Top Fuel Dragster
Top Fuel dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racers, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 539 kilometres per hour (335 mph) and finishing the 305 metres (1,000 ft) runs in 3.64 seconds.
Because of the speeds, this class almost exclusively races to only a 1,000 ft distance, and not the traditional (1,320 ft). The rule was changed in 2008 by the National Hot Rod Association following the fatal crash of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during a qualifying session at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, USA. The shortening of the distance was used in the FIA at some tracks, and as of 2012 is now the standard Top Fuel distance by the FIA. The International Hot Rod Association dropped the distance in September 2017 after Santo Rapisarda, a car owner who often runs NHRA races in the United States, pushed for the change. The Australian National Drag Racing Association is the only internationally recognized sanctioning body that still races Top Fuel dragsters at the earlier 402 metres (1,320 ft) standard distance for the majority of races for such events.
A top fuel dragster accelerates from a standstill to 100 mph in as little as 0.8 seconds (less than one third the time required by a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach 60 mph) and can exceed 280 mph in just 660 feet. This subjects the driver to an average acceleration of about 39 m/s2 (4.0 g0) over the duration of the race and with a peak of over 55 m/s2 (5.6 g0).
Before their run, racers often perform a burnout in order to clean and heat tires. Additionally, the burnout applies a layer of fresh rubber to the track surface, which greatly improves traction during launch.
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