top fuel dragster fun facts

[zxtwou2]

One Top Fuel dragster outfitted with a 500 cubic-inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower (8,000 HP) than the first 4 rows at NASCAR's Daytona 500.

Under full throttle, a dragster engine will consume 11.2 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded Boeing 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate but 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 beforeignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lockup at full throttle.

At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane the flame front temperature measures 7050 degrees F.

Nitro methane 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 sparkplug, which is typically the output of an electric arc welder in each cylinder.

Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass..

After 1/2 way thru the run, the engine is 'dieseling' from compression and the glow of the 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 enough force sufficient to blow the cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half !!

Top fuel dragsters reach over 300 MPH +.... before you have completed reading this sentence.

In order to exceed 300 MPH in 4.5 seconds, a dragster must accelerate an average of over 4 G's. In order to reach 200 MPH well before reaching half-track, at launch the acceleration approaches 8 G's.

Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 9000 revolutions under load.

The redline is actually quite high at 9500 RPM.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Assuming all the equipment is paid for, the pit crew is working for free, & NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run will cost an estimated $1000 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....or snapping your fingers !!

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.420 seconds for the quarter-mile (2004, Doug Kalitta). The top speed record is 337.58 MPH as measured over the last 66' of the run (2005, Tony Schumacher). So, in summary...Let's now put this all into perspective:
Imagine this.....You are driving a new $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z-06. 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, on up through the gears and blast across the starting line, and pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH.... The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that exact moment. The dragster departs & starts after you..
You keep your foot buried hard to the floor, and suddenly you hear an incredibly brutally screaming whine that sears and pummels your eardrums & within a mere 3 seconds the dragster effortlessly 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....and it not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the planet when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot long race !!!!

[ZX2 Sleeper]

Did tim's account get hacked? lol. Jk. Cool fun facts!

[Tygen1]

Top fuel dragsters are a must see for any real motor head. Those facts just don't do them justice, they are much more brutal in person. Get a pit pass and breath the fumes, stand behind the starting line and watch your vision blur from the intense sonic vibrations as they disappear thru an apparent time warp. My hair stands on end just thinking of the last time I saw one in 1996....

[zxtwou2]

Top fuel dragsters are a must see for any real motor head. Those facts just don't do them justice, they are much more brutal in person. Get a pit pass and breath the fumes, stand behind the starting line and watch your vision blur from the intense sonic vibrations as they disappear thru an apparent time warp. My hair stands on end just thinking of the last time I saw one in 1996....

agreed. any fan of motorsports can appreciate the shear brutality and difficulty involved in Top Fuel dragsters. i only scoff at people in 10 second or more full bodied cars who think that things like autoX aren't "real racing". i'm pretty sure the amount of skill it takes to pilot a Top Fuel car blows most racing, even professional road racing

[Tygen1]

Top fuel racing reminds me of the movie Tommy Boy, when the crazed ex-military guy comes out with the Bazoka and informs the crowd to listen to Tommy Boy or "Mr. Thunder Maker is going to start barking fire!"

[carbonzx2]

Top fuel dragsters are a must see for any real motor head. Those facts just don't do them justice, they are much more brutal in person. Get a pit pass and breath the fumes, stand behind the starting line and watch your vision blur from the intense sonic vibrations as they disappear thru an apparent time warp. My hair stands on end just thinking of the last time I saw one in 1996....

if you havent seen one since 1996, you need to go to an NHRA event now. No pit-pass required. me and my dad go every year and bring our gas masks so we can stand behind them when they fire them up. there is nothing else like it

[Tygen1]

Yep, I need to go.
Newbs in the pits are easy to spot. Red eys and runny noses. One time this guy in front of me, in the pits while a top fuel motor was runing up, turns around with a snot just streaming out of his nose running down his face as he fruitlessly rubs his eyes' making the situation worse....good times! I just love how the smell of the fumes are sweet for just a moment before it starts to burn.