Top Fuel Dragsters, some interesting facts

Top-Fuel Racing refers to a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on 85% nitromethane and about 15% methanol also known as racing alcohol, instead of gasoline. The nitromethane used to power the engines of top fuel dragsters costs about US$30 per U.S. gallon (US$8/L). Top Fuel dragsters use between 10 and 12 U.S. gallons (38 to 45 L) of fuel for a complete pass, including the burnout, backup to the starting line, and quarter-mile run. The engine makes about 3.4 times as much power as a similar displacement engine running gasoline

These cars compete in a 1/4 mile (0.4 km) race and complete it in less than 4.5 seconds at upwards of 330 mph (530 km/h). Top Fuel dragsters are the fastest linear accelerating vehicles in the world. A Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph (160 km/h) in less than 0.8 second, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed. They can exceed 280 mph (450 km/h) in just 660 feet (0.2 km).Launching its run to 330 mph (530 km/h), a top fuel dragster will accelerate at 4.5 g (44 m/s2), and when braking and parachutes are deployed, the driver experiences deceleration of 4 g (39 m/s2), more than space shuttle occupants. A single top fuel car can be heard over eight miles (13 km) away and can generate a reading of 1.5 to 2 on the Richter scale. (NHRA Mile High Nationals 2001, and 2002 testing from the National Seismology Center.)

Each of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster produces 750 horsepower (560 kW), nearly equaling the entire power output of a NASCAR engine.

At top engine speed, the exhaust gases escaping from the open headers produce about 800 pounds-force (3.6 kilonewtons) of downforce (although much more downforce is produced by the massive foil sitting over the rear wheels).

If you were to take a vehicle traveling at a steady 200 mph (322 km/h) as it is crossing the start line, a top fuel dragster starting from a dead stop at the same moment will beat it to the finish line one quarter of a mile (402 m) away.

fuck me

Top Fuel Dragsters can be seen on NHRA Drag Racing on ESPN if you have sky

I would love to experience gong that fast and those sort of g forces but I'ld be worried about hitting the wall or flipping.

yup. awesome huh?

thats kinda insane

About the term "drag racing"

Although the tire tracks of its history are clear, the origin of the term "drag racing" is not. The theories are almost as many and varied as the machines that have populated its ranks for five decades. Explanations range from a simple challenge ("Drag your car out of the garage and race me!") to geographical locale (the "main drag" was a city's main street, often the only one wide enough to accommodate two vehicles) to the mechanical (to "drag" the gears meant to hold the transmission in gear longer than normal).

The first "dragsters" were little more than street cars with lightly warmed-over engines and bodies chopped down to reduce weight. Eventually, professional chassis builders constructed purpose-built cars, bending and welding together tubing and planting the engine in the traditional spot, just in front of the driver; the engines, and the fuels they burned, became more exotic, more powerful, and, naturally, more temperamental.

Like almost all racing cars, they have undergone tremendous evolution as racers upgraded, experimented, theorized, and tested their equipment.

Safety and innovation paved the way to rear-engined Top Fuel cars in the early 1970s, and once drag racing legend Don Garlits - himself a victim of the front-engined configuration when his transmission, which was nestled between his feet, exploded in 1970, severing half of his right foot - perfected the design, the sport never looked back. Today's Top Fuel dragsters are computer-designed wonders with sleek profiles and wind-tunnel-tested rear airfoils that exert 5,000 pounds of downforce on the rear tires with minimal aerodynamic drag.

As racers became smarter, the speed barriers fell: 260 mph toppled in 1984; 270 in 1986; 280 in 1987; 290 in 1989: and the magic 300 mph barrier fell before the wheels of former Funny Car champion Kenny Bernstein on March 20, 1992. Just seven years later, Tony Schumacher became the first to top 330 mph in February 1999 in Phoenix.

Over the years, NHRA racing has lived up to its claim as The Extreme Motorsport.

maybe just become a F16 pilot?

I went to an NHRA event almost three years ago. It was so fucken awesome. Something a motorsport fan needs to experience for sure. Now I got my fill, I prolly don't need to go back, but it was well worth it.

I'll add it to my list

Now I just need to get to Nurburg, Indianapolis, Daytona and Bathurst.. shit... time to get a loan...

Wouldn't mind visiting Spa and say Hockenhime either (geez my spellings bad today)

i think Spa does the same 'pay the toll and take a spin' deal as the ring does.

awesome