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If one enjoys it, make the trip to northern MN to Brainerd in early August. I mention this track because the drag strip is part of a road course’s 3/4 mile straightaway. Where this comes into play is you can walk to the pits and watch all the wrenching going on, then walk with the cars as they make their way to the strip. John Force’s wife was walking 5 ft in front of us following either his or her daughters car last time I went. Then once you reach track area they let you stand at track level next to cars waiting in line. Now the best part, you can watch them take off from actually behind them at track level….this is by landslide the best angle. No clue who wins, but to see the tires take different form and go away from you while being that close makes it well worth it. Plus camping on the inside of the road course is crazy too I’ve heard for it, refereed to as The Zoo from broadcast tv/track. We’ve camped it for the AMA Superbikes in the past. Bikes would hit 195+ on the end of the 3/4 mile straight (dragstrip uses 1/4 mile of it).
There is just no way one can describe the sound of a Top Fuel car, you just have to be there in person to see, feel, and hear it. And when seeing one make a pass in person, your mind just doesn't comprehend what your eyes are seeing. It's absolutely crazy.
Top Fuel dragsters are the fastest accelerating machines on the planet. When the pass you, the hair on the back of your neck stands on end!
For the best experience, go into the pits and watch the crews at work. Seeing them rebuild an engine to race ready in less than 30 minutes is impressive.
I always loved going up to watch the Jet Cars. They have this a few times per year at my local track and I love standing on the fence watching those bad boys stage and launch
Top Fuel dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 335 miles per hour (539 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (305 m) runs in 3.64 seconds. Here are some fuel facts.
* One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (11,000 HP) than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.
* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.
* A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to merely drive the dragster's supercharger.
* With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.
* At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.
* Nitromethane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
* Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2 way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.
* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.
* Dragsters reach over 300 MPH before you have completed reading this sentence.
* In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before half-track, the launch acce leration approaches 8 G's.
* Top Fuel engines turn approximately 480 revolutions from light to light!
* Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.
* The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.
* THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second.
0 to 100 MPH in .8 seconds (the first 60 feet of the run)
0 to 200 MPH in 2.2 seconds (the first 350 feet of the run)
6 g-forces at the starting line (nothing accelerates faster on land)
6 negative g-forces upon deployment of twin ‘chutes at 300 MPH An NHRA Top Fuel Dragster accelerates quicker than any other land vehicle on earth . . quicker than a jet fighter plane . . . quicker than the space shuttle.
The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 3.62 and the fastest pass was 338.9 by Brittany Force.
Putting this all into perspective:
You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to launch down a quarter-mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment.
The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster catches & passes you.
He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it - from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH & not only cau ght, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1000 foot long race!
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Dang! Thats some power!
