How do you steer a Top Fuel dragster?

How much does a Top Fuel dragster driver make a year?

Drag Racing Salary

Does a Top Fuel dragster have a clutch pedal?

The answer is in the clutch. Unlike a street or high-performance car that uses a manual or automatic transmission, a top-fuel dragster uses a centrifugal clutch and only operates in forward, high, and reverse. … It is a system of timers, levers, and clutch discs making up a clutch pack.

How do you start a Top Fuel dragster?

How does a Top Fuel dragster do a burnout?

T-minus 90 seconds – Burnout & Backup After 15 seconds idling at 2400-2500 rpm, the signal to roll though the water box is given. The fuel lever goes back to full and after three tire rotations through the water, I release the clutch to do the burnout.

What RPM does a Top Fuel dragster idle at?

A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence. With a redline that can be as high as 9500 rpm, Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light.

How much does nitromethane cost?

Nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $16 US per gallon!

What happened to Eric Lane?

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series community suffered a tragic loss on Oct. 19, as Eric Lane, co-crew chief for Cruz Pedregon Racing was struck and killed by a car while walking back from a restaurant near Mineral Wells, Texas.

What does it cost to run a Top Fuel dragster?

Top fuel cost between $8k – $10K PER PASS. There are 24 NHRA national events.

What size engine does a Top Fuel dragster have?

500-cubic-inch A Top Fuel Dragsterdistinguished by a supercharged, custom-built, 500-cubic-inch engineboasts 11,000 horsepower and burns nitromethane. By contrast, a Top Alcohol Dragster’s output is about approximately 4,000 hp. Most alcohol dragsters burn methanol, although a few burn ethanol.

Are drag cars automatic?

Older drag racing transmissions were a combination of two- and four-speed manuals. … These days some racers still use two-speed manuals, but now we’re seeing more and more guys going with automatics like ATI’s SuperGlide4. It’s an automatic, but it’s used like a manual.

Do Top Fuel dragsters have radiators?

At top speed, the engine would overheat in about ten or fifteen seconds. They operate without radiators because they operate for only a few seconds at a time. A top fuel dragster might finish a run in less than four seconds. Then it’s time to rebuild the engine.

What fuel do they use to start a Top Fuel dragster?

nitromethane fuel Powered by a supercharged and fuel-injected 500-cubic-inch adaptation of the famed Chrysler Hemi engine, Top Fuel dragsters can burn up to 15 gallons of nitromethane fuel during a single run.

What fuel does a Top Fuel dragster use?

Since 2015, NHRA regulations limit the composition of the fuel to a maximum of 90% nitromethane; the remainder is largely methanol. However, this mixture is not mandatory, and less nitromethane may be used if desired.

Do Top Fuel dragsters have starters?

All Top Fuel Dragsters have an external starter to start up the engines before the race; they don’t have a key ignition system that most cars implement.

What do street racers use for burnouts?

Drag race tracks sometimes use a specially-reserved wet-surface area known as the water box, because water is poured onto a certain area to reduce the friction to initiate the burnout.

Why did they use bleach for burnouts?

During the burn out intense heat is created. The Bleach gets hot enough to decompose and release Chloride Gas. When the Chloride Gas reacts with the air it creates Hydrogen Chloride and this rapidly burns the Skin off the tire exposing the softer and somewhat gooey rubber underneath.

Why do street outlaws do burnouts?

As most every race fan knows, the burnout is done to generate heat, and therefore stickiness, in the rear tires before each run. … The main reason for burnouts, though, is to remove any non-rubber material the tires might have picked up in the roll from the pits to the line.

What is the fastest 1/4 mile time ever recorded?

Fastest 1/4 mile ever 3.58 secs @ 386 mph (621.61 km/h)

How far away can you hear a Top Fuel dragster?

On takeoff dragsters hit around 150db about as loud as a Jet Plane with Afterburner 25 meters away. People at Yamanto and in town have been known to hear the drags from nearly 10km away!!

How many G’s does a Top Fuel car pull?

In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate at an average of more than 4 g’s. In order to reach 200 mph before half-distance, the launch acceleration approaches 8 g’s. A Top Fuel dragster reaches more than 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence.

What happens if you put nitromethane in a car?

The engine wouldn’t run. It requires a much richer fuel/air mixture than gasoline does. It takes one pound of gasoline to burn 14.7 pounds of air, it takes one pound of nitromethane to burn 2.5 pounds of air.

How do you get nitromethane?

Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350450 C (662842 F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.

Can I add nitromethane to my gas?

While nitromethane (CH3NO2) does not mix with gasoline, nitropropane (C3H7NO2) does. According to Dr. Hill, Mix about 10 to 20 percent nitropropane with good gasoline and you make some power! It was that line that inspired me to find out just what this stuff was worth.

What is Dom Lagana condition?

In addition to a severe brain injury, Lagana’s legs were so ravaged by the flames that they ultimately had to be amputated above the knee. He spent months in the burn unit at Eskenazi Hospital in Indianapolis in a coma and clinging to life.

Who is the Eric that died in NHRA?

Eric Medlen

Who is Bob Tasca crew chief?

chief Jon Schaffer With two wins in the season’s first three races, Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Funny Car team are on a roll. Crew chief Jon Schaffer explains the reasons behind the team’s success.

How fast does a Top Fuel dragster do 0 to 60?

NHRA Top Fuel Dragster 0 60 in 0.8 seconds A Top Fuel dragster accelerates so quickly that its already passed 60 mph by the time the rear tires have crossed the start line (300 inches).