Drag Racing....MMM

[adhowie]

Drag racing MMMM

I have always love motor sport and I know I will open a can of worm here but here go’s.
I’ve watched drag racing on the TV and it’s never really pushed my buttons I like my drivers and cars to be able to turn left and right... Even NASCAR I struggle with and I only go out of my way now due to the Australian element.

Well about 2 months or so ago I was booked on a job at the drags, which was last weekend working for a company covering the race, at Western Sydney for the Fuchs Nationals, might I say I had been out there for a street meet but that was it.

I have a couple of very good friends who are big drag racing fan who between them own race cars and have worked on the start line so they told me how loud and fast etc it is and standing on the star line before a drag car starts is like nothing else blar blar blar… I’ve been to F1 and seen jet fighter and loud rock concert how loud could it be. I have also been on hot laps of Oran park with Mal Rose in a VR V8 super car.

Well Saturday rolls around and the first round of alcohol car and door slammers come through and I’m standing about 2 meter for the cars and wow the top alcohol car lay down the rubber (never been a fan of burning rubber, racing fuel now that’s a different story) and then they stage and there off 350 km/h wow that was amazing and loud and somebody I was working with pointed out I’m getting covered in small bit of tyre rubber. Then there are a couple of other cars (I use the term car loosely) run through and then the door slammers mmmm the John Zappia Monaro what a car it's great to see something old school up against these newer looking car, I am bias owning a 71 Monaro myself. So a few door slammers run through and then some more alcohol cars like the one before the door slammer lined up.
One problem with this type of racing of a newbie is lot of the cars look different and race against each other or look similar but are VERY different
So there I am these drag cars roll our smoke the tyres, for half the track I might ad and then line up…..
Then all HELL breaks loose… if I hadn’t been so taken back by the sound and how my whole body shook and vibrated I would have probable S&*T myself….
If it was a roller coaster ride there would be a warning to people with heart conditions. Well when I gathered my faculty I realised THIS was a TOP FUEL (t/f) car VERY different to those wossie top alcohol (t/a) car, this guy had just completed a 515 kph run.
Well the day went on and I workout that the t/a and t/f are like chalk and cheese 3500 bph as apposed to 7000/8000 bph and 200kph speed difference.

So Sunday rolls around and I’m working on the start line between the car as the take off and when the t/f car launch its like nothing I can descried your whole body vibrate.. Remember the feeling when you mow the law and your hands vibrate well imaging that 100 fold all over your body.

I’m not a convert to the sport but as a motor sport fan I glad I have experience and felt this sport and if you get the chance go along you will never be the same again.

Oh and take some very good ear protection. I’ve never worn ear protection before because I think the engine noise is part of the experience but even with a noise cancelling headset on and pushing both sides in it was still extreme.

[Maximus]

Wait till you see the Jet Cars up close.

My missus loves the Top Fuellers but the Jet Cars she loves.

[Damage]

Yeah, you feel as well as hear the top fuellers. Spine rattling, ear-bleeding fun!

Race tracks should have corners though, JMHO lol :D

[Holdennumber1]

Ahh drag racing, I'd been to about 10 meetings before I'd even turned 3. I got some great memories of the drags at Adelaide Internationa Raceway. Its bloody amazing just how much power the top fuel dragsters have. I can still remember having to sit down when they raced as I usually got toppled over from the ground shaking. Then there was Clarry the Clown who I loved going to see, I even got to sit on his trike. And then there was the time where I nearly crapped myself when dad pulled up a rusty piece of metal off the ground and there was a blue tongue lizard underneath which I thought was a snake.:D Awesome experience, just a pity Mr Jane owns it now.:(

[Road Runner 72]

That's the whole deal with this type ofmotorsport, you have to be there to understand it better.

Thanks for the read, and why I'm miss the Calder park nationals.

Cheers

Mike

[adhowie]

Thanks for that

Another thing that occurred to me is the vast abyss of performance between top alcohol and top fuel I can’t think on another motor sport were the next level down is so different

[singer]

When we were at MCM they had the Drags on that W/E as well.

A bit disconcerting when you're trying to concentrate & a HUGE VRRRRRM goes on:o

[GLENN L]

yeah amazing what some nitromethane can do, makes them real angry but it hurts a lot more parts.

