Look what happens

[Don Coatney]

if you push a bit too much nitro.

[Normspeed]

That's gonna need a lot of JB Weld.

[Guest Nile Limbaugh]

That gives a whole new meaning to the term 'cracked block'!

[T.Tom Meshingear]

I think he did that on straight diesel fuel.

[Tim Frank]

Looks like my wife's handiwork....

[Chester Brzostowski]

I don't get it .., what's the problem.

[Merle Coggins]

I'll bet it was pulling hard, right up until it went BANG!!

Probably just like this one did...

[Niel Hoback]

I hate it when that happens.

[Guest Dave Claussen]

Is that what they call a cut away view?

[Normspeed]

Dave, I think the technical term is, I blewitalltohell view.

[Guest rockabillybassman]

+1 for JB Weld!

[Guest Dave Claussen]

Oh, OK Norm. Thanks for clearin' that up for me. Kinda wonder if the driver was alright after that one! zoom! zoom! boom! boom!

[T.Tom Meshingear]

I found this info on Top Fuel Acceleration.

* One Top Fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower

than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.

* Under full throttle, a Top Fuel dragster engine consumes 1½ gallons of

nitro methane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the

same rate with 25% less energy being produced.

* A stock Dodge 426 Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to 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 before ignition.

Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock 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 spark plug. This is the output of

an arc welder in each cylinder.

* Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass. After 1/2

way, the engine is dieseling from compression plus the glow of exhaust

valves at 1400 degrees F. Cutting the fuel flow is the only way to shut

down the engine.

* If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up

in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to

blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.

* In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at

an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before

half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G's.

* Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed

reading this sentence.

* Top Fuel Engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!

* Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions

under load.

* The redline is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.

* The Bottom Line; Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew

worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an

estimated $1,000.00 per second.

The current Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for

the quarter mile (10/05/03, Tony Schumacher).

The top speed record is 333.00 mph (533 km/h) as measured over the last

66' of the run (09/28/03 Doug Kalitta).

Putting all of this into perspective:

You are riding the average US$250,000 Honda MotoGP bike. Over a mile up

the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down a

quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying

start. You run the RC211V hard up through the gears and blast across the

starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph (293 ft/sec).

The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster

launches and starts after you.

You keep your wrist cranked hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal

whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds the dragster catches

and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter mile away

from where you just passed him.

From a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 mph and not

only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you

within a mere 1320 foot long race course.

That, folks, is acceleration.

[Don Coatney]

Very interesting Tom;

Thanks for posting.

[Ian Morrison]

If you've never been track side and see ...I mean feel a top fuel do a run .....wow. I couldn't believe it! But don't forget your ear plugs. If you can, try to get a pit pass and watch them get the cars ready for the next race.

A real interesting weekend when it's a top fuel event. I managed to camp fairly close to the pit area and could see all the teams arriving. Quite an enjoyable weekend, what I can remember. :D

[Plymouthy Adams]

top fueler will rock your socks for sure..love them..byt yes on the eay plubs..them babies ae very loud high pitch rapping...

[Guest Roadrunner]

The oil light came on and I shut it right off...Honest