New England Dragway has held drag races in Epping, NH for many years (as long as we have been here). We went to them once long ago, but these were the up and comers racing - not the big names. Nothing wrong with that, but we have always wanted to see the big names that we see on TV. You know, John Force, Robert Hight, Cruz Pedregon, Antron Brown etc.
This year, the Dragway had been upgraded to accommodate NHRA top legue racing, and of course we had to go! This track upgraded from holding a couple of thousand people, to selling 20,000 tickets to this event (plus over 10,000 for the qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday).
We were impressed once we got in the gates. All tickets got you access to the pits - which were right behind the grandstands. A lot of tracks have the pits seperate and you have to have pit passes (much like Sprint Car racing). Since we got there an hour before the final qualifying started, we took advantage to see some of our favorite drivers' rides and crews.
Naturally John Force and his whole slew of drivers were highlighted at the front. We got to see John Force, Courtney Force and Robert Height funny cars on display (I assume these are former cars, or back up cars).
The insides of a funny car are very tight for the driver
There were dragsters - which are the fastest of the cars, doing 1/4 mile in under 4 seconds and their motor is at the back of the car instead of under the hood.
There were drivers like Antron Brown signing autographs and taking pictures with their fans
Then the races started and that is when the fun begins. The started with eliminations for dragsters. The stands shake as the cars flash from the start line (we were about 2/3 of the way down the track) and the deep rumble can be felt thru your body as the cars get closer. Then as they go by, there is a rush of air as the cars puch their way down to the finish line.
The pre race burn outs creat quite the show themselves with the roil of smoke that comes up from the tires.
Motorcycle racing is quite exciting too - I can't imagine going 180-200 MPH, much less doing it in a 1/4 mile!
And the culmination of the day was that for the first time, John Force and his daughter Courtney Force, faced each other in the finals for funny cars. It was about the best outcome that anyone there could think of and they gave us quite the show as neck and neck they came barreling down the speedway in about 4 seconds. You can hear Jimmy yelling at the end of the race:
A great day of racing in New Hampshire - can't wait to go again next year!
Bogie--That's what my generation called movin' lickety-split! Of course, you sent me to Wikipedia to read about "Funny cars". They have a great (AFAIK) write-up. Interesting that they limit valves to two/cylinder, and that the short duration races and high latent heat of the blocks, obviates the need for water cooling. Cool!
Posted by: Cop Car | July 07, 2013 at 08:18 AM