Even if you’re not into cars or racing, it’s totally worth it to go to a NHRA drag race and see the top fuel cars run. There’s nothing else in the world like it.
I'll never forget my first one. After that I tell everyone that watching a top fuel race is a must bucket list item. There is no way to explain it with words to someone who has never seen it in person.
It’s very common to see people cry after they witness their first top fuel pass lol I was 5 when I had my first top fuel experience. All I can remember is not being able to breath for a few seconds after they passed. I didn’t know wtf just happened but I momentarily forgot how to breathe and I had my first erection
I just saw my first yesterday and I was speechless, when I heard that first start up and felt the body shaking, all the hairs on me were standing…it was an experience I’ll never forget and definitely won’t be the last
Being there is still the only way to truly appreciate the insanity. From the full body traumatic shock at green when they launch, to waiting at the finish, seeing a puff of smoke, then hear a bomb blow up, then a screaming blur that you hurt your neck trying to follow, all in less than 5 seconds! Even the day goes super fast!!
I spent alot of time at tracks. I grew up around building cars. I was in a car seat in the garage. My dad painted and helped build old 60's drags. And some short rail dragsters. The feeling of the vibration, the smell of burnt rubber, the crowds screaming, the load exhaust. I miss it all. I miss going with my dad seeing the car him telling me everything about each car. Building my knowledge so much. Now days I can finally say I know more then my dad about vehicles in general. But his old stories, the arts and crafts of cars they made and raced will never get old. The old sock tricks, the old pop can exhausts. Making gaskets. Oh man I wish I could have lived them days. It's not the same. You break something and make it better the next day.
Words, even lots of really fancy ones,cannot capture the intensity of two top fuel dragsters fully hooked up for a 1/4mile run. And sadly , there is no way to experience that anymore. 1000feet just doesn’t create the viciousness at the top end.
My first NHRA experience was at The Rock dude. I was 8 years old, and I have $13,000 dollars worth of tickets to pay off to prove, that day changed my life 😂😂🙄
My first time ever going to the drag races at rt 66 in Joliet Illinois after it was over I went to a party I was only like 14 the cops came and they said I was the most messed up person there because my eyes were still beat red from being in the pits when they fire the engines and I literally just got to the party so I was the only sober one there and they thought I was the most intoxicated lol god I love drag racing
If your sitting in the stands at half track , when the dragster leaves, it moves a full length of the car before you ever hear it !!!! Not only do you hear it , you feel it !!!! 😃
i saw a video on here from Don Shumacher racing, top fuel rail reaches 100mph in it's own length (that's 300 inches) fuel tank is 16 gal. delivered to the engine through a 2in. fuel line. th-cam.com/video/FqH57-qJc9Q/w-d-xo.html
Not sure if Norwalk still has the stands behind the finish line, but when I was there I wanted to get another perspective. When the fuel cars did their burn outs, you didn't hear the cars until they were already backing up! I wasn't disappointed with that perspective. What a blast!
And if you are foolish enough to stand next to one without ear muffs at the starting line when he blips the throttle you may pop your ear drums , dont ask me how i know that :) .
@@mikldude9376 I was the starter for over 5 years at drag racing tracks in Vic Australia and have a damaged left ear from a nitro funny car launching and its exhaust blew one side of my headset off.
@@mrkingjesse378 thats literally what separating hydrogen from its bonds means.....it's separating the hydrogen ATOMS from the oxygen ATOM theyre BONDED to forming H2O
@@StygianBlood maybe because fission is defined as splitting. I know it’s just words that both pretty much mean the same, but you know how “technical” some keyboard warriors can get.🤷🏻♂️
You've really put it in my mind what real acceleration is. Cannot unsee the corvette getting passed rolling 200mph withing 3 seconds from a vehicle at standstill.
There is a YT video with Cruz Pedrogon (I'm sure I butchered the last name) TF/FC simulating something similar to this I've seen a while back against a 700hp race truck.
El diseño de los dragster, no es tan bueno, puedo mejorarlos y bajar un 20% o mas sus tiempos, para que sean mejores que un fany-car... hablemos sin bromas...❤
@@DaOneJoel because if you're going to make money by making videos, you should at least invest in your tools. for fucks sake, nothing in life is free. it looks amateurish as hell. i would expect this out of a child who doesn't know any better.
💥😳 Yeah, but this was produced 17 years ago, and now they are significantly more powerful than they were at this point in 2003! In the mid 80s TF dragsters produced roughly 2,500-3,000hp. In 2016 they were reaching over 10,000hp! I don't know what the horsepower was in 2003, but I'd bet it was at least a couple thousand hp less than right now! That means the physics are even more ridiculous than when this was produced...
I once read about the Saturn 5 rocket first stage engines. Each first stage engine fuel pump was driven by a 50 000hp motor. The five engines combined produced something ridiculous like 80 times as much energy as the Hoover dam. It accelerated at 4,5g for two and a half minutes. By then it was 60km from the launch pad. As Einstein said, it's all relative!
One of those engines created the thrust of four space shuttles including their solid fuel booster rockets. And the first stage of the Saturn V had five of them. So it was a total of twenty space shuttle start combinations. What a sick beast.
It also gulps fuel at the rate of 15 TONS per second for nearly 2 1/2 minutes! That's why it stands 365 ft. tall. It's basically a fuel tank over 100yds. tall.
The most insane part is that none of the engineers that knew how to fire up the Saturn V's engines are alive today and they never wrote it down!! No one alive could launch a Saturn V today... they don't know HOW!
You'd have to find a track that had staging lanes that were straight and long enough. The only track I've been to that had staging lanes that are straight was Bandimere, but not sure if it would be long enough for the 'vette to reach 200.
It’s only a presumption .At 200 mph off the start line,I don’t the TF car would beat him to the finish line,to the sand trap maybe but not the finish line.
me too. they would have to do this on a long stretch of very level smooth highway and the timing would have to be exactly perfect. was thinking if the vette crossing the line triggered the dragster to launch and not leave it up to the driver. make it unmanned even on rails so the driver doesnt need to be overly prepared. cuz i dont think he could be that precise unless its him hitting the pedal.
@@blastermaster2383 The TF Dragster is going over 200mph before it hits 660'. But the 1000foot mark, its already hitting over 300mph. From Start to finish, the Corvette barely has gained 3mph that entire 1/4mile distance. The math says the Corvette loses every time, unless the Dragster breaks something.
