If you didn’t know better, you would have thought you had jumped into a time machine and traveled back to the mid 1970’s for the NHRA Summer Nationals. They did not call it the Summer Nationals for nothing. July in New Jersey is just what you would think it would be like: Hazy, hot, and humid. Air so thick you could cut it with a knife. Tough on racers and fans alike.

The recent Nostalgia Summer Nationals had all the trappings of the old event. Temperatures in the mid 90’s with humidity to match. In the pits were front motored dragsters, gassers, and vintage funny cars, both nitro and alcohol induced. Since the name Summer Nationals is now used for an NHRA event that is not even in the summer (mid-May in Topeka Kansas!), the management at Raceway Park decided to revive the name, hence, the 31st annual Nostalgia Summer Nationals.

The pits were full of floppers with over a dozen alcohol cars and four fuel funnies ready to do battle on the famed E-Town quarter mile. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and after one full session of Chicago-style racing, the skies let loose cancelling the racing for the day.

Winners in the Funny Car categories were based on low ET with former NHRA pilot Phil Burkart taking the Fuel honors with a 5.973 best in the “U.S. Male” Mustang.

Dave Sano’s “Screaming Insanity” Trans Am took the alcohol class with a 6.816 time slip.