Nostalgia Super Stock ( NSS) is among the most popular, and fastest growing forms of drag racing. The class recreates the style of drag racing very popular in the 1960s with drivers like Ronnie Sox, Dick Landy, Butch Leal and Judy Lilly.

NSS's roots go back to the early 1980s, when retired Super Stock racers Dave Duell, Arlen Vanke and others started exhibition racing 1960s style Super Stock at nostalgia racing events. The popularity of the class evolved into a category of drag racing with hundreds of cars and drivers competing in Championship series, and large nostalgia drag racing events.

The spirit of NSS drag racing has the same models of cars that raced Super Stock between 1959 and 1969—but with certain safety equipment updates. The cubic inch displacement of the engines in Nostalgia Super Stock is not a tech item, and motors as large as has these cars running as quick as 8-seconds in the quarter mile, at speeds over .

While there are many different series, clubs, and events running NSS—the rules most run were developed and agreed by representatives from most of the clubs, and universal at most NSS events.

The largest annual NSS race is the Dave Duell Classic (named in honor of Dave Duell), which has seen as many as 90 Nostalgia Super Stock cars compete in what is considered the class's national event. The event is currently run in the fall at Beechbend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in conjunction with the National Muscle Car Association. Dave Duell's son, Doug, organizes the event which draws competitors from all over the country.

Some of the more popular cars currently running in NSS include Drag'n Wag'n, Texas Whale, Hustling Hooser, and the Big Red Ram.

Class description

Nostalgia Super Stock is an index-style foot brake only class for the year models, body styles, and engine combinations which raced in the A/FX and Super Stock classes of the '60s. Exceptions in the authenticity of these cars will be allowed, for instance those relating to safety, equality in performance, availability, and durability. Sandbagging, excessive braking near the finish line or excessive mph for a given e.t. is subject to result in a disqualification. The class will qualify by elapsed time closest to index, be paired according to qualifying positions, and then advance to eliminations.

Eligible year models and body styles

The following is a list of cars/engines, which are allowed to compete in the Nostalgia Super Stock class:

AMC AMX: 1968 - 1969; 390 Chevrolet Full Bodied: 1959-64; 348 & 409s, Z11 427 Chevrolet Full Bodied: 1965-67; 396-454 Chevrolet Chevelle: 1964 - 1967; 396-454 Pontiac Full Bodied: 1959-67; 389-455 Tempest/GTO: 1962-67; 389-455 Ford Full Bodied: 1959-67; 390-427 Ford Thunderbolt: 1964; 427 Fairlane/Comet/Cyclone/Falcon: 1963-67; 390, 427 Dodge/Plymouth Full Bodied: 1960-67; 383-440 wedge Dodge/Plymouth Full Bodied: 1964-67; Hemi Buick Full Bodied: 1960-67; 401-455 Skylark GS: 1964-67; 400-401-455 Chevelle: 1964-67; 396-454 Oldsmobile Full Bodied: 1960-67; 394-400-455 Cutlass/442: 1964-67; 400-455 Dart/Barracuda: 1967-69; 383-440 Dart/Barracuda: 1968; 426 Hemi

Dave Duell Classic The Dave Duell Classic is the world's largest drag racing event for Nostalgia Super Stock drag racing. It is considered to be the NSS Nationals, with as many as 90 Nostalgia Super Stock cars competing.

The event originally began as the NSS Racing class of the Monster Mopar Weekend back in 1990, and was administered by Dave Duell, who was a Super Stock racer (and then Chrysler/Plymouth dealer) back in the 60s. It was the only class of drag racing at the Monster Mopar Weekend open to all makes of race cars that fit in the strict Nostalgia Super Stock rules. The Monster Mopar Weekend was held at Gateway International Raceway the week after Labor Day each year, just outside St. Louis. The event grew to over 60 cars when Dave Duell last raced in the event in September 2005.

Dave died a few months later, in December 2005. For 2006, the NSS racing portion of the Monster Mopar Weekend was renamed the Dave Duell Classic, and Dave's son Doug took over the administration of the event.

In 2010, Gateway closed, forcing the Monster to move to the race track in Indianapolis, In. About 90 NSS car competed in the last Dave Duell Classic held in conjunction with the Monster Mopar Weekend at Gateway. One of the secrets of the success of the Dave Duell Classic, was its central location. As such, the event moved to its new home with the NMCA's race at Beechbend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY.

In addition to the NSS drag racing that is popular with both the drivers and the fans, the NSS drivers are treated to a sponsored Driver's Dinner on Saturday night, immediately following Class Eliminations. At the dinner swag donated to the event is raffled to the drivers, and a collection is taken up for Dave's favorite charity Santa Clothes.

Sunday is when all of the NSS Indexes compete in Eliminations for the winner of the event. The Dave Duell Classic is not only the most popular of NSS races, but has the Class' highest purse.

History

The Foundation, 1955 to 1985

The early practitioners of Nostalgia Super Stock drag racing are shrouded in mystery and the exact beginnings are hard to discern.

In clear contrast, the original source of the sport is clear.