My cousin raced dirt oval for years, he used to laugh and make fun of my drag racing saying that it didn't take skill and anyone can do it. I took him on a full throttle pass in a mid 8 aluminum Belvidere, he changed his mind about the subject while changing his pants afterwards
When you hit the finish line you're still pulling nearly positive 4 G's, then the shute opens and you're hard on the brakes, now you've got negative 5 G's. After a week end of racing John (Force) told me that the team wants to celebrate he wants to go to bed or at times going to the hospital because his eyeballs are totally blood shot and hurting and your stomach, muscles aches. So if you want to drag race some one try it, you might like it.
Well done! To update to the year 2020, the Top Fuelers are now only running for 1000 feet instead of the 1320 foot quarter mile. They are running well over 330 mph in 1000 feet with one nitro funny car hitting an astounding 339.97 mph in 3.8 seconds. Fuel flow is 115 gallons per MINUTE! I used to fly a Boeing 767-300 and the fuel flow on both engines combined on takeoff is less than the one engine on a Top Fuel car. They are routinely hitting 292 mph in the 1/8th mile in 2.9 seconds. One car hit an astounding 299 mph in the 1/8th mile in 2.7 seconds. That’s zero to 299 mph in 660 feet. The the exhaust headers produce over 6000 pound of jet thrust, more than both engines combined on some corporate jets. 6000 pounds of thrust is equivalent to 2200 shaft horsepower. And THIS is the modern Top Fuel Dragster at the end of the 2020 racing season. Nothing less than astounding.
Hey Joel, although I've watched drag racing since the early 60's (a minor interest), I never considered the "thrust" aspect that you explained and I found that interesting...thrust, downforce and tire cleaning all from properly positioned header pipes... I remember when anything over 200 and less than 8 sec. was fantastic.
@@markmark2080 I agree. when I was a spectator in the 1960s, when an 8 second car pulled to the line, we all stood up to watch the run. Now I race a street legal Suzuki drag bike and make 8 second passes at 165 mph and no one stands or even thinks twice bout the numbers I put on the score boards. As for the exhaust thrust, I am a retired airline pilot and have over 20,000 hours flying jets so I understand that part of the incredible Top Fuel Dragster engine. Thanks for your response to my post! Go on TH-cam and type Joel Turpin in the search window and you can watch my racing and flying videos.
@@MrSuzuki1187 Thanks, will do. You still have that "need for speed", huh? Take care, crazy times, the 50's and 60's were some golden years for many things, I'm thankful I got to spend my childhood there.
@@orppranator5230 Thanks for your reply which got me wondering right away, so I did a little math....2.5" headers = 39 sq. in.(8 cylinders) and 2.75" = 47 sq. in....Take either of those areas X's 150 psi (a pulled out of the air low estimate) exhaust gas pressure at the outlet of the headers and we are at 6000 lbs. easy. Header thrust is something I never thought about before but 6000 could be conservative... I pulled up a couple "header shop" ads to get the sizes and the pictures showed a heavily braced build like it was going to handle some serious force.
I remember the feeling I had the very first time I witnessed, in person at track side in Nevada, a top fuel funny car run. The immense power harnessed inside that vehicle transferred to the wheels, aside from a space shuttle launch, to date has left an impression of accomplishing the near impossible. The energy produced to send sound waves into my body so powerful can only be compared to an explosive artillery round or bomb released in combat. Except it’s not released! It’s harnessed and utilized. I’m floored with amazement every time ai experience it.
But those are actual explosions inside of engine cylinders shortly sustained by valves and after short utilization valves are opened and explosion travels through the air just like bomb explosion
Starting line volume of sound is hard to describe. I used to live 27kms across the flats from the South Australian Adelaide international raceway. (from my driveway to the carpark) On nights when top fuelers were running, i could hear them hit the loud peddle and roaring down the strip from my place, above the usual volume of my TV. Insane amount of noise at the starting line.
@@colb9916 You’re absolutely right. I’m a retired soldier who was stationed at Ft. Bragg for 24 years. Rockingham Motor Speedway, now just Rockingham Drag-strip is 15-35 miles from a training area, Camp Mackall. I’ve spent ALLOT of time there, when they’d have NHRA night events there it was so loud we would use the sound for cover practicing raids. Insane.
villen.... not sure "when" (time era) you were a kid.... but I can relate to your comment, especially when I got a new pair of Keds sneakers !! lol..... late 1950s... some of the last of the really good years of this country, in Many ways.. sadly!
@@klntym who's not to bright? vintage? It was from 2003 they were using rear engine dragsters then.they started using rear engine dragsters in the early 70's know what your commenting about before you comment
@@PrimedEvil388 - The car depicted was a nostalgia TF car. They are front engined cars and use a very small 12” slick. They are limited to a single magneto, a small 6/71 blower and one small(ish) fuel pump. The fastest nostalgia dragsters run mid 5 second 1/4 mile at about 260 MPH. A nostalgia dragster would get gapped by about 500’ by a modern TF car.
And now they have as of 2008 knocked off more than a football field 320' too 1000' light to light. The fastest speed achieved in a National Hot Rod Association race in the Top Fuel class is 338.17 mph (544.23 km/h), by Brittany Force (USA) at the Dodge NHRA Nationals on 1 November 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Force’s record-breaking run came during qualifying. She crossed the line in 3.659 seconds.
At the 1:27 mark the narrator is discussing the ignition and says that the distributor is putting out 44 amps. As the measure of power in an engine is horsepower, the measure for electricity is WATTS. The formula for calculating watts is: volts x amps = watts. The MSD distributors are spec'd to put out 44 amps at 50,000 volts, which equals 2,200,000 watts. It would make for a very powerful welder indeed. Or 2,200 lightbulbs of 100 watts each.
Cackle! I am new to motor sports, since giving up on football, basketball, baseball and women’s soccer after 40 years. Few months ago, one night, i click on dragsters. Top fuel. The sound they make gives me goosebumps. Raw. Power. I’ve never even been a ‘Motörhead’ or a car guy. I’m a retired police officer, but, HOLY S**T!!! That is the most awesome sound ever produced, right after ‘sir, fresh donuts just came out of the fryer’.
