Dragster 101
A drag race is an acceleration contest from a standstill start between two vehicles over a measured distance. The usual distance is either a quarter mile or an eighth mile. A drag racing event consists of two vehicles racing at a time with tournament style eliminations. The losing driver in each race is eliminated, and the winner goes on to compete against others in their class until only one is left undefeated.
There are three main classes of drag racing cars. The first is the Top Fuel Eliminator, which is a lightweight, long vehicle with wide rear tires. These cars produce over 5,000 horsepower and can accelerate from a standing start to 100mph in less than one second. Top Fuel cars use a special mixture of methanol and nitromethane which will cost nearly $400 for the fifteen gallons of fuel used for every race. Along with the cost of fuel, just the basic wear on equipment for every quarter mile run will cost nearly $3,000.
Among the most difficult cars to control is the Funny Car. These cars are the quickest, fastest in IHRA racing. Funny Cars are capable of 3,000 horsepower and are permitted to weigh no less than 2,200 pounds including the driver. The engine is located in front of the driver making the danger of fire extreme and the need for safety standards vital.
The last main class of drag racing cars is the Stock car. This model is derived from standard muscle cars. The Stock car retains much of a streetcar identity because it is required to have only a few modifications on the machines original production equipment. Stock cars rely solely on gas burning engines and can reach speeds of around 200 mph. Stock car races are as similar to street racing as it gets and can generate some of the narrowest finishes in drag racing.
The dragster race is started by an electronic device commonly referred to as a “Christmas Tree” because of its multicolored lights. Two light beams cross the starting line and are wired to the Tree and electronic timers in the control tower. When the front tires of a vehicle cross the first light beam, the pre-stage light on the Tree indicates the racer is approximately seven inches from the starting line.
When the racer rolls forward into the stage beam, the front tires are positioned exactly on the starting line and the stage bulb lights on the Tree. This means the vehicles are ready to race. When both contestants are fully staged, the starter will activate the Tree and all three amber lights will flash followed by the green light, which starts the timer in the control tower.
Two separate performances are monitored for each run: elapsed time and speed. As soon as the stage beams are crossed, each vehicle triggers an elapsed time clock, which is stopped when the vehicle reaches the finish line. The start-to-finish clocking is the vehicle’s elapsed time (e.t.), which is used to measure performance. Speed is measured in a 66 foot “speed trap,” which records the vehicle speed of the last 66 feet of the race. Each of these measurements is timed separately.
A racer can be disqualified for several mistakes such as: crossing the starting line too soon, leaving the lane boundary, crossing the centerline, touching the guardrail, striking a track fixture, failing to stage, or failing a post run inspection. After each race, the vehicles must be weighed and have their fuel checked. Each winning vehicle goes through a complete engine teardown.
