. This is an original ESPN broadcast, with original commercials.

1987 IHRA U.S. Open Nationals – Rockingham, NC  (59 min)
The U.S. Open Nationals was held at Rockingham Int’l Raceway, the IHRA’s second visit to this track this
year. The 1987 IHRA points championship was now clearer, but no one had wrapped the championship yet. As in
other IHRA races, we see a few NHRA stars at this event, such as Gene Snow, Mark Oswald, and Bob
Glidden. Rickie Smith’s Ford Thunderbird (identical in appearance to Bob Glidden’s car) was the car to beat in
the Pro Stock field as he battled the strong mountain motored, megacubic inch cars of IHRA regulars Jim
Ruth, Karl Kirk, and Tim Nabors, all battling for the championship. In Top Fuel, ex-NFL quarterback Dan
Pastorini qualifies well, along with points leader Gene Snow. In Alcohol Funny Car, it was points leader Bunny
Burkett being defeated early by Bob Newberry. This is an original ESPN broadcast, with original commercials.

1987 IHRA Hurst Pro Stock Shootout – Bristol, TN  (24 min)
The Hurst Pro Stock Shootout was a race held at the end of the IHRA season, similar to the NHRA
Mr. Gasket Pro Stock Challenge, where the top IHRA racers earned their way into the final
showdown for top Pro Stock honors (this was a separate series for Pro Stock drivers, not a points
race). Jerry Haas, Tim Nabors, Billy Ewing, Bob Olson, and many other IHRA regulars are seen
here. The final round comes down to Bob Olson’s Pontiac Firebird (the largest displacement engine
in the entire competition) defeating Billy Ewing. Bob Olson was one of the few racers that ran a
pure Pontiac engine (along with Tim Nabors) as opposed to the more common big block Chevrolet,
Ford, and Oldsmobile engines found in other IHRA and NHRA Pro Stockers of the day.