Unreal Drag racing video

I know not many of you follow drag racing but this is a unreal video..



Little back ground on how they work

hallmarkgrad wrote:I know not many of you follow drag racing but this is a unreal video..



Little back ground on how they work

That was actually pretty mild for some of the wrecks I've seen.

I'm a fan and will go out of my way to watch them on TV or I TIVO at least the finals. Next month, December, I'll be getting tickets to the Gator Nationals in Gainesville next spring. I follow John Force, his family and team fairly close. He always seems like he is going to explode from all his energy.

One hundred years ago I followed Don Garlits and, like many folks, were astounded when he broke the TWO HUNDRED MPH barrier.

The dynamics of the John Force family intrigue me. Obviously with 8,000 to 10,000 hp exploding it is a dangerous sport. Yet he has three daughters, two of whom have driven for him and are competitive. One is now playing mom and Courtney is out racing dad. What does mom think about her little girls getting into those monsters? I guess she knew what she was getting into but it must be tough sometimes.

There is no way to explain to anyone what the experience is like being there in person.

John Force burnout at Gainesville Raceway from my seats.

The amazing part was that he did not crash. How in the world did he keep it on the track and from rolling and flipping? Some fantastic construction and design work on that one...[b]

hallmarkgrad wrote:The amazing part was that he did not crash. How in the world did he keep it on the track and from rolling and flipping? Some fantastic construction and design work on that one...[b]

That's true. I remember when the AA Fuel Dragsters had their engine in the front of the driver. Big Daddy Don Garlits engine exploded and the clutch took part of one of his feet.

He then went back to the drawing board and was the first to run a rear engine dragster.

I remember meeting him at the GatorNationals way, way back when top speeds were below 200 mph and there he was, working on his own engine with about 2 other guys helping him. Now it's incredibly big business. I think John Force runs four cars today.

I went to a big drag meet back in 62 in Whitehouse Texas. I was going to School in Longview and we all made the trip. Don Garlits was there as well as a guy called "Potter" that drove a v8 chevy powered motorcycle. You could wander around in the pits and talk with everyone. It started to drizzle rain and don G wanted to make a run. Art Malone may have been driving then, not sure. I think the big match was against the Howard Cam special. Anyways the other guys did not want to make a run due to the track was getting wet. Don got on the PA system and told every one he just needed to make a single pass so he could collect his appearance money. He said I need it to make the next event. They made the pass, about 150 or so and he collected the money. Yep the good old days were just that. 409 Chevys, 390 fords and the 383 dodges, Late at night I can still hear them racing.

Back in 63 i won L stock for 12 straight weeks and Street eliminator at the fiesta of 5 Flags event at the Old Vannoy's drag strip on Klondike road. I stuffed a Hemi in a 53 Studebaker Champion but the best car I had was a 39 Chevy couple/327 that had been build out west. Lots of good racer came from this area.

http://www.mre-books.com/ct953/superstock1962.html

The year dawned bright and full of hope. John H. Glenn, Jr. rocketed into space on February 20th,
becoming the first American to circle the globe. Five months later, the U.S. launched the first
telecommunications satellite, Telstar.

In the world of music, new dances were the rage throughout America, led by the Twist, Locomotion,
Limbo Rock, Mashed Potato, and the Monster Mash. On the West Coast, a new group called The
Beach Boys began singing songs about surfing. While in England, a small rock group replaced its
drummer with someone named Ringo Starr.
Around the world, events continued to darken American attitudes. The conflict in South Vietnam
escalated and Agent Orange was first used. This chemical would be classified many years later as
a major carcinogen, after affecting hundreds of thousands of people who were exposed to it.
Conflict also occurred within the borders of the United States when the Supreme Court ordered a
black student be admitted to the University of Mississippi. Riots ensued when the student tried to
register and U.S. Marshals were called to restore order.

The darkest moments came in October when the world stopped and watched as events unfolded in
Cuba. It was there that U.S. spyplanes discovered Soviet missiles, ostensibly with nuclear
warheads, just 90 miles off Florida’s beaches. President Kennedy forced a showdown with
Kruschev and the Soviets by blockading Cuba and putting U.S. armed forces on alert. The missiles
were withdrawn and the world took a collective sigh of relief. It was the closest to all-out nuclear war
the world has ever seen.
To many, the excitement brewing on race tracks and in car dealer showrooms was a welcome
distraction to world events. There was only one year when literally anyone in America could go to a
local dealer and buy the same vehicle that was being raced in both the top NASCAR and drag
racing classes: 1962. If you saw Don Nicholson run the Ramchargers on Sunday afternoon at the
local strip, you could walk into the showroom the next day and buy one. If the dealer didn’t already
have what you wanted on the lot, then you could place your order and six weeks later you’d have
the same car that Dyno Don started with. Then it was a matter of tuning, purchasing the necessary
extras like headers and safety equipment, and setting up the chassis, then you were ready to run. If
you knew anything at all about engines, your car would run within about 3/4 of a second of the top
dogs. If you bought one of the Dodges or Plymouths, all you needed were some tires!