For many World War II military veterans, and in increasing numbers, Korean War veterans and post-WW II 'Baby Boomers,' American automobile culture became the highlight of their young and middle-age lives - complete with both home-built and later on, Detroit-produced available-to-the-public 'muscle' cars, paraded nightly at drive-in restaurants and raced on weekends at the drag strip.

Started in the sales competition between the major American automobile manufacturers General Motors, Ford and Chrysler in the 1950s and 1960s, fueled by low cost oil and the horsepower available from ever larger and more powerful V-8 engines underneath two carburetors, and administered by sanctioning organizations such as the National Hot Rod Association - Stock, Super Stock, Top Stock and Junior Stock Eliminator racing was both a participant and spectator racing favorite in a 'Golden Age' from approximately 1955 until 1971.

In this original era, Stock Eliminator (established 1955) and Super Stock Eliminator (established 1957) race cars were limited to design specifications as factory produced, including maximum engine sizes and other restrictions on cylinder heads, intake manifolds, camshaft and valve train components and wheels/tires.

These cars, many street-driven to the strip and then (with good fortune) back home after the race, were grouped in fast-to-slow alphabetical classes (A/S, B/S, C/S, etc.) determined by horsepower-to-weight factors in wide ranges.

In 1960, optional classes (A/SA, B/SA, C/SA, etc.) for cars equipped with automatic transmissions were added.

The nearly universal competition format on the track was 'heads-up' racing - both cars leave the starting line at the same time, no handicap, and the first one to the finish line is deemed the winner.

At first, elapsed times in the 16 to 13-second range, and later on, 12 and 11 seconds for a quarter-mile standard distance, were considered remarkable.

With time, however, the competitive spirit between manufacturers and also between participants to always go faster increased the pressure for more and more performance.

Numerous and complex engineering changes were implemented, sometimes available as 'special' products sold over-the-counter at dealership parts departments.

For some original manufacturers, the power game was also played at a higher level, with complete 'package' cars, designed to be highly potent for racing but practically unusable as normal transportation.

Whether just 'bodies-in-white,' subcontracted to fabrication and/or assembly vendors, built in off-site but company-controlled facilities sometimes described as 'skunkworks' or actually assembly-line produced in the factory, these 'packages' were sometimes delivered to 'insiders' with special connections or knowledge.

Or more amazingly - now looking back with more than 50 years of retrospect – the cars were delivered directly to commercial dealers for sale to the public with the unwritten but common understanding that these vehicles could – and would - only be used for racing.

This evolution led to the establishment by NHRA of the Optional Super Stock (O/SS, 1961), Super Super Stock (SS/S, 1962) and Factory Experimental (FX, also 1962) categories, followed by Modified Production (MP, 1963), in an effort to keep pace with the fast-moving technology.

Also in 1963, in cooperation with other governing national and international authorities, NHRA limited maximum engine size to 427 cubic inches (7 liters) and in 1964, started using its own horsepower factors, mainly to correct notoriously low ratings from the manufacturers.

By 1965, some of these factory and privateer purpose-built FX vehicles, like the long-established 'Gasser' and 'Altered' classes, featured changed wheelbases, fuel injection and forced air induction (blowers) - configurations not even an infinite amount of rationalization could justify as 'Stock' or even 'Super Stock.'

In 1966, NHRA put the increasingly radical FX cars – some now fueled with nitromethane - into their own eliminator, officially called 'Experimental Stock.' But popularly they had been called 'Funny Cars' for some time, reflecting a common comment, "That car sure looks funny."

The following year, NHRA formally established 'Funny Car' as a separate eliminator.

Also in 1967, NHRA redefined Super Stock as a division within Stock Eliminator, adding 10 classes based on horsepower-to-weight factors. In addition, on-track competition was conducted with handicapped starts based on national elapsed time records.

This new system was a major change, greatly increasing the number of vehicles eligible for Super Stock - in part by now allowing former stock-only combinations the additional power potential of aftermarket intake manifolds and any camshaft and valve train components and the increased traction efficiency of any size rear tire/wheel assembly which would fit into the stock wheel well.

Also included were big-block powered 'pony cars,' such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro and eventually the Plymouth Barracuda, Dodge Dart and Challenger models and the AMX from American Motors.

In 1968, NHRA continued the expansion, increasing to 34 classes in Stock Eliminator and 12 in Super Stock, and also allowing larger engine sizes except in SS/A and SS/AA, which retained the 427 cubic inch limit.

Many observers agree the pinnacle of both sales and track competition as defined by vehicle brand identification was reached in the 1970-71 period following the 1969 birth of the 500 cubic inch 'heads-up' Pro Stock class, a direct descendant of both the quickest Super Stock cars and the widespread dissatisfaction with handicapped competition.

But the automotive party – 'Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie' as expressed in Don McLean's song – ended after the oil price shocks of the early 1970s and the subsequent chaotic economic conditions of the next 15 years made mass-produced muscle obsolete.

For "Pro" racing with the NHRA, Nostalgia Super Stock evolved into Pro Stock and FX evolved into Funny Car.

The Revival, 1985 to 2010