Top Fuel

[LJ851]

Went and watched the Nitro cars run again today on their yearly stop at Atlanta Dragway. Top Fuel cars are something you need to see at least once in your life, holy shit. 10,000hp of organ vibrating, vision blurring fury.

[lambo]

I went to the mile high nationals when I was a kid. The feeling stuck with me. I need to go back.

[flyboyx]

back in a previous lifetime, i used to fly for connie kallita. i had the good fortune to be called to do a race charter. basically, we picked up the caughlin family(jeggs race team) in ohio or indiana and flew them to brainard minnesota for the northern national race. they won their division so we stayed until very late sunday night. they gave us unlimited passes so we had access to everything...pits... great seats...hospitality suite, etc. it was an entire weekend of balls out straight line racing.

by far the most impressive was top fuel. this would have been about 2 or 3 years before scott kallita died and they shorted the track to, i believe, a fifth mile. at that time, i recall competitive top fuel teams were making around 4800 hp.

it was one hell of a bad ass weekend.

[whodwho]

...Top Fuel cars are something you need to Experience at least once in your life, ...

+1000 but fixed 8^)

You can see them on TV but you can only experience them in person! It's all about sight, smell and feel to get the whole experience.

Make sure you make it down to the start line to watch a couple runs and don't blink or you will miss it.

One of the last ones I went to a couple next to us brought a infant, they had ear plugs but that just doesn't help much when you 'hear' it thru you whole body. 8^(

For someone's first experience you have to also go to the pits and stand behind one of the big boys when they do a first fire up and see if you can make the whole run, it's a gas... 8^)

[Luke_M]

+1

Experience is definitely the right word. It's like a bomb with wheels going off for 4 seconds. Sometimes my vision actually got blurry as they went by. And then you think "Somebody is actually in that thing". Pedal fests are insane as well.

I've read that they use a 3" fuel line. That's just stupid.

[LJ851]

Yeah, experience is the right word.

Got to witness the first 3 second Funny Car pass in Atlanta Dragway's history, that was pretty cool. Vision blurred big time every time the cars went past.

I watched up close about 5-6 nitro cars warm up in the pits, i'm still randomly smelling nitro 24 hours later. The wind changed dramatically during one warmup and i got pummeled by a cloud of fumes. Couldn't breathe, couldn't see, staggering around, it was awesome.

[QUKBMER]

You really need to stand down by the fence near the starting line. That is the real experience. I took my daughter for the first time a few years back.She has been to other type of races before (nascar/indy/rolex-grand am/trans am) We had really good seats supplied by vendor from Castrol Oil. She liked it alot ! I asked if she wanted to go down by the fence near the starting line. We never went back up in the bleachers lol.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Top fuel cars are awesome. I always get a kick out of people that talk down on that. My one and only reply is let me see you 0-300 in less then 4 seconds and not shit your pants in the process. Usually end of that argument.

[QUKBMER]

LOL Yes !!!!! :up: ^

[36brua]

[QUOTE=LJ851;4632275]Yeah, experience is the right word.

Got to witness the first 3 second Funny Car pass in Atlanta Dragway's history, that was pretty cool. Vision blurred big time every time the cars went past.

I watched up close about 5-6 nitro cars warm up in the pits, i'm still randomly smelling nitro 24 hours later. The wind changed dramatically during one warmup and i got pummeled by a cloud of fumes. Couldn't breathe, couldn't see, staggering around, it was awesome.[/
QUOTE]

Yes. Makes for a great day !!:D

[stonea]

The first one I went to me and my dad went back to the garage are and with in 5 minutes of being there a mechanic came up and gave me a piston out of one of the top fuel dragsters. Pretty cool if you ask me.

[2mAn]

Not only is the feeling of the rocket fuel powered drag cars insane, but you have to watch them rebuild those motors too. crazy.