Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become too expensive, and was dominated by works-run cars with factory engines; the hope was that Formula 3000 would offer quicker, cheaper, more open racing. The series began as an open specification, then tyres were standardized from 1986 onwards, followed by engines and chassis in 1996. The series ran annually until 2004, and was replaced in 2005 by the GP2 Series.
Donald Glenn Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver.
Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 338 miles per hour (544.0 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (304.8 m) runs in 3.62 seconds.
Top Thrill 2 is a launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The ride originally opened as Top Thrill Dragster in 2003, becoming the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, as well as the first ever strata coaster – a height classification of 400 feet (120 m) or more. Designed by Werner Stengel, the Accelerator Coaster model from Intamin debuted with a height of 420 feet (130 m) and could accelerate from 0 to 120 mph (190 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. It was themed to Top Fuel drag racing, with the launch track designed to resemble a dragstrip, and it consistently ranked as one of the world's top steel coasters in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards publication. Top Thrill Dragster's records were surpassed in 2005 by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship for the 1987 season. The championship, currently running Next Generation Touring Car regulations, has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000. A lower-key Group N class for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.
Top Alcohol refers to two different classes in professional drag racing: Top Alcohol Dragster and the Top Alcohol Funny Car. Commonly known as "alky" cars, both are akin in design to the premier Top Fuel classes, but less powerful. In both classes, the cars are either supercharged ("blown") engines, burning alcohol (methanol) or can burn nitromethane and be normally aspirated, fuel injected engines. Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars resemble their nitromethane (Fuel) counterparts, with about half the power of their respective classes. Each car uses a three-speed transmission.
Kenneth Dale Bernstein is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed the "King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start quarter mile. Bernstein owned King Racing, which he drove for in the NHRA and fielded various cars in other racing series such as IndyCar and NASCAR. Bernstein retired from full-time competition in 2002 and moved his son Brandon into the Bud King Top Fuel dragster, but returned to finish the season in place of his son after Brandon suffered a severe injury. With the exception of a brief return to Funny Car in 2007, Bernstein did not return to the car and instead continued to run his team until the end of the 2011 season when he left drag racing altogether.
Don Prudhomme, nicknamed "the Snake", is an American drag racer.
Brainerd International Raceway is a road course, and dragstrip racing complex northwest of the city of Brainerd, Minnesota. The complex has a 0.25 mi (0.40 km) dragstrip, and overlapping 2.500 mi (4.023 km) and 3.100 mi (4.989 km) road courses. The complex also includes a kart track. The raceway hosts the National Hot Rod Association's Lucas Oil Nationals. It is a popular racetrack for the Trans Am Series. The spectator seating capacity of the circuit is 20,000.
Eddie Hill is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Father of Drag Racing." His other nicknames include "The Thrill", "Holeshot Hill", and "Fast Eddie". In 1960, he set the NHRA record for the largest improvement in the elapsed time (e.t.) when he drove the quarter mile in 8.84 seconds to break the previous 9.40-second record.
The NHRA Winternationals are an annual drag racing event held by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, California.
The Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races were a series of drag racing events sponsored by Hot Rod Magazine between 1964 and 1969. It was considered "one of the most significant drag racing events" of that era.
Ed McCulloch, nicknamed "The Ace", is an American dragster and funny car driver.
The 1978 NHRA Summernationals were a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event, held at Englishtown, New Jersey, on 16 July.
Lew Russell Robinson, nicknamed "Sneaky Pete", was an American drag racer.
The European Drag Racing Championship is a combination of four Drag Racing categories that have competed in six events since 1996. The European Drag Racing Season is held from May to September in four countries; UK, Sweden, Finland and Germany. Each drag race category pairs two drivers that compete against each other and the winner is the racer with the lowest reaction time and elapsed time over a designated destination. The drivers are adjudicated points for their performance at each stage which are tallied for a given season.
Dale Emery, nicknamed "The Snail", was an American drag racer. Emery raced Fuel Altereds and Funny Cars, and briefly in wheelstanders, as well as serving as crew chief for several top teams.
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