Top Fuel Drag Racing

In top fuel drag racing, the cars do not use gasoline as the fuel. Instead they use a combination of 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol, which is also called racing alcohol. The cars are designed especially for this type of racing and are somewhat similar to the open wheeled vehicles used in Formula One racing. However, they are longer and narrower, with very thin front tires. The smaller size tires optimize their performance when driving in a straight line.

The races for these cars are only about ¼ mile long. The speeds are quite high with the cars competing the course in less than 5 seconds. A top fuel racer will accelerate from 0 – 100 in 0.8 seconds, which is less than one-tenth of the time it would take a Porsche to do the same thing.

Before cars start a race, they must do a burnout. This is the practice of keeping the car in a stationary position with the wheels spinning to cause the tires to heat up because of the friction. This is necessary to cause the tires to develop a sticky layer of rubber, to remove any debris from the tires and to coat the track with rubber to improve the traction when starting the race.

The top fuel drag racing cars are known for the loud noise that comes from them and for the vibrations that they cause for onlookers. Spectators are advised to wear earmuffs or some ear protection against the noise.

The nitromethane used in the fuel absorbs a substantial amount of heat from the engine as it vaporizes. This becomes an invaluable cooling mechanism for the car. Nitromethane is slow to ignite, which means that some of the fuel remains in the exhaust pipe and ignites when it comes in contact with the oxygen, which is what causes the yellow flame to come from the cars when they take off.

The engines used in the cars for top fuel drag racing are closely monitored. Displacement is limited to 500cc, with the customary dimensions being a 106.4 mm bore with a 114.3 stroke. The blocked is CNC machined from forged aluminium and has press-fitted ductile iron liners. The cylinder heads are made from aluminium billets and do not have any water jackets. This means they rely on the incoming artificial air for cooling. Both the camshafts and crankshafts are made of steel with connecting rods made from forged aluminium.