A day at the drag strip can be fun for everyone from the little boys who love the smell and sound of high-speed cars to their fathers who grew up with the muscle car era. This may also be very confusing if you don’t know the classes and rules of the races. The biggest drag racing league is the NHRA, National Hot Rod Association. Everything in the race must be fair and very exact. To do this the NHRA uses a classification system. Class eligibility is based on various requirements and specifications, including type of vehicle, engine size, vehicle weight, allowable modifications, and aerodynamics. The four Professional categories are Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Bike.Top Fuel dragsters, the fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world, are the most recognizable of all drag race cars. These cars are limited to a 25-foot body and are very low to the ground. This is important because they are capable of covering the quarter-mile in less than 4.5 seconds at speeds in excess of 330 mph. A supercharger, fuel injection, or a nitro methane-burning engine may power these long narrow “missiles”. In this class, it is easy for the cars to produce more than 6,000 horsepower. The second fastest class, Funny Cars, usually don’t look anything like the production vehicles on which they are based. The bodies of these cars may be constructed out of composite carbon fiber. This is a lightweight semi durable material. The reason why these cars may be made of this is because they aren’t as powerful as the Top Fuelers. This class also may be supercharged, fuel-injected, or nitro methane burning. The limitation of horsepower, however, is greater. They must be under 6,000 to qualify in this class. With less horses behind the wheel and less aerodynamic designs most of these cars will travel the quarter-mile in less than five seconds at speeds more than 320 mph.My favorite class, Pro Stock cars, on the othe...
