The thing I loved most about the days you mentioned are that you could cheer for your favorite brand!!! ....almost like ProStock or SuperStock!
A favorite event...though it was too far for me to attend from Illinois... was the Orange County Manufacturers' Championships, where the funny cars would be grouped into teams by "make"!
...of course I miss other things, like "winning a race means just as much on the first day of the season as the last".....and other changes. }:-(
(I hate the falsely generated "drama" of reality shows too.)