Drag Racing

"Alcohol is for drinking, gas is for cleaning parts, and nitro is for racing!"
-Unknown

Photo credit: SteelCityHobbies/Flickr.com

Drag racing is the most accessible of all motorsports. At its core, drag racing is just an acceleration contest between two or more cars. Unlike other forms of vehicular competition, the list of things needed to drag race is quite short. Only two things are needed, really: a car and an open, straight stretch of road (preferably a sanctioned drag strip, of course). A typical drag race will see two cars line up at a shared start line, launch off said line at the same time and drive as fast as they can toward a predetermined finish line. The first car to cross the finish line is the winner.

Drag races are typically held at drag strips. Most drag strips and, therefore, drag races are a quarter-mile long. Some racetracks also host slower (and are, consequently, safer for novices) 1/8-mile drag strips. At the amateur level, anyone can show up to a drag strip, pay a few bucks and run their personal car down the strip as many times as they want. One can see anything from minivans to old-school gassers run down the track at these events, making them always entertaining to watch.

The big leagues of drag racing, such as the Top Fuel or Funny Car classes, crank up the excitement factor. Cars in these classes boast 7,000-horsepower engines, speeds in excess of 330 mph, and quarter-mile times in the mid 4-second range.

Drag Racing on AM

Drag racing seems simple and uninteresting on the surface, but try it once and you’ll get hooked. Some people find that learning the timing of the tree (the lights that signal when to go) and mastering the perfect launch is the most rewarding part of drag racing, but we’re hooked on the thrill of mashing the gas and holding on for dear life. The faster and more powerful the car, the bigger the challenge it is to keep it going in a straight line.

Drag Racing fact

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher (no relation to Michael) is currently the fastest man ever in drag racing. The man holds the record for the fastest E.T. (4.428 seconds in the quarter mile) and the national speed record (336.1 mph). Schumacher also holds the record for the fastest speed ever recorded in NHRA history -- 337.58 mph. Other drag race records currently held by Schumacher include most consecutive Top Fuel victories in a single season (5); most Top Fuel poles in a single season (11); most consecutive rounds won in Top Fuel (20); most consecutive final rounds in Top Fuel (7); and the largest margin of victory for a Top Fuel world title (415 points).