Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
🇺🇸 Step back into America’s Bicentennial year with this rare Wide World of Sports presentation of the NHRA U.S. Nationals — drag racing’s most prestigious championship.
🏁 Held at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the 22nd running of the U.S. Nationals delivered five and a half days of nonstop competition, national records, and packed grandstands as more than 1,000 entries were narrowed to just 240 finalists across nine categories. What followed was classic Indy drama — loud, raw, and relentlessly fast.
🔥 The 1976 Nationals crowned an unforgettable group of champions, including Richard Tharp (Top Fuel), Gary Burgin (Funny Car), Wally Booth (Pro Stock), Dave Settles (Pro Comp), and Don Carlton (Competition Eliminator). Performance levels reflected an era pushing the limits, with Don “The Snake” Prudhomme resetting the Top Fuel national record and Funny Cars charging deeper into the six-second zone.
📺 Captured for a national television audience during America’s 200th birthday celebration, this broadcast preserves the sights, sounds, and scale of drag racing at its peak — when Indy wasn’t just a race, it was the sport’s ultimate proving ground.
For more drag racing history and rare archival footage, visit CompetitionPlus.com.
#NHRA #NHRAHistory #USNationals #IndyDragRacing #WideWorldOfSports #DragRacingHistory #BicentennialYear #1976DragRacing #TopFuel #FunnyCar #ProStock #VintageMotorsports #ClassicDragRacing #CompetitionPlus #PEAKSquad
🇺🇸 Step back into America’s Bicentennial year with this rare Wide World of Sports presentation of the NHRA U.S. Nationals — drag racing’s most prestigious championship.
🏁 Held at Indianapolis Raceway Park, the 22nd running of the U.S. Nationals delivered five and a half days of nonstop competition, national records, and packed grandstands as more than 1,000 entries were narrowed to just 240 finalists across nine categories. What followed was classic Indy drama — loud, raw, and relentlessly fast.
🔥 The 1976 Nationals crowned an unforgettable group of champions, including Richard Tharp (Top Fuel), Gary Burgin (Funny Car), Wally Booth (Pro Stock), Dave Settles (Pro Comp), and Don Carlton (Competition Eliminator). Performance levels reflected an era pushing the limits, with Don “The Snake” Prudhomme resetting the Top Fuel national record and Funny Cars charging deeper into the six-second zone.
📺 Captured for a national television audience during America’s 200th birthday celebration, this broadcast preserves the sights, sounds, and scale of drag racing at its peak — when Indy wasn’t just a race, it was the sport’s ultimate proving ground.
For more drag racing history and rare archival footage, visit CompetitionPlus.com.
#NHRA #NHRAHistory #USNationals #IndyDragRacing #WideWorldOfSports #DragRacingHistory #BicentennialYear #1976DragRacing #TopFuel #FunnyCar #ProStock #VintageMotorsports #ClassicDragRacing #CompetitionPlus #PEAKSquad