@@Lucas12v my first observed top fuel run, i was 1/3 the way down the track, everyone had ear plugs in and i'm like i wanna experience *ALL* of this - never before had i heard a sound completely *fill* such a large open space plugged my ears after that! specially seeing a jet powered truck was next down the track
As the description says, this story ran in automobile in 2003. Since 2008, top fuel cars only run 1000ft...but the top speed records have still been broken.
Rip RMR.. the last pass of the video was my home track. Rocky Mountain Raceways Closed 2018. I was lucky enough to win my first race at the tracks last race. And was in the final “final round”. So sad:(
My grandfather always explained it as lighting a stick of dynamite that last for 3 seconds when it comes to the amount of force these engines make from the fuel used.
You NEED to witness it in person, anywhere within 500 miles. I suggest Friday, because Sat & Sun are too crowded and expensive($30 vs $50-75). Walk between start & finish line for perspective(most racers sit at the finish). If Not included, get the Pit Pass. NOTHING on TH-cam can get you ready for it. To be slimey, it's the difference between Porn & the Real Thing. Bring earplugs, even toilet paper--PERIOD! Tell me how your chest feels.
@@ronmcmartin4513 Although I have been to the U.S. Nationals multiple times, sitting many places along the track, I have not been able to talk my wife or daughter into going. I have a promise from my wife to go this year! Get her down in g.a. where your eyeballs vibrate ,and the stomach flips. Down past where the clutches lock. Priceless!
@@bradley-eblesisor--Thanks for the reply. Everything I said was true, wasn't it? My brother & I started going to San Fernando Dragstrip in 1962. It was $1.50 for an adult to get in, kids under 12 were free. We would get 4 other kids, at 25 cents each to have an adult drive us 3 miles from home to get in. Then, walk home. My brother worked on pit crews, for manufacturers, was a part-owner of a mfg, and still works part time in sales for a mfg. I'm just a fan, and still go to Pomona for at least one of the two races each year.
You can feel you bones rattling and your teeth chattering and your vision blurring from just sitting in the stands and watching these things I can’t imagine how it would feel to drive one
Just to clarify, to go from 0 to 300mph (500kmh~) in a quarter mile, you definitely don't need more than 4 or 5 sustained g's, and reaching 8g at the start? It would simply be very difficult, since that is precisely the moment when there is the least grip. And assuming that it were like that, then practically from the middle of the road it would already reach 300mph and the rest would be practically at the same speed, which is not the case.
My nerd self just blew everywhere. Engines and cars are badass. Knowing the specs of that badassness is exotic to the car guy parts. The chevy corvette is still faster than the space shuttle in the first 60 seconds. Yes, hauling ass is bliss that life can't ever complete.
Extremely informative and entertaining video. I am trying hard to finish this comment without using expletives on how amazing these vehicles are. I always thought that a person who relied on profanity had a limited vocabulary, but I don't think anyone would blame me for the solid 'F-bombs' I am saying right now. This video is incredible. How can you describe this without the 'F' word?
I use the f bomb when describing the weather or telling the time. I promise you I am no half witt. Nothing wrong with a fuck or two. It is as far as I can tell, the single most versatile word in the English fucking language. Prove me wrong. You can't.
Oh my dear God! I swear to all the powers that be that I made this exact analogy 2 years ago. Doing the math myself. It was astounding. Thank you for verifying it.
The rear wing applies around 8,000 lbs of downforce. Watch the rear tire in slomo as the rubber struggles to keep up with the wheel. There's also a Zootube video that demos a TFD fuel injector in a transparent cylinder. Awesome video!
Some years ago in my 88 Turbo Supra I was on the freeway and attempted a similar pass of what appeared to be a stock WS6. It wasn't, and the "race" went basically as described- I flew past him at like 110 pedal to the medal when he hit it, caught up and overtook me. I don't know wtf he had under the hood but it was scary fast.
2 things, prolly wasn't a 2 j-zed, and it wasn't prolly suped up, the gearing on those along with a minor modifications to the bangers are enough to get you 1500 HP.
@@theenzoferrari458 It was an older one, 7mgte not a 2j, and it only had some minor mods (3 in exhaust, intake, boost controller, etc) so it wasn't super fast -- but it was fast to me at the time LOL
I've seen Top Fuel cars doing runs hundreds of times on TV a couple times in real life, but it never fails to blow my mind how fast those freaking Things Are. Insanity to the max times infinity WTF crazy fast
The stat that blew me away is, If the top fuel dragster was sitting at the line ready to go, and the green light for the dragster was triggered by a car that crossed that start line travelling at 200mph, the dragster would catch, pass and gap the car that was travelling at 200mph before the finishing line a 1/4 mile away.
Nothing can be said or shown here that shows you what these things do. No matter how much you aren't interested in cars, go see one of these events where there's the top fuel (dragster and funny car) class. It's one memory worthy of taking to your grave.
The high Gs at launch tracks well with a top-fuel driver friend’s comment years ago. I just asked a general question such as what’s it like. He only mentioned the launch, reporting that the very hardest part for the driver is seeing through distorted eyes severely compressed by launch Gs. That and somehow reaching the shift device to grab second gear. That brief conversation has stuck with me for 25 years.
Tried drag racing for a bit, bunch of my friends were doing it. Made no sense to me. Do all that work and try to drive it the least amount of time possible. Turns out, I like driving. Started doing dirt ovals, now it's all GT and rally. A 24 hour is on the schedule this year. You all have fun.
44 freaking amps.... perspective your typical aftermarket msd ignition setup is 300-400 milliamps.......44 frigging amps... holy fk. Instant death being hit by that
It was a bit of an exaggeration to say that's the output of a welder though. Although you may occasionally weld at 40 amos or less, nearly all welders can output at least 100 amps. Still a ridiculous amount for an ignition system though.
Why spend 5 minutes talking about top fuel dragsters from an article posted almost two decades ago...and then finish up the video with a dragster run thats NOT top fuel???
With all the videos available It’s a shame you didn’t search for one that represented the VERY interesting and informative top fuel dragster video you created
There was this physics talk(I believe by MythBusters), not related to this, but interesting, it goes: if you driver 100mph the whole time, an pass a starting line, at the same time a car stars and goes to 200mph by the end of the finish line, you’ll still be faster, only by like 1/100 or so of a seconds. Basically if you calculate the physics of accelerating object vs object moving at certain speed, bluh bluh bluh. So yeah.
