Dragster (car)

A dragster is a specialized competition automobile used in drag racing.

Dragsters, also commonly called "diggers", can be broadly placed in three categories, based on the fuel they use: Gas (gasoline), Alcohol (methanol), and Fuel (a mixture of gasoline and nitromethane). They are most commonly single-engined, though twin-engined designs did race in the 1950s and 1960s.

The design of dragsters evolved from the front-engined rail (named for the exposed frame rails) of the earliest days of drag racing, into the "slingshot" (with the driver between or behind the rear tires, or "slicks") of the early to middle 1960s, to the "modern" type common in the 1970s

The front engine dragster came about due to engines initially being located in the car's frame in front of the driver. They did not use (and current types still do not use) any form of suspension. Because of this, they are prone to becoming unstable at speed. This is due to their making 2,000–3,000 hp (1,491–2,237 kW), plus having poor tire technology, short wheelbases, and very light weight. (This was demonstrated to extremes in the Fuel Altereds.) The driver sits angled backward, over the top of the differential in a cockpit situated between the two rear tires, a design originating with Mickey Thompson in 1954, as a way of improving traction. This position led to many drivers being maimed when catastrophic clutch failures occurred.

Introduced with the start of organized drag racing, slingshots were limited by the availability of traction from their rear tires or "slicks". A number of dragsters with four rear drive wheels were attempted as well, including cars by Art Chrisman (along with his brother, Lloyd, and partner Frank Cannon), Bill Coburn, and Eddie Hill. (Coburn and the Chrisman brothers used twin engines, also.)

The slingshot produced a number of fatal wrecks in the 1960s, including Mike Sorokin's and John Mulligan's (months after suffering severe burns in a fire at the Nationals in 1969). Clutches, bellhousings, blowers, and engines exploded, with e.t.s hitting 6.43 seconds by the end of 1969; that record pass was set by Mulligan to qualify #1 at the Nationals. Other accidents included a flip (what today would be called "blowover") by Jim Nicoll at the 1970 Nationals after a clutch failure.

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