Hot Rod Magazine had a great article back when Kenny Bernstein first broke 300 in the quarter mile back in '92. Because computer control was forbidden, and because his whip made around 4500 horsepower, they needed to come up with a complex set of hydraulic logic gates to control clutch slip to get the power to the road because it isn't really something humans can do. There's an impressive amount of corner-case physics in top fuel.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.
Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged & ready to launch down a quarter-mile strip as you pass by it. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the ‘Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line & pass the dragster at an honest 200 MPH. Just as you pass the Top Fuel Dragster the ‘tree’ goes green for both of you. The dragster launches & starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums & within 3 seconds the dragster catches & passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter-mile away from where you just passed him. Think about it – from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 MPH & not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1320 foot that's a cool perspectiveLets say the you are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter twin-turbo powered Corvette Z06.