When you take a person to a top fuel race…watching their face on the green light…feel that vibrations go thru your body….the smell of nitro….they will never forget
In the 80s, TNN, The Nashville Network, used to show NHRA drag racist every Saturday and Sunday. I've watched hundreds of hours in my 50 years, and I've only seen a video view one time that actually made me realize how fast these cars launch. Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden had a camera mounted to the rear deck, under the glass, in the rear of his car pointing straight back. This is where little dogs like to lay in the car in a long trip. His wife was standing behind the car when it launched. How fast they separated and she was in the distance was incredible. I never saw that camera angle again. Mounting cameras facing forward does NOT do it justice.
I've heard that statement about the too fuel overtaking a car with a 200mph flying start before. Has this ever been actually done and is there a video?
I received this entire script, mostly word for word, back in 2004-ish, which is why the record times dated back to 2003 etc. The end has been changed to suit the American audience, as the original, which I still have, had a 500cc GP bike being run hard up thru the gears - that's why it was nearly blown off the track. That last footage really should have been a T/F Dragster.
Went to National Speedway on L.I. many years ago and got to see Shirley Muldowny race. Down near the finish line was very scary. Hard to believe even back then how fast they ran! 👍😁🌿
The comment section used to be something good to read now it's always a war and an argument. Big men behind the internet key board. Same thing back in the days of CB radio.
So, if you lived 1/4 mile from the grocery store and the store closes in 5 seconds....you have plenty of time.
Lol... hey Steve.... that's the best comment on YT, Ever.
Nah... 'cause you'd blast a half mile past the store before the parachutes stopped you. 😄
If you had said the package store, I might have believed it! Lol - great comment Dude!
...as long as there were no corners to negotiate :)
The most underrated comment ever
Even if you’re not into cars or racing, it’s totally worth it to go to a NHRA drag race and see the top fuel cars run. There’s nothing else in the world like it.
For Sure the Best racing in the world. nothing is as awesome as fuel Racing
I miss the drag strip we had in Fremont, California. I got to see the Snake race the Mongoose there (Hot Wheel fans will know who I speak of).
I'll never forget my first one. After that I tell everyone that watching a top fuel race is a must bucket list item. There is no way to explain it with words to someone who has never seen it in person.
It’s very common to see people cry after they witness their first top fuel pass lol I was 5 when I had my first top fuel experience. All I can remember is not being able to breath for a few seconds after they passed. I didn’t know wtf just happened but I momentarily forgot how to breathe and I had my first erection
I just saw my first yesterday and I was speechless, when I heard that first start up and felt the body shaking, all the hairs on me were standing…it was an experience I’ll never forget and definitely won’t be the last
Being there is still the only way to truly appreciate the insanity. From the full body traumatic shock at green when they launch, to waiting at the finish, seeing a puff of smoke, then hear a bomb blow up, then a screaming blur that you hurt your neck trying to follow, all in less than 5 seconds! Even the day goes super fast!!
I spent alot of time at tracks. I grew up around building cars. I was in a car seat in the garage. My dad painted and helped build old 60's drags. And some short rail dragsters. The feeling of the vibration, the smell of burnt rubber, the crowds screaming, the load exhaust. I miss it all. I miss going with my dad seeing the car him telling me everything about each car. Building my knowledge so much. Now days I can finally say I know more then my dad about vehicles in general. But his old stories, the arts and crafts of cars they made and raced will never get old. The old sock tricks, the old pop can exhausts. Making gaskets. Oh man I wish I could have lived them days. It's not the same. You break something and make it better the next day.
Words, even lots of really fancy ones,cannot capture the intensity of two top fuel dragsters fully hooked up for a 1/4mile run.
And sadly , there is no way to experience that anymore.
1000feet just doesn’t create the viciousness at the top end.
My first NHRA experience was at The Rock dude. I was 8 years old, and I have $13,000 dollars worth of tickets to pay off to prove, that day changed my life 😂😂🙄
@@jewbabydono reasons my gf won't let me build cars any more. 🤷♂️
My first time ever going to the drag races at rt 66 in Joliet Illinois after it was over I went to a party I was only like 14 the cops came and they said I was the most messed up person there because my eyes were still beat red from being in the pits when they fire the engines and I literally just got to the party so I was the only sober one there and they thought I was the most intoxicated lol god I love drag racing
So it's like when v-tech kicks in on my 94 prelude...got it.
Ya dude...!
Yup same thing! It's amazing those vtecs are street legal!
Prelude squad just rolled up hide yo girl
🤣😂🤣
@@notasian7620 watch out for THOSE guys...🤣🤣🤣
If your sitting in the stands at half track , when the dragster leaves, it moves a full length of the car before you ever hear it !!!! Not only do you hear it , you feel it !!!! 😃
i saw a video on here from Don Shumacher racing, top fuel rail reaches 100mph in it's own length (that's 300 inches) fuel tank is 16 gal. delivered to the engine through a 2in. fuel line. th-cam.com/video/FqH57-qJc9Q/w-d-xo.html
Not sure if Norwalk still has the stands behind the finish line, but when I was there I wanted to get another perspective. When the fuel cars did their burn outs, you didn't hear the cars until they were already backing up! I wasn't disappointed with that perspective. What a blast!
And if you are foolish enough to stand next to one without ear muffs at the starting line when he blips the throttle you may pop your ear drums , dont ask me how i know that :) .
@@mikldude9376 I was the starter for over 5 years at drag racing tracks in Vic Australia and have a damaged left ear from a nitro funny car launching and its exhaust blew one side of my headset off.
@@mikldude9376 "you may pop your ear drums" - would you repeat that a bit more loudly please so I can hear you this time?
I cannot believe he just casually glosses over the fact that the engine is SEPARATING HYDROGEN FROM ITS BONDS AND BURNING IT
He casually really doesn't understand it he's just reading off a piece of paper it's just a script for him
No. Its separating hydrogen from water. Not separating The atom itself. Thats called a nuclear bomb.
@@joachimsingh2929 it says hydrogen from it’s bonds. You’re the only one talking about separating atoms dummy
@@mrkingjesse378 thats literally what separating hydrogen from its bonds means.....it's separating the hydrogen ATOMS from the oxygen ATOM theyre BONDED to forming H2O
@@StygianBlood maybe because fission is defined as splitting. I know it’s just words that both pretty much mean the same, but you know how “technical” some keyboard warriors can get.🤷🏻♂️
You've really put it in my mind what real acceleration is. Cannot unsee the corvette getting passed rolling 200mph withing 3 seconds from a vehicle at standstill.
