![]() ![]() Like Top Fuelers, Top Alcohol Dragsters are restricted to a maximum wheelbase of 300 inches. Weights vary according to combination, but are generally between 1,975 and 2,125 pounds. ![]() The injected nitro cars do not use a transmission, and the supercharged cars have three forward speeds. Whereas Top Fuelers use supercharged, nitro-burning engines, Top Alcohol Dragsters may use a supercharged methanol-burning engine or an injected nitromethane combination. ![]() Top Alcohol Dragsters may look like Top Fuelers, but they have significant differences. Fuel injection is permitted, and spec gasoline is the only fuel allowed. To ensure a level playing field, the pushrod-equipped V-Twin engines are limited to 160 cubic inches, and the high-winding 4-cylinder engines cannot be larger than 101 cubic inches. The class features a wide variety of makes, models, and engines, including V-Twin entries from Harley-Davidson and Buell and inline 4-cylinder-equipped Suzuki and Kawasaki models. These highly modified vehicles, which can run under seven seconds at more than 195 mph on the quarter-mile, featuring a purpose-built tube chassis and a lightweight, aerodynamically enhanced replica of original bodywork. The mission was “to investigate, analyze and determine ways to implement the initiatives recently outlined by NHRA to continue to enhance safety.” The committee appears to have disbanded long ago, but the NHRA, of course, continues to institute various safety measures as it deems appropriate.Pro-stock-motorcycle PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE The sanctioning body issued a prepared statement July 2, 2008, that said, “In the wake of the tragic series of events that took Kalitta's life, the following technical issues are currently under investigation: 1) what might be done to reduce engine failures 2) parachute mounting techniques and materials as well as identifying a parachute material that could be more fire resistant 3) exploring whether there is a way to increase brake efficiency when cars lose downforce due to the loss of the body 4) analyzing additional methods that might be developed at the top end of the race track to help arrest runaway vehicles 5) considering whether current speeds should be further limited or reduced to potentially improve safety.” Here's Why the NHRA Race Trophy is Called a Wally.It does not appear likely the NHRA will reverse its decision. The finish line remains at 1,000 feet, although purists for the sport occasionally have raised the suggestion to return to quarter-mile racing. We will continue to work hand in hand with NHRA to evaluate other methods of making Top Fuel and Funny Car competition safer so that we might return to our quarter-mile racing standard.” This may be a temporary change, and we recognize it is not the total answer. He said, "It is not lost on any of us that this constitutes a change in our history of running a quarter-mile, but it's the most immediate adjustment we can make in the interest of safety which is foremost on everyone's mind. Kenny Bernstein, president of the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) at the time, said the group’s board members “wholeheartedly and unanimously support this decision" after sharing input into the discussion. The thought was that would allow the cars more time to slow down (from a slower speed than they customarily would have been traveling) and an extra 320 feet of shutdown area. Warren Wimmer // Getty ImagesĪntron Brown, a three-time Top Fuel champion, said, “That’s when they changed the whole dynamics of the sport forever.”Īt the time, it was considered an interim step for the NHRA to take. Scott Kalitta celebrates in at the victory podium at Route 66 Raceway at Joliet, Ill., in 2005. ![]()
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