[wayno]

I did many years on the start line as a photographer at the drags all over the country. Simply stunning when a fuel car leaves the line. Words can't describe it.
Miss those days terribly. Thanks Bob Jane you w****r! :mad:

[rayman]

Wait till you see the Jet Cars up close.

My missus loves the Top Fuellers but the Jet Cars she loves.
I love the Jet Cars also. They put on a great show and the sound of that jet engine winding up is simply awesome. The afterburner pops are something to experience from the back too.

[wayno]

Give me Top Fuel over the hairdryers anyday. Getting all that power too the ground in a wheel driven vehicle is much more impressive than using a little bit of thrust. Fuellers also leave the line with much more fury as the jet car takes a while for the thrust to overcome the mass.

[BrianP]

I have never been much of a Drag fan but you have to experience these types of motor sprot to understand them, I went to Castlereagh Drags once in about 1965/66 when the USA Drag Fest team came out, being the first time we all went to sit at the finish line, first mistake, the start is defintely where the action is. The day started with Hodens, Mini's etc and was dead boring, then Ash Marshall fired up his Rail car (The Vandal), even from the finsih line it was awesome, and remember this is the day's when 1000 HP was a real engine, nothing like todays.

Anyway the day was not competely lost, we had a good time but I have never been back, I think it is because the races are very often one sided, one car often blows up (albeit very spectacularly) and the other coasts home, only a few real races, a bit like the V8 Supercars these days.

[rayman]

If you think Top Fuellers are quick, just watch this.
8mIfb4vIZOQ

[cooper1117]

Adhowie, I was lucky enough to get some 'connected' tickets for the nationals last weekend as well. I was lucky enough to get seats in the tower and rub shoulders with the CEO of ANDRA, Tony Thornton. Nice guy, plenty passion for the sport.

Was also lucky enough to get a trip to the Christmas tree as well. What an experience that was. I was talking about it in the favorite photos thread.

I was all prepared for the experience but stuffed it up. I forgot to pack my ear plugs in the camera bag, and when we got to the track we were rushed down to the tree so did not get a chance to get any before heading down. A lot of the crew staff did not wear plugs so I thought this can not be too bad!! Anyway I lasted about 10 or so passes before I had to get some relief. I had front position so did not want to loose the prime spot and go back and get plugs. In the end there was a mop sitting there so I pulled a string out, chewed it and shoved that in my ears - improvisation LOL. That was after the third top fueler!!

I was saying in the fav pic thread that when I was taking the shots the power from the cars made my eyes shut, and all I could do is just press on the shutter and hope for the best. I prepared myself for the next shot and still could not keep my eyes open, it was like sneezing, just could not do it. The noise, the vibration, the every inch of your body feeling the thunder was just amazing, and all over in a second, by the time you open your eyes the car was down the track.

I was man enough to open my eyes when not taking the photos, so I did actually see two passes LOL.

One thing I also noticed about the drags is that I could see no recession. I know it was the nationals but the pit area was packed to the rafters. There was no shortage of competition. The big boys certainly had money to burn. Their transporters were impressive, the crew and resources were amazing. I was allowed a peak in one and the computers and gear they had was impressive. One of the door slammers I got a tour through blew a motor. The first cylinder got a vapor lock and toasted the motor. They were showing the data and each cylinder was reading 600 degrees then in a split 1,000th of a second cylinder 1 went to 1400 degrees. The exhaust valve melted. The team pulled the heads off, the piston was not effected, the wall was not scored, so they put a new head on and went racing, all in a couple of hours.

The other thing that raised my eyebrow was the junior dragsters for the kids. Not so much the cars, but the number and the make up. There would have been about 80 competitors in the junior dragsters, but the amazing thing was there would have been 4 girls to every boy. The odds for the young girls were staggering. You would think it would be dominated by the boys, but quite the opposite. I was blown away by how many junior girls were involved with the drags.

Here are some of the shots I took.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009096Large.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009101Large-1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009105Large-1.jpg

[cooper1117]

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009006Large.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009095Large.jpg

These guys are plain mad!!!

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s230/cooper1117/ aug2009122Large.jpg

[kts350]

My first experience at the drags was many years ago when a mate took me to eastern creek we were right next to the start line and corvette funny car launched..
Shortly after that my mate bought an XY it had a little 289 in it and we use to take that racing he would do a run then I would do one.. What really hooked me was when my mate replaced the little 289 with a blown 351...