There is a YT video with Cruz Pedrogon (I'm sure I butchered the last name) TF/FC simulating something similar to this I've seen a while back against a 700hp race truck.
Me 2
However the corvette will keep going and the other one will need a rebuild 😏 acceleration is cool and all but when reliability is 0%, meeeh
@@tokehgekko9455 too fuel isn’t made to drive to the grocery store ya cock boner
El diseño de los dragster, no es tan bueno, puedo mejorarlos y bajar un 20% o mas sus tiempos, para que sean mejores que un fany-car... hablemos sin bromas...❤
0:33 Bruh he coulda at leased found a pic of an actual Hemi
why would he rent a picture?
I’m glad someone said it lol
bEaUTifUl 3.6 L V6
@@DaOneJoel because if you're going to make money by making videos, you should at least invest in your tools. for fucks sake, nothing in life is free. it looks amateurish as hell. i would expect this out of a child who doesn't know any better.
@@IzajResGS you can literally find hundreds of photos of genus for free
All that talk about fast top fuelers... then you show a video of a 6 sec pass from a nostalgia car....
with a donovan no less
Exactly. This car would barely pass 1/2 track by the time a modern TF car passed the 1/4 mile finish line.
No kidding!!
Still shooting white flames out of zoomies!
🤣🤣🤣 you neva lied bro.
Excellent layman explanation of how surreal these things actually are 👍
💥😳 Yeah, but this was produced 17 years ago, and now they are significantly more powerful than they were at this point in 2003! In the mid 80s TF dragsters produced roughly 2,500-3,000hp. In 2016 they were reaching over 10,000hp! I don't know what the horsepower was in 2003, but I'd bet it was at least a couple thousand hp less than right now! That means the physics are even more ridiculous than when this was produced...
Sixty Miles an hour in one car length.
I once read about the Saturn 5 rocket first stage engines. Each first stage engine fuel pump was driven by a 50 000hp motor. The five engines combined produced something ridiculous like 80 times as much energy as the Hoover dam. It accelerated at 4,5g for two and a half minutes. By then it was 60km from the launch pad. As Einstein said, it's all relative!
One of those engines created the thrust of four space shuttles including their solid fuel booster rockets. And the first stage of the Saturn V had five of them. So it was a total of twenty space shuttle start combinations. What a sick beast.
Was just thinking the same thing…’now do the Saturn 5’.
And that’s 50+ year old tech.
It also gulps fuel at the rate of 15 TONS per second for nearly 2 1/2 minutes! That's why it stands 365 ft. tall. It's basically a fuel tank over 100yds. tall.
The most insane part is that none of the engineers that knew how to fire up the Saturn V's engines are alive today and they never wrote it down!! No one alive could launch a Saturn V today... they don't know HOW!
@@tubedude54 It would also be too expensive to do it. It was only possible because of the cold war.
I wish someone would actually play out that corvette drag race scenario!
You'd have to find a track that had staging lanes that were straight and long enough.
The only track I've been to that had staging lanes that are straight was Bandimere, but not sure if it would be long enough for the 'vette to reach 200.
It’s only a presumption .At 200 mph off the start line,I don’t the TF car would beat him to the finish line,to the sand trap maybe but not the finish line.
@@blastermaster2383 right because the t/f would catch the vette at 660' and pass him like he was standing still.
me too. they would have to do this on a long stretch of very level smooth highway and the timing would have to be exactly perfect.
was thinking if the vette crossing the line triggered the dragster to launch and not leave it up to the driver. make it unmanned even on rails so the driver doesnt need to be overly prepared. cuz i dont think he could be that precise unless its him hitting the pedal.
@@blastermaster2383 The TF Dragster is going over 200mph before it hits 660'. But the 1000foot mark, its already hitting over 300mph. From Start to finish, the Corvette barely has gained 3mph that entire 1/4mile distance. The math says the Corvette loses every time, unless the Dragster breaks something.
My cousin raced dirt oval for years, he used to laugh and make fun of my drag racing saying that it didn't take skill and anyone can do it. I took him on a full throttle pass in a mid 8 aluminum Belvidere, he changed his mind about the subject while changing his pants afterwards
This has been floating the web for almost 20 years so I thank you for making it into this video.
When you hit the finish line you're still pulling nearly positive 4 G's, then the shute opens and you're hard on the brakes, now you've got negative 5 G's. After a week end of racing John (Force) told me that the team wants to celebrate he wants to go to bed or at times going to the hospital because his eyeballs are totally blood shot and hurting and your stomach, muscles aches. So if you want to drag race some one try it, you might like it.
Well done! To update to the year 2020, the Top Fuelers are now only running for 1000 feet instead of the 1320 foot quarter mile. They are running well over 330 mph in 1000 feet with one nitro funny car hitting an astounding 339.97 mph in 3.8 seconds. Fuel flow is 115 gallons per MINUTE! I used to fly a Boeing 767-300 and the fuel flow on both engines combined on takeoff is less than the one engine on a Top Fuel car. They are routinely hitting 292 mph in the 1/8th mile in 2.9 seconds. One car hit an astounding 299 mph in the 1/8th mile in 2.7 seconds. That’s zero to 299 mph in 660 feet. The the exhaust headers produce over 6000 pound of jet thrust, more than both engines combined on some corporate jets. 6000 pounds of thrust is equivalent to 2200 shaft horsepower. And THIS is the modern Top Fuel Dragster at the end of the 2020 racing season. Nothing less than astounding.
Hey Joel, although I've watched drag racing since the early 60's (a minor interest), I never considered the "thrust" aspect that you explained and I found that interesting...thrust, downforce and tire cleaning all from properly positioned header pipes... I remember when anything over 200 and less than 8 sec. was fantastic.
@@markmark2080 I agree. when I was a spectator in the 1960s, when an 8 second car pulled to the line, we all stood up to watch the run. Now I race a street legal Suzuki drag bike and make 8 second passes at 165 mph and no one stands or even thinks twice bout the numbers I put on the score boards. As for the exhaust thrust, I am a retired airline pilot and have over 20,000 hours flying jets so I understand that part of the incredible Top Fuel Dragster engine. Thanks for your response to my post! Go on TH-cam and type Joel Turpin in the search window and you can watch my racing and flying videos.
