Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Received this from a Mechanical engineering friend and just knowing very little about drag racing found it interesting. Maybe you guys who know about this can confirm what is being said, and maybe now I understand why Stack'd-n-Jack'd, HVAC and others want so much information.
As individuals interested in ultimate engineering, AA/Fuelers are the
ultimate in land acceleration, I thought you might find this interesting.
ENGINEERS CAN DESIGNS WAY COOL STUFF!!!
NHRA (National Hotrod Racing Association) FACTS
*One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the
first 8 rows at Daytona combined.
*Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2
gallons of nitro per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully
loaded 747 but with 4 times the energy volume.
*The supercharger takes more power to drive then a stock Hemi
makes.
*Even with nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the
supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid
form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.
*Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the
output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
*At stoichiometric (exact) 1. 7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitro methane measures 7050 degrees F.
*Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame
seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from
atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
*Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass.
After ½ way, the engine is dieseling from compression-plus the glow of
exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by
cutting off its flow of fuel.
*If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro
builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow
cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.
*Dragsters twist the camshaft (torsionally) so far (20
degrees in the big end of the track) that sometimes cam lobes are ground
offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to
synchronization with the pistons.
*To exceed 300mph in 4. 5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at
an average of over 4G's. But in reaching 200 mph well before ½ track,
launch acceleration is closer to 8G's.
*Drivers shut off before the finish line, or even dual
parachutes will not stop the car.
*If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free,
and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1,000. 00 per second.
*Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have read
this sentence.
Tidbit of trivia;
If a AA/Fueler was stopped, at a line, on the back straightaway at
Daytona International Speedway and a Winston Cup car approached at full
throttle, say 195/200 MPH, if the dragster took off just as the WC car was
even with the same line. The dragster would catch and pass the WC car
BEFORE 1/4 mile and be pulling away a 300+ MPH.
However, the engine would explode if the driver of the dragster did not shut the engine down just after that 1/4 mile mark.
As individuals interested in ultimate engineering, AA/Fuelers are the
ultimate in land acceleration, I thought you might find this interesting.
ENGINEERS CAN DESIGNS WAY COOL STUFF!!!
NHRA (National Hotrod Racing Association) FACTS
*One dragster's 500-inch Hemi makes more horsepower then the
first 8 rows at Daytona combined.
*Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2
gallons of nitro per second, the same rate of fuel consumption as a fully
loaded 747 but with 4 times the energy volume.
*The supercharger takes more power to drive then a stock Hemi
makes.
*Even with nearly 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the
supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into nearly-solid
form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock.
*Dual magnetos apply 44 amps to each spark plug. This is the
output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
*At stoichiometric (exact) 1. 7:1 air/fuel mixture (for nitro), the flame front of nitro methane measures 7050 degrees F.
*Nitro methane burns yellow. The spectacular white flame
seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from
atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.
*Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass.
After ½ way, the engine is dieseling from compression-plus the glow of
exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The engine can only be shut down by
cutting off its flow of fuel.
*If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro
builds up in those cylinders and then explodes with a force that can blow
cylinder heads off the block in pieces or blow the block in half.
*Dragsters twist the camshaft (torsionally) so far (20
degrees in the big end of the track) that sometimes cam lobes are ground
offset from front to rear to re-phase the valve timing somewhere closer to
synchronization with the pistons.
*To exceed 300mph in 4. 5 seconds dragsters must accelerate at
an average of over 4G's. But in reaching 200 mph well before ½ track,
launch acceleration is closer to 8G's.
*Drivers shut off before the finish line, or even dual
parachutes will not stop the car.
*If all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free,
and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs $1,000. 00 per second.
*Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have read
this sentence.
Tidbit of trivia;
If a AA/Fueler was stopped, at a line, on the back straightaway at
Daytona International Speedway and a Winston Cup car approached at full
throttle, say 195/200 MPH, if the dragster took off just as the WC car was
even with the same line. The dragster would catch and pass the WC car
BEFORE 1/4 mile and be pulling away a 300+ MPH.
However, the engine would explode if the driver of the dragster did not shut the engine down just after that 1/4 mile mark.
