Top Fuel Track Length

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I haven’t been following Top Fuel and Funny cars but was interested to learn that the NHRA timed track length was reduced from a 1/4 mile (1320 ft) to 1000 ft. This is for nitromethane powered cars.
The change was made in 2008 after Scott Kalitta’s death in a crash. The fastest record is by Brittany Force at 338.17 mph in a time of 3.659 seconds. Impressive.
 
The rumor is the NHRA will go back to a full 1320 if every track on the schedule has adequate runoff, which would usually be another 1320'. However their premier facility, Pomona Fairplex, does not have the room.
 
they are without a doubt beyond belief + need to be seen in person to really what they do + being in the pits for their test fire after being rebuilt after each run to see how much nitro you can tolerate!!!! like most racing they get faster + the rule makers try to control safety while keeping the viewers $$$ coming
 
If they had that 320 feet of track back, they would be going 360+MPH and need an additional 500ft of shutdown space. Kalitta was most likely unconscious from the blower explosion because he never applied the brakes, plus his shoots were torn up from debris, that same crash/set of circumstances would have the same end result today.
 
I haven’t been following Top Fuel and Funny cars but was interested to learn that the NHRA timed track length was reduced from a 1/4 mile (1320 ft) to 1000 ft. This is for nitromethane powered cars.
The change was made in 2008 after Scott Kalitta’s death in a crash. The fastest record is by Brittany Force at 338.17 mph in a time of 3.659 seconds. Impressive.
You learn something new everyday. (y)
 
They likely wouldn't be going much faster- when they used 1320 the last feet had the electrodes burned off & were running like a diesel.

Not if the tuning is right for the conditions.

If everything is set up ideally for the conditions (a very complicated puzzle to get right), the combustion chambers will have a nice gold hue, and the electrodes will be intact.

If all the restrictions on the Fuel cars were removed, and the tracks were lengthened with sufficient room to stop without issue, they could go much quicker and faster. Of course that will never happen, as there are too many hand-wringers involved. It is a show, sanitized for your protection.
 
We sponsor the Kalitta team, and Corey Mac last year.

We have the option to go to the races and hang out with the team in the pits.

Last year was a bit odd, but it's opening up again.
 
Not if the tuning is right for the conditions.

If everything is set up ideally for the conditions (a very complicated puzzle to get right), the combustion chambers will have a nice gold hue, and the electrodes will be intact.

If all the restrictions on the Fuel cars were removed, and the tracks were lengthened with sufficient room to stop without issue, they could go much quicker and faster. Of course that will never happen, as there are too many hand-wringers involved. It is a show, sanitized for your protection.
You know someone in top fuel? These engines are on full kill - combustion chambers & plug electrodes really take abuse. They aren't like a gas engine . Listen to them at the top end- not on tv, a lot of them have cylinders out
 
They likely wouldn't be going much faster- when they used 1320 the last feet had the electrodes burned off & were running like a diesel.
The magnetos are more like arc welders. To go faster without blowing ____ up, the cars need to be geared higher.
I'm betting that the distance will be reduced to a sixth mile (880 ft) before long.
If the only rule was 500 CID, I would bet on a in-line 2-stroke 4 cylinder with port exhaust and 4 intake valves.
 
...Of course that will never happen, as there are too many hand-wringers involved. It is a show, sanitized for your protection...

Someone sounds bitter. All of professional motorsports is entertainment for the paying fans and paying sponsors.
 
Someone sounds bitter. All of professional motorsports is entertainment for the paying fans and paying sponsors.
More annoyed than bitter.

I just feel that if a few people calling the shots are that afraid of the machines, they should find a kinder, gentler line of work. Instead of continuing to dumb-down what was intended to be no-limits dragracing.

If you knew me and most of my colleagues, you would know that the majority of us would like to see what these machines are truly capable of.
 
Similar to Indy car racing at Indianapolis when they put grass down in the corners because.... The cars were going too fast.... Well because those fools did that they made it exceptionally difficult for those cars to be able to pass one another.

Or Nascar with the restrictor plates...

Yeah I know Bobby Allison almost went into the stands on the tri oval at Talladega...

Here's a better idea.... Get rid of the bottom 50 to 100 rows of seats on that speedway and Daytona. Then take those seats and add them above the existing seats. Those would be far better seats due to being so much higher to be able to see the entire track. Then add 2-3 levels of reinforced fencing.

Then let those cars run wide open at 230-240 mph.... No plates.

And yeah the cars could get hard to handle.They could get airborne to a degree. But even with the restrictor plates those cars still get airborne. Yes travelling faster makes that a higher possibility. Well... That's part of the dance so to speak.

The drivers in Nascar at that time did not care for those plates.... Dale certainly did not. Neither did Bill Elliott. Nor Geoffrey Bodine. And many other drivers did not like them either.
 
Restrictor plates were used in NASCAR in the early '70s to slow down the big cube Fords and Mopars, eventually banning them.
 
Haul your dragster to the Bonneville Salt Flats and let 'er rip.

I've talked on here about going to the Bonneville Salt Flats for years to help friends work on all sorts of vehicles. From turbocharged Hayabusa's, to all manner of cars. Production based cars to blown fuel streamliners.

A TF/D is not a Landspeed Racing vehicle.

A TF/D is all about maximum acceleration. Or at least they were before a few hand-wringers in the NHRA decided to make a concerted effort to keep the performance in check.
 
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