Pennsylvania’s Beaver Springs Dragway let freedom ring over the July 4th holiday with the 22nd running of the Nostalgia Nationals, a dynamite offering of hot rods that showcases drag racing’s formative years. The Independence Day festivities made for the perfect weekend to salute the glory days of our favorite sport while honoring the land that we love.
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #196, the State of Drag Issue, in Sept./Oct. of 2025.
Things kicked off on Friday afternoon with all-welcome test-and-tune, along with a popular Houdini race, which features generous payouts and free entry, made possible by some great local sponsors.
Among the fan-favorite, booked-in organizations for Saturday and Sunday was the East Coast Gassers, a group that has enjoyed steady growth since forming in 2001. With a motto of “drag racing the way it used to be,” this club features many diverse styles of period-correct vehicles, be it newly-constructed reproductions or restored classics. All the major brands are represented nicely in this group, with a stunning array of beautiful race cars from decades past. The East Coast Gassers has a roster of nine events on the 2025 schedule and tours throughout the Northeast at tracks located in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
Another staple attraction that was competing this weekend at Beaver Springs was the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Drag Racers Association, better known as MANDRA. Formed in 1999, this club represents a tight-knit group of friends who just happen to enjoy racing together. MANDRA is mainly comprised of door cars, but fans also enjoy the occasional Altered or vintage dragster, as long as it’s at least 40 years old. Many members of this traveling, points-earning series have been racing their whole lives and have found the perfect fit in MANDRA to spend weekends together at the track.
Complementing the weekend further was the North East Timing Organization (NETO), which also brought a diverse lineup of quarter-mile excitement to the event, including front-engine dragsters, Funny Cars, Altereds, gassers, and the popular classes of Super Stock and Stock. This club divides its members into two categories: Nostalgia and Comp, and much like the other groups in attendance, NETO travels to a variety of tracks in the Northeast region, entertaining fans with a huge lineup of unique hot rods.
The Back Seat Drivers is yet another highly-entertaining, traveling group that was in attendance on this weekend. This club features a collection of nostalgia front-engine dragsters and Altereds from yesteryear, and it was a huge hit with race goers. This unique club features a no-breakout, personal index format, and has 10 race dates in 2025 at various tracks in this region.
Track owner Mike McCracken couldn’t have been more pleased with the opportunity of hosting such a robust lineup of entertainment in a single weekend. “All these clubs visit Beaver Springs throughout the year, but it just worked out that they could all be here on this July 4th weekend, and it made such a great show!” says McCracken.
The weekend was further highlighted by a classic nostalgia Funny Car match race between the vintage floppers known as “Super Camaro” and “Frantic Ford.” Package it all together and this weekend couldn’t have been a better representation of friends, freedom, and fast cars.
This story was originally published on October 21, 2025. 
The post Stars, Stripes & Straight-Line Speed: Beaver Springs Dragway’s Nostalgia Nationals Brings Together Best of Vintage Drag Racing first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