[Kalekta]

So Sunday rolls around and I’m working on the start line between the car as the take off and when the t/f car launch its like nothing I can descried your whole body vibrate..

I've gotta ask adhowie - how far were you from Bob Shepherds t/f car on Sunday, when it went up in a ball of flames as it left the line??
We were sitting in the top row of seats and instantly felt the heat from there!!

[Buffalo]

I haven;t been to the drags in ages although I vividly recall going lots to AIR in the late 80's and was absolutely gobsmacked when I saw my first nitromethane Top Fuel car thunder down the strip spewing nitric acid out of the exhaust causing my eyes to water !! ... Back in those days the mechanics wore no ear protection which I could never understand as I often had fingers buried in my ears so far they were just about touching - and it was still loud !@! ... They'd blip the throttle in the pits and just about blow all the windows out of the transporters !! ...

I am really keen to get to a NHRA meeting here in North America where they get massive fields of Topfuel, Funny cars etc etc - I would think it an amazing spectacle !!

[singer]

I did many years on the start line as a photographer at the drags all over the country. Simply stunning when a fuel car leaves the line. Words can't describe it.
Miss those days terribly. Thanks Bob Jane you w****r! :mad:

Pajero means that in another language;)

[spolyhronidis]

Pajero means that in another language;)
Spanish

[Leigh]

Cooper, Its more than likely the nitric acid fumes that seals your eyes...

The top fuel crews are also down pat on stripping an engine, readjusting everything, cleaning the nitric acid out and rebuilding the engine in a little under an hour...between each run! A mammoth task and really interesting to watch if you have the opportunity.

Love drag racing, from street drags all the way through to the big boys of top fuel!

Would love to see Australian drag racing taken to the next level so that we get bigger fields of top fuel, nitro funny cars, doorslammers and top alcohol (so that they could run seperate rail and funny car t/a).

[adhowie]

I've gotta ask adhowie - how far were you from Bob Shepherds t/f car on Sunday, when it went up in a ball of flames as it left the line??
We were sitting in the top row of seats and instantly felt the heat from there!!




Fortunately or maybe unfortunately I was back at the truck at about half track but have some great photos, the guys working on the line told me they were all but knocked of there feet by the heat wave blast.

[John Harney]

Drag racing MMMM

I have ... was still extreme.

Was good to read your post. Having been involved with many forms of motorsport over the years, I am still involved with drag racing after nearly 30 years.

I often hear "motorsport fans" degrade drag racing as a motorsport and that it takes no talent to drive in a straight line, so to read your post was good. Drag racing is one of the motorsports that is underrated because the races are short and quick and it doesnt involved turning corners. I've had hotlaps with the likes of Brock, Skaife etc, I've done the circuit competitions but to appreciate drag racing, you either have to take part and compete (even on the super street level) or at least go to a Doorslammer/ Alcohol or Fuel meet.

There is something about having your eyes balls bouncing in their sockets and your teeth bouncing off each other that can only be experienced live. TV etc just doesnt do it justice. Watching a Top Fueler pass, even if its only from the stands, will leave you feeling alive in a way most may never have felt before.

Don't be shy, If you've never been, go to a major event, it won't turn you into a drag race fan, but it may give you a new appreciation to another form of motorsport

[BrianP]

John makes a good point, all forms of motor racing have different skills, I was at a dinner once and Russel Ingal, Larry Perkins and Victor Bray were guest speakers, Victor Bray was really good, he told us that he had a button on his steering wheel that would give 600 extra HP, Larry looked across and said "where do you buy those buttons?" Victor also said that he had tried to simulate all the movements he needs to do in a run while sitting in the car in the pits and cannot do it!! Must be a mighty big rush of adrenalin that makes him able to under all the pressures of starting, steering, clutching and stopping in just 5 seconds.

Robin Best (ex OZ Funny Car Champ) told me once it is 2 hours of build up, 7 seconds of absolute excitement/terror and 2 hours of coming down, makes for a big night if you do 2 or 3 runs!!

[David Paterson]

Robin Best (ex OZ Funny Car Champ) told me once it is 2 hours of build up, 7 seconds of absolute excitement/terror and 2 hours of coming down,

Sounds like going on a date. :)