@@MrSuzuki1187 Thanks, will do. You still have that "need for speed", huh? Take care, crazy times, the 50's and 60's were some golden years for many things, I'm thankful I got to spend my childhood there.
Pretty sure it’s 600 lbs of thrust, not 6000
@@orppranator5230 Thanks for your reply which got me wondering right away, so I did a little math....2.5" headers = 39 sq. in.(8 cylinders) and 2.75" = 47 sq. in....Take either of those areas X's 150 psi (a pulled out of the air low estimate) exhaust gas pressure at the outlet of the headers and we are at 6000 lbs. easy. Header thrust is something I never thought about before but 6000 could be conservative... I pulled up a couple "header shop" ads to get the sizes and the pictures showed a heavily braced build like it was going to handle some serious force.
Missed the most impressive stat, 0 to 100mph in .8 seconds!
That is very hard to comprehend. Nothing accelerates faster than a top fueler.
thats bloody crazy
@@scottcupp8129
Running away from a crazed wife.
@@Mr.Robert1 LMFAO. My ex was so crazy that I could hit the speed of light when she went for the knife!
That’s totally awesome!
I remember the feeling I had the very first time I witnessed, in person at track side in Nevada, a top fuel funny car run. The immense power harnessed inside that vehicle transferred to the wheels, aside from a space shuttle launch, to date has left an impression of accomplishing the near impossible. The energy produced to send sound waves into my body so powerful can only be compared to an explosive artillery round or bomb released in combat. Except it’s not released! It’s harnessed and utilized. I’m floored with amazement every time ai experience it.
But those are actual explosions inside of engine cylinders shortly sustained by valves and after short utilization valves are opened and explosion travels through the air just like bomb explosion
Starting line volume of sound is hard to describe.
I used to live 27kms across the flats from the South Australian Adelaide international raceway. (from my driveway to the carpark)
On nights when top fuelers were running, i could hear them hit the loud peddle and roaring down the strip from my place, above the usual volume of my TV.
Insane amount of noise at the starting line.
@@colb9916 You’re absolutely right. I’m a retired soldier who was stationed at Ft. Bragg for 24 years. Rockingham Motor Speedway, now just Rockingham Drag-strip is 15-35 miles from a training area, Camp Mackall. I’ve spent ALLOT of time there, when they’d have NHRA night events there it was so loud we would use the sound for cover practicing raids. Insane.
Reminds me how I felt every time I got new shoes as a kid
It’s still early but this comment should be in the top ten for 2021 :)
This shit made me smile
Rodney Carrington haha.
villen.... not sure "when" (time era) you were a kid.... but I can relate to your comment, especially when I got a new pair of Keds sneakers !! lol..... late 1950s... some of the last of the really good years of this country, in Many ways.. sadly!
Yup, they joy of youth cannot be copied as adults. Less understanding born again
They could have at least used a real t/f dragster at the end
Front engine mounted slow piece of shite.
Ahhh....you noticed!
Your not to bright are you? This is a vintage article and this is what was driven when it was wrote.
@@klntym who's not to bright? vintage? It was from 2003 they were using rear engine dragsters then.they started using rear engine dragsters in the early 70's know what your commenting about before you comment
@@PrimedEvil388 - The car depicted was a nostalgia TF car. They are front engined cars and use a very small 12” slick. They are limited to a single magneto, a small 6/71 blower and one small(ish) fuel pump. The fastest nostalgia dragsters run mid 5 second 1/4 mile at about 260 MPH. A nostalgia dragster would get gapped by about 500’ by a modern TF car.
Nothing compares, I love to take newbies and watch the sheer shock and speechless reactions.
Some of the best TH-cam videos are Top Fuel Virgin Fans reactions
And now they have as of 2008 knocked off more than a football field 320' too 1000' light to light. The fastest speed achieved in a National Hot Rod Association race in the Top Fuel class is 338.17 mph (544.23 km/h), by Brittany Force (USA) at the Dodge NHRA Nationals on 1 November 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Force’s record-breaking run came during qualifying. She crossed the line in 3.659 seconds.
0:32 you gotta love how he talks about a Hemi V8 while showing a 3.6 V6 from a Camry
...thats a Mopar Pentastar, bud. Longitudinally mounted, at that. Not a Toyota by any means
Definitely not from a Camry. Lmao, nice try dude.
charger , chalnger or 300
At the 1:27 mark the narrator is discussing the ignition and says that the distributor is putting out 44 amps. As the measure of power in an engine is horsepower, the measure for electricity is WATTS. The formula for calculating watts is: volts x amps = watts. The MSD distributors are spec'd to put out 44 amps at 50,000 volts, which equals 2,200,000 watts. It would make for a very powerful welder indeed. Or 2,200 lightbulbs of 100 watts each.
Cackle! I am new to motor sports, since giving up on football, basketball, baseball and women’s soccer after 40 years. Few months ago, one night, i click on dragsters. Top fuel. The sound they make gives me goosebumps. Raw. Power. I’ve never even been a ‘Motörhead’ or a car guy. I’m a retired police officer, but, HOLY S**T!!! That is the most awesome sound ever produced, right after ‘sir, fresh donuts just came out of the fryer’.
She you're in the stands, you don't so much hear these engines as you FEEL them.
As cool as they are in a video, it's an order of magnitude more impressive in person. At least for me.
@@Lucas12v
my first observed top fuel run, i was 1/3 the way down the track, everyone had ear plugs in and i'm like i wanna experience *ALL* of this - never before had i heard a sound completely *fill* such a large open space
plugged my ears after that! specially seeing a jet powered truck was next down the track
@@andyman8630 did pretty much the same
I’m just glad you talked about a lingenfelter z06
Years ago there was a series of facts that was published. I can't remember where it was from, but this dude is reading that word for word
You remember a series of facts from years ago,word for word,but not where you read it.Maybe he wrote it.
That last shot made me realize how much I miss that 4 quarter mile blast
Amazing people dreamed these machines up, then actually built them.
christophermorales1509 And what do you bet most of them have never been to "college". Just a can do attitude.
@@lilorbielilorbie2496 What would you like to bet that most of the designers has degrees in engineering?
As the description says, this story ran in automobile in 2003. Since 2008, top fuel cars only run 1000ft...but the top speed records have still been broken.
