At the 2026 NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, one Stock Eliminator racer sent the front wheels of a completely unmodified muscle car off the pavement — and NHRA’s own rulebook says it’s perfectly legal. Bobby Fazio’s coverage captures 35 minutes of staging lane interviews, in-car runs, and mid-track action from one of NHRA’s most historic stops, including a wagon several fans called the best-appearing car in the field. Watch to see why a factory suspension can throw a wheelie a wheelie-bar car would need a tech inspection for.
Posts Tagged: Stock Eliminator
A cameraman working pit crew for a Mountain Motor Pro Stock entry at a 2026 IHRA event in Virginia only grabbed his camera between wrenching sessions — and ended up capturing the day’s biggest reaction. A field of bone-stock, four-speed muscle cars, including a Plymouth Duster running against much larger competition, launched hard enough to send their front wheels off the ground. The near 2,000-horsepower Pro Stock cars still stole plenty of attention, but it is the sportsman-class wheelies that had commenters talking.
In February 1968, a nearly unknown racer named John Barkley leaned over the fender of a dark-blue 1957 Chevy deep in the Stock Eliminator pits at Pomona, having already won his class and fought through multiple rounds of the NHRA Winternationals. Junior Stock was the most unforgiving corner of drag racing, decided by hundredths and by discipline rather than by budget. Read on to find out why his name still circulates half a century later.
