School me on Stock Eliminator?

I used to follow Stock Elim closely, and ran it for 2 seasons. If you read this forum: http://classracer.com/classforum/index.php, for about a year, and attend races to learn close up about it, you'll just scratch the surface of what it's all about. The eliminator as it is now, has been evolving since about 1972, it has existed in other forms for years before that. I don't know if anyone has ever written a good history of it, but it would be interesting.
It's even more than a way of life for the people involved in it. It's generational, too. Many grandfather, father, son involvements.