Rip RMR.. the last pass of the video was my home track. Rocky Mountain Raceways Closed 2018. I was lucky enough to win my first race at the tracks last race. And was in the final “final round”. So sad:(
My grandfather always explained it as lighting a stick of dynamite that last for 3 seconds when it comes to the amount of force these engines make from the fuel used.
Why am I just now seeing this in my suggestions bar? I watch all drag racing videos I can get. Wonderful perspective, my wife even said wow!
You NEED to witness it in person, anywhere within 500 miles. I suggest Friday, because Sat & Sun are too crowded and expensive($30 vs $50-75).
Walk between start & finish line for perspective(most racers sit at the finish). If Not included, get the Pit Pass. NOTHING on TH-cam can get you ready for it.
To be slimey, it's the difference between Porn & the Real Thing. Bring earplugs, even toilet paper--PERIOD! Tell me how your chest feels.
@@ronmcmartin4513 Although I have been to the U.S. Nationals multiple times, sitting many places along the track, I have not been able to talk my wife or daughter into going. I have a promise from my wife to go this year! Get her down in g.a. where your eyeballs vibrate ,and the stomach flips. Down past where the clutches lock. Priceless!
@@bradley-eblesisor--Thanks for the reply. Everything I said was true, wasn't it?
My brother & I started going to San Fernando Dragstrip in 1962. It was $1.50 for an adult to get in, kids under 12 were free. We would get 4 other kids, at 25 cents each to have an adult drive us 3 miles from home to get in. Then, walk home.
My brother worked on pit crews, for manufacturers, was a part-owner of a mfg, and still works part time in sales for a mfg.
I'm just a fan, and still go to Pomona for at least one of the two races each year.
Love it. I like the adjective "unearthly" to describe the sound and experience of being there.
You can feel you bones rattling and your teeth chattering and your vision blurring from just sitting in the stands and watching these things I can’t imagine how it would feel to drive one
It's been a while since the Top Fuel class were front engined.
Hi from NZ,
Anthony.
Yeah.....nothing like all this hype, and then show an older much slower car.
I remember when they wheelied and smoked the whole 1/4 mile ! Ok , not as fast . But what an experience .
Gave me chills........ good job!
By far the greatest "into perspective" video.
Ok....I want a 200mph flying start, and you from a dig.
Top Fuel Dragster: *"Hold my beer..."*
Just to clarify, to go from 0 to 300mph (500kmh~) in a quarter mile, you definitely don't need more than 4 or 5 sustained g's, and reaching 8g at the start? It would simply be very difficult, since that is precisely the moment when there is the least grip. And assuming that it were like that, then practically from the middle of the road it would already reach 300mph and the rest would be practically at the same speed, which is not the case.
My nerd self just blew everywhere. Engines and cars are badass. Knowing the specs of that badassness is exotic to the car guy parts. The chevy corvette is still faster than the space shuttle in the first 60 seconds. Yes, hauling ass is bliss that life can't ever complete.
Nice, short and full of facts. Thank you.
Great video. Excellent narration on acceleration.
Extremely informative and entertaining video. I am trying hard to finish this comment without using expletives on how amazing these vehicles are. I always thought that a person who relied on profanity had a limited vocabulary, but I don't think anyone would blame me for the solid 'F-bombs' I am saying right now. This video is incredible. How can you describe this without the 'F' word?
I use the f bomb when describing the weather or telling the time. I promise you I am no half witt. Nothing wrong with a fuck or two. It is as far as I can tell, the single most versatile word in the English fucking language. Prove me wrong. You can't.
To me, curse words are just sentence enhancers, giving extra emphasis to my meaning.
Great video
Crazy how much flex there is in the dragster's frame.... probably necessary so it doesn't just shatter....lol.
The frame is the suspension.
thank you for putting this into perspective! much appreciated
Oh my dear God! I swear to all the powers that be that I made this exact analogy 2 years ago. Doing the math myself. It was astounding. Thank you for verifying it.
The rear wing applies around 8,000 lbs of downforce. Watch the rear tire in slomo as the rubber struggles to keep up with the wheel. There's also a Zootube video that demos a TFD fuel injector in a transparent cylinder. Awesome video!
There's also around 800 to a 1000 lbs from the exhausts. th-cam.com/video/_MCvu8GEPjA/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=yhachanta2
Outstanding video! That’s a lot of information
I am suddenly terrified even though there is no dragster in sight.
But in about 4 seconds.. there COULD be 👀 watch your back brother
@@AmanJandu Lol good one.
@@AmanJandu Yeah man . Back in the '60s I remember a friend warned , "Just because you're paranoid , doesn't mean they're NOT after you ! "
You'll hear it.
Fantastic info! Thanks so much! Best Regards
Some years ago in my 88 Turbo Supra I was on the freeway and attempted a similar pass of what appeared to be a stock WS6.
It wasn't, and the "race" went basically as described- I flew past him at like 110 pedal to the medal when he hit it, caught up and overtook me. I don't know wtf he had under the hood but it was scary fast.
2 things, prolly wasn't a 2 j-zed, and it wasn't prolly suped up, the gearing on those along with a minor modifications to the bangers are enough to get you 1500 HP.
@@theenzoferrari458 It was an older one, 7mgte not a 2j, and it only had some minor mods (3 in exhaust, intake, boost controller, etc) so it wasn't super fast -- but it was fast to me at the time LOL
Track side is a blast...literally pounding your chest and shaking your head...nitro !
I've seen Top Fuel cars doing runs hundreds of times on TV a couple times in real life, but it never fails to blow my mind how fast those freaking Things Are. Insanity to the max times infinity WTF crazy fast
This was fun!
A pity you didn't use footage from a modern top fuel, but great footage nontheless!
1st thing I thought was , Well at least it's a 392 Hemi(1st gen 392hemi).....then... I wondered if anyone else would catch it.
Super explanations😀thank you
This is great for perspective! Love it ❤
Yep! That 'Vette and dragster video was really something! All that I saw was a noisy, screaming blur pass the ZO-6. MAN, what speed!!!
The stat that blew me away is,
If the top fuel dragster was sitting at the line ready to go, and the green light for the dragster was triggered by a car that crossed that start line travelling at 200mph, the dragster would catch, pass and gap the car that was travelling at 200mph before the finishing line a 1/4 mile away.
Great video! Definitely why I love top fuel!
