USA: the just cant keep up with us.

[70 CUDA]

this is why i hate all the people that say F1 is the fastest racing in the world. small minded morons.

An e-mail from Bill Neely to David E. Davis, Jr.
  of Automobile Magazine… Please, credit where
  credit is due.           A lesson in acceleration but first some useful information:
One Top Fuel Dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes
  more horsepower than the first 4 rows at the Daytona 500.
Under full throttle, a Top Fuel Dragster engine consumes
  1.5 gallons of nitro methane per second; a fully loaded
  747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy
  being produced.
A stock Dodge 426 Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough
  power to drive the dragster’s supercharger.
With 3000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger
  on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid
  form before ignition. Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic
  lock at full throttle.
At the stoichiometric 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture for nitro methane
  the flame front temperature 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.
Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug. This
  is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.
  Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during a pass.
  After half way, the engine is dieseling from compression
  plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1400 degrees F. The
  engine can only be shut down after cutting the fuel flow.
If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro
  builds up in the affected cylinder and then explodes with
  sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in
  pieces or split the block in half.
In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must
  accelerate at an average of over 4G’s. In order to reach
  200 mph well before half-track, the launch acceleration
  approaches 8G’s.
Dragsters reach over 300 mph before you have completed
  reading this sentence.
Top Fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from
  light to light.
Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900
  revolutions under load.
The red line is actually quite high at 9500 rpm.
The Bottom Line; Assuming all the equipment is paid off,
  the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP,
  each run costs an estimated $1,000.00 per second. The current
  Top Fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.441 seconds for the
  quarter mile. The top speed record is 333.00 mph as measured
  over the last 66’ of the run.
Putting all of this into perspective:
You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo
  Corvette Z06. More than a mile up the road, a Top Fuel
  dragster is staged and ready to launch down a measured
  quarter-mile as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying
  start. You run the Vette up through the gears and blast across
  the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph.
  The “tree” goes green for both of you at that moment. The
  dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot
  down, but you hear a brutal whine that sears your eardrums,
  and within three seconds, the dragster catches you and
  beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile from where you
  just passed him. From a standing start, the dragster spotted
  you 200 mph and not only caught you but nearly blasted
  you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 feet.
That, my friends, is acceleration!!
via Bandit,

[Enigm@]

TL;DR.

[Scorpion]

Well ofcourse F1 isn't technically the fastest, but IMO it's the best.

Although it would be very cool to see dragsters live, although F1's also great to see live.

[Squirrel_Monkey]

Fastest round a track IIRC
Dragsters can't exactly turn very well.

[G.K.]

Dragsters can't exactly turn very well.

:O RLY?

[Scorpion]

Fastest round a track IIRC

Yep, the Power of f1 cars aren't even that much more nowadays than when in the 50's, it's the grip and the ability to keep these high speeds up through the corners that makes F1 what it is.
Although that said, the turbo cars of the 80's were very powerfull (aswell as incredibly dangerous) and aside from dragsters were probably the fastest on the straights aswell.

Besides, sorry CUDA but europe has the U.S.A beat really when it comes to motorsport.

[NFX]

I'm inclined to agree. I would like to see a Dragster negotiate the Lowes hairpin. =P

[70 CUDA]

i have an EPIC respect for F1 iv seen both of these live. the difference is you can watch F1 cars. if your at half track you cant turn your head fast enough to watch the dragster. and the sound is so load you dont "hear" it you can only feel it. its an awe inspiring thing to experience.

[Enigm@]

Who is this us that the USA can't keep up with, by the way?

[NFX]

I think it's the USA saying they, meaning the rest of the world, cannot keep up with them. Which is true in a straight line. Round a corner, though, they're stuffed. But her, it's the USA, the corner is a fictional concept. =P

[Enigm@]

I live in the USA, I didn't ever believe that I was in front of anybody...
EDIT: Title fix'd.

[ACAMS]

Too bad a top fuel dragster has NOTHING, not one single part like a Chrysler hemi except the hemispherical combustion chamber........AND MOPAR WAS NOT THE FIRST to have hemi heads!!!!!
 
Yes, dragsters are fast, but they ARE NOT chrysler!
 
Back in the day when both were new.....a STOCK Buick Gran Sport GS455 stage 1 could out run a 70 hemi cuda.........and do it in luxury!
 
DO NOT for one milisecond think one of those tin can pieces of crap could even come close to keeping up with a COPO ZL-1 Camaro!
 

[JoeBlo]

I had the pleasure of watching some fuelers last weekend at my local track

I even had the chance last season to stand on the start-line area and watch the last round of qualifying for the fuelers.. that was cool..

Dragsters can't exactly turn very well.

you would be surprised...

I will have a search around for a video I have in my head right now.. shows just how sharp they can turn..

[70 CUDA]

HEY ACAMS WHEN THE HELL DID I SAY I WAS GERMAN LOVING CHRYSLER GUY???? lol im a Plymouth guy till i die. and no they were the fastest HEMI out there thats why they ALL say HEMI on the side today. and no they are nothing like a stock hemi lol