My absolute favorite motor sports to watch!
You can FEEL the engines idling while you are sitting in the bleachers 50 yards away.
Hearing protection required.

*One dragster''s 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the first 8 rows at Daytona.
* Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1 1/2 gallons of nitro per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully loaded 747 but with 4 times the energy volume.
* The supercharger takes more power to drive then a stock hemi makes.
* Even with nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid form before ignition.
* Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.
* Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
* At stoichiometric (exact) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitromethane 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.
* 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 off it''s fuel flow.
* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.
* Dragsters twist the crank (torsionally) so far (20 degrees in the big end of the track) that sometimes cam lobes are ground offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to synchronization with the pistons.
* To exceed 300mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G''s. But in reaching 200 mph well before 1/2 track, launch
acceleration is closer to 8G''s.
* If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1000.00 per second.
* Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have read this sentence.
* Top Fuel Engines ONLY turn 540 revolutions from light to light!
* The redline is actually quite high at 9500rpm
* To give you an idea of this acceleration, the current TF dragster elapsed time record is 4.477 seconds for the quarter mile. This means that you could be coming across the starting line in your average Lingenfelter powered "twin-turbo" Corvette at 200 mph (on a FLYING START) and
the dragster would BEAT you to the finish line FROM A DEAD STOP in a quarter mile distance!

 

Just absolutely amazing stats, Kwik. I love NHRA racing but haven't been to the track in a while. I grew up in SoCal (Fontana) and Pomona was right in my backyard but that was years ago. I remember when Eddie Hill first cracked into the fours...

 

I am not going to quote your entire post Dan, but all of the above is true and more. You left out the earthquake feeling. That is the only way to describe how it feels when they both make a perfect run. When they leave the starting line it feels like an earthquake. NASCAR will put you to sleep compared to drag racing. I have been going to National events long enough to remember when 200 mph seemed like impossible. When Big Daddy first brought out the first rear engine setup in a Top Fueler. I just went to the first race at the brand new track we have in Charlotte here. Probably the most spectacular track in the country. I was surprised at how close the Nitro Funny Cars are in mph and et to the Top Fuelers. Used to be a much larger gap.

 

Pro Stocks were always my favorites. I loved the back in forth battles between Bob Glidden, Bruce Allen and Larry Johnson.

 

Ever drink to the movie beerfest?

So wait your not supposed to mix whiskey with other types of alcohol?

I tryed a few times but didnt get anywhere with it so I gave up...

I could find my paypal receipt and have no idea how to use paypal, is there any other way to prove that I paid for it? I mean I got the badge right?

I think in the drivers hand book for all the little cars it says " Just remember, the bigger the vechicle, the faster they can stop." Since they all do it...

 

Das Boot! Hilarious movie.


I never said that. I just said you'll get clobbered.


I think you're right. In the past two days I've had to basically stand on my brakes and slide the truck sideways, both times for little cars that weren't paying attention. Sunday night I wish I had a video camera mounted to the truck..little teeny bopper in a Subaru evedently didn't see me coming and crossed the street right in front of me. She sees me at the last second, stops in the middle of the road right where I cross her path, and holds her arms up in front of her face in an "X" pattern. I got the truck stopped of course, and then made a very loud and smoke filled exit as I drove around her dumb ***, still sitting in the middle of the road.

 

So I just joined a local diesel club this week called the NorthWest Bombers. Right off the bat I find a guy 10 minutes from my house with a Fummins and like a 12'' lift and 37's. There a bunch of really cool guys, as it really doesnt matter if you drive Ford dodge or Chevy, it just has to burn oil. I think I see a massive lift in my future.

 

You know, I kinda lost interest in NHRA Pro Stock when Glidden threw in the towel. If only Ford had gotten behind him like they should have it would have stayed interesting. I tend to go to as many IHRA national events as I can today as most of the men I raced with have now graduated up to Pro Mod, maybe the most exciting class in all of drag racing today. But super expensive. If you don't have a million bucks, or great sponsorship forget about even being competitive.

 

Not that one. That movie came out after I had toned down my partying ways.

On the drag racing subject, are there many differences between IHRA and NHRA? I mean, if I had the chance to go to an IHRA race, would it still be impressive as the NHRA races?

 

If you haven't seen it anyway, you should.

 

Now that's just some impressive information.

Thx for sharing. D.
99.5PSD, CC, SB w only 6637 and batt box delete so far......

 

Yes and no. IHRA is a lot less expensive to attend. About half. There is only one National event left this year and it's right near here. You could meet Barry, me and a few other members. I always take my motor home when I go, but not sure I am going to be able to make it this year. If anyone is interested in going with me I can provide a nice place to stay. It is in Rockingham the weekend of Oct. 17th. The Top Fuel cars are not as fast and there is no Nitro Funny car class. But Pro Mod more than makes up for what's missing in the Funny Car category. It is really the poor step child of NHRA, but much more family orientated. I enjoy them more because I know so many of the racers and the President of the IHRA and I are personal friends, more or less. He has pretty much handed over the reins to his son.

 

Here's a link to their National Event schedule.

NitroJam.com

 

Do you fart in bed?


If this story doesn't make you cry for laughing so hard, let me know and I'll pray for you.


This is a story about a couple who had been happily married for years.

The only friction in their marriage was the husband's habit of farting loudly every morning when he awoke. The noise would wake his wife and the smell would make her eyes water and make her gasp for air.

Every morning she would plead with him to stop ripping them off because it was making her sick. He told her he couldn't stop it and that it was perfectly natural. She told him to see a doctor, she was concerned that one day he would blow his guts out.

The years went by and he continued to rip them out. Then one Thanksgiving morning as she was preparing the turkey for dinner and he was upstairs sound asleep, she looked at the innards and neck, gizzard, liver and all the spare parts and a malicious thought came to her.

She took the bowl and went upstairs where her husband was sound asleep and, gently pulling the bed covers back, she pulled back the elastic waistband of hus underpants and emptied the bowl of turkey guts into his shorts.

Some time later she heard her husband waken with his usual trumpeting which was followed by a blood curdling scream and the sound of frantic footsteps as he ran into the bathroom. The wife could hardly control herself as she rolled on the floor laughing, tears in her eyes. After years of tortue she reckoned she had got him back pretty good.

About twenty minutes later, her husband came downstairs in his blood stained underpants with a look of horror on his face. She bit her lip as she asked him what was the matter.

He said, 'honey you were right.' 'all these years you have warned me and I didn't listen to you'.

'What do you mean?' Asked his wife.

'Well, you always told me that one day I would end up farting my guts out, and today it finally happened.'

'But, by the Grace of God, some vaseline and two fingers, I think I got most of them back in.'

 

Hubbubs could power a Top Fuel dragster.