I imagine the acceleration of a dragster would be comparible to running my mums Hyundai on premium
My Accent is a 5 speed and approaches top fuel performance levels. Really, it does. Trouble is, the CDs keep ejecting when I accelerate.
@@paulhare662 i don't doubt that
It shouldn't be that funny but you got me laughing really good ,thanks man ✌️✌️✌️
@@MrTheHillfolk my work here is done. 👉👍👈
@@waynekerr8003
Yessir , stupendous!
Nothing can be said or shown here that shows you what these things do. No matter how much you aren't interested in cars, go see one of these events where there's the top fuel (dragster and funny car) class. It's one memory worthy of taking to your grave.
Now (2020) ETs are 3.7x something seconds. In the mid 60s ETs were around 8.3 seconds. Very impressive.
Yes...and. AA/SS in 1963 the NHRA record was 12.1 . Now that’s perspective.
And now they are only running 1,000 feet
Puts it into perspective. Mind-blowing.
The high Gs at launch tracks well with a top-fuel driver friend’s comment years ago. I just asked a general question such as what’s it like. He only mentioned the launch, reporting that the very hardest part for the driver is seeing through distorted eyes severely compressed by launch Gs. That and somehow reaching the shift device to grab second gear. That brief conversation has stuck with me for 25 years.
It was great having Shirley for a neighbor. That’s what got me into drag racing.
I had to watch this three times in a row oh yeah!!!
Now THAT was a TH-cam Video!
The fact that the air is so compressed it’s almost a solid in the combustion chamber is amazing to me.
the best breakdown i have heard..i didn't know a few of these
Since most people understand 0-60 times. A very old fact about top fuel dragsters was that they accelerate 0-60 in the length of the car.
Tried drag racing for a bit, bunch of my friends were doing it. Made no sense to me. Do all that work and try to drive it the least amount of time possible.
Turns out, I like driving. Started doing dirt ovals, now it's all GT and rally. A 24 hour is on the schedule this year.
You all have fun.
Hey Brian... nobody cares!
44 freaking amps.... perspective your typical aftermarket msd ignition setup is 300-400 milliamps.......44 frigging amps... holy fk. Instant death being hit by that
Per mag thats 88 together that could power a house with a electric stove and dryer
Not to mention by half track the spark plug electrodes have burnt away and the engine then "diesels' to the finish!!
It was a bit of an exaggeration to say that's the output of a welder though. Although you may occasionally weld at 40 amos or less, nearly all welders can output at least 100 amps. Still a ridiculous amount for an ignition system though.
Yap because it's 44 amps but a damn lot of volts too, It would probably instakill somebody.
@@zoichikanoe6242 2 amps at that voltage can kill. 44???? Fried chicken lol
For reference, the record now, set also by Tony Schumacher in 2018, is 3.659 seconds at 338.17 MPH
You gotta remember though, it's only 1,000ft not a quarter mile.
Ashley Force beat that with a 3.613 pass last year.
Poetry in Motion. Love it!!!
Why spend 5 minutes talking about top fuel dragsters from an article posted almost two decades ago...and then finish up the video with a dragster run thats NOT top fuel???
Probably making money off something he's literally just duplicating
It's a fuel car.....nostalgia fuel...
Better than nothing pretty badass git-r-done
Had to go to 1000' due to not enough stopping distance needed for the even higher speeds today
You know You're going FAST when the telephone poles turn into a picket fence...
Civic owners explaining what their vtec does
hahaha
Very good explanation of some very interesting physics to average Joe people, Thank you.
With all the videos available
It’s a shame you didn’t search for one that represented the VERY interesting and informative top fuel dragster video you created
Colonel John Paul Stapp is laughing from his rocket sled back in 1954 about your 'acceleration perspective'.
Colonel Stapp is a badass!
what were the accelerating g-forces he experienced with that rocket sled?
There was this physics talk(I believe by MythBusters), not related to this, but interesting, it goes: if you driver 100mph the whole time, an pass a starting line, at the same time a car stars and goes to 200mph by the end of the finish line, you’ll still be faster, only by like 1/100 or so of a seconds. Basically if you calculate the physics of accelerating object vs object moving at certain speed, bluh bluh bluh. So yeah.
Excellent perspective with statistics from a physics aspect! Love to see that actually performed! That would be a hell of a video
Top Fuel Railcars are KING!!
When you take a person to a top fuel race…watching their face on the green light…feel that vibrations go thru your body….the smell of nitro….they will never forget
I remember reading by the time the rear tires get to where the front tires started, the car would have already topped 100mph
In the 80s, TNN, The Nashville Network, used to show NHRA drag racist every Saturday and Sunday. I've watched hundreds of hours in my 50 years, and I've only seen a video view one time that actually made me realize how fast these cars launch. Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden had a camera mounted to the rear deck, under the glass, in the rear of his car pointing straight back. This is where little dogs like to lay in the car in a long trip. His wife was standing behind the car when it launched. How fast they separated and she was in the distance was incredible. I never saw that camera angle again. Mounting cameras facing forward does NOT do it justice.
I have been front row watching these machines and it will make your organs rumble. Spectacular. Closest thing to a rocket launch.
Seeing one of these is an experience!!!
The corvette analogy got me
incredible engineering!
I've heard that statement about the too fuel overtaking a car with a 200mph flying start before. Has this ever been actually done and is there a video?
I think there's an older video of Kenny Bernstein 's funny car running down a street car, Budweiser funny car
That’s old info but still an eye opener.👍👍
I received this entire script, mostly word for word, back in 2004-ish, which is why the record times dated back to 2003 etc. The end has been changed to suit the American audience, as the original, which I still have, had a 500cc GP bike being run hard up thru the gears - that's why it was nearly blown off the track. That last footage really should have been a T/F Dragster.
Went to National Speedway on L.I. many years ago and got to see Shirley Muldowny race. Down near the finish line was very scary. Hard to believe even back then how fast they ran! 👍😁🌿
Went to National many times, many trophies were won. Saw them all, the best was Big Daddy Don Garlits in his Swamp Thing, front or rear engin cars.
"Dragsters reach over 300 mph before you have completed reading this sentence" 🤯
🤯🤯🤯
The comment section used to be something good to read now it's always a war and an argument.
Big men behind the internet key board.
Same thing back in the days of CB radio.
Brother -- you got that right.