The rules for 1962 were basically the same as they had been for 1961, with two exceptions: the
definition of a “stocker” and the new Factory Experimental class (FX). The new definition for
“stocker” was that the car had to be available as is, off the assembly line. No more over-the-counter
parts being added and still remaining in Stock class. Those “built” cars were now in FX. NHRA
allowed for up to 23 Stock Classes. At the top was a new class: Super Super/Stock Class, for the
top-of-the-line showroom-available stockers. NHRA had classes from SS/S through L/S, with
automatic transmission classes from SS/SA through G/SA only.
In the SS/S classes, both stick and automatic, the breakdown was 0 – 9.59 lbs./advertised
horsepower. In 1961, the top class was S/S at 0 – 10.59 lbs./hp. The cars that ran S/S in 1961 still
ran S/S, but the breakdown was now between 9.60 and 10.59 lbs./hp. SS/S Class was set aside for
only the new model year vehicles with the top horsepower options, and the manufacturers took note
of this right from the start. All the other class breaks remained the same except at the bottom where
K/S stopped at 27.99 lbs./hp. L Stock would now be the class for cars like stock Model A Fords with
the original 4-cylinder engines.

There were several minor additions to the actual class rules to compensate for adjustments that
some of the teams had made at the close of the 1961 season. For instance, under “Air Cleaners,”
ram tubes or other-than-stock ducting to either the air cleaner or carburetor was prohibited.
Several of the drivers in 1961 had scoops on the hood or flex tubing ramming air to the carbs.
There was no rule for this in 1961, but it would be illegal in 1962. Additionally, hood openings
and/or hood scoops not of original equipment manufacture were not permitted.
For the first time, NHRA allowed use of any heavy-duty or “explosion-proof” pressure plate and
flywheel for stockers, allowing the use of such after-market units from Schieffer and Weber.
Flywheel shields, i.e. scattershields, were required in all the Factory Experimental classes, and from
SS/S through A/S. Interestingly, NHRA also required scattershields on all Chevrolets having the
283ci engine in B/S and C/S. A stock 283 with solid lifters could easily rev way over 7000 rpm, and
several cars suffered a clutch failure during the 1961 season, resulting in minor injuries to both
drivers and spectators from clutch shrapnel.

Also for the first time, beginning on June 1, 1962, all cars competing in Stock Classes were required
to have safety belts installed. It was the last thing the tech guys checked before you went up to the
line to run — seat belt installed and you were wearing it! NHRA also allowed progressive throttle
linkage to be installed on stockers in lieu of the vacuum-operated multiple carb set-ups from the
factory.
Under “Tires,” the only change was that NHRA specified how wide a tread could be, based on the
width of the casing used, i.e. a 7.50 casing could have a 6 1/2 inch tread width. The rule really didn’
t mean a whole lot since they also stated that any wheel/tire that will fit in the original wheel well
could be used. Thus everyone went to the 9.00 size casing which allowed a 7” tread width, the
maximum allowed. The tires still had to have some type of tread pattern, however. Magnesium
wheels were not permitted.

The new Factory Experimental (FX) Classes came as a result of what had happened near the end
of the 1961 season. In the late Summer of ‘61, many of the factories had released various parts to
selected teams and drivers. Parts that would be standard production items in ‘62, but were not
available to the general public. Indeed, several manufacturers released entirely new engine
combinations, like the 421 Pontiac and 413 Dodge and Plymouth. Chevrolet introduced a new set
of cylinder heads and a dual four-barrel intake that were slated for production in 1962. NHRA
created a class at mid-season for these cars: Optional/Super Stock.
The OS/S class in 1961 became three FX classes for 1962 — A, B, and C/FX. The rules were
simple: Optional equipment not necessarily factory assembly-line installed and/or showroom
available would run in one of the FX classes. The same rule applied to all equipment announced
on/or after June 1, 1961. You could run any engine or option listed by the manufacturer for the
engine model used if it was approved by the NHRA tech people. That left a very large gray area for
drivers to build a car using many different factory parts and compete in one of the FX classes.