Wow NHRA in person is something else!

 

hmmmm?

 

Yes, indeed. For anyone who's never watched/felt/heard/smelled/tasted a top-fuel dragster or funny car race in person, put it on your bucket list. Vary your observation point: watch from the starting line, 330, and finish line. It's all good.

 

I have not been to he drags in 30+ years, I'm sure a lot has changed both good and bad. Practically lived at Englishtown in my teens and early twenties. It was a blast.

 

I went on Saturday along with top fuel cars were top fuel Harley's one of the coolest things you will ever see and experience. You kind of steer them with your body since the front wheel is hardly on the ground during the run.

They finished the day with a pair of jet dragsters although only one made it down the track.

Very fun day with something you don't see every day.

 

Agreed. You can almost count how many times the cylinders fire in the quarter mile. The race is over so fast, the rpms are so low, and there's only two cylinders.

 

It has been a long time since I have been but I think the jet dragsters are one of the neatest things you can see.

 

Agreed the NHRA is amazing you need to be as close to the starting line as you can be, when a top fuel car takes off you can actually feel it in your chest and you can feel the ground shake. I go to the national event in Seattle as often as I can. An NHRA event is an absolute must for any car fanatic, it really is awesome.

 

The advantage of being near the starting line is that the cars spend more time in front of you, both when staging and on launch. The advantage of being near the big end of the track is that the cars go by you at 300 mph, which is a thrill in itself. Having any large object wiz past you at 300 mph when less than 50 feet away is cool; even more so when that object is essentially on fire.

 

Top fuels sound cool but it gets boring after 10 minutes. I'd rather watch sportsman ravers race in the 9's or 10's or even index classes. To me that's where the real drag racing is. Partially because I participate at that level just a Lil slower but once you participate regularly in a certain motorsports and get involved watching your fellow racer is more fun than a multi million dollar team because you know their struggle is as real as yours. For me Fridaynight divisional runs at nhra are the most fun because it's the little guys.