Drag racing isn't exactly for everyone so I won't try to BS you (much) and tell you that it's not full of rednecks white people country folk and mullets. It's not surprising how many people you'll see wearing tee/golf/dress shirts with their sleeves cut off walking around with beers in cooler sleeves, talking nonsense and enjoying the scene. And I'm not just talking about us alone.
I also managed to dust off the old SLR - hello friend, it's been a while.
Although they do call it a family event (lol) what it all comes down to is hanging out with the guys, getting sunburnt, crushing beers in a field (aka the parking lot), eating junk food and watching bad-ass cars drive in a straight line. Despite the security and laws and whatnot, setting up lawn chairs in the lot, eating BBQ and drinking out of the trunk of your car is generally accepted at events like this.
Like I said, not for everyone. Hell, I like it but only enough to actually go to one about once a year...
I will, however, try to convince you that it is LOUD.
Trust me, when a "car" with over 8000 HP is doing like 500+ km/h down a 1/4 mile strip, it gets pretty loud. When you have two of those racing each other it would be a pretty safe bet to say that it's the loudest thing that you'll ever hear in your life. It only lasts a few seconds but I'm pretty sure people would start vomiting and convulsing if they were exposed to that kind of noise/vibration for too long. Turns out those cars register around 2.3 on the Richter scale coming off the line.
Folks just don't want to believe me when I try to explain it to them because I failed grade 11 English it's hard to describe what it feels like to have nitromethane exhaust blasting you in the face. According to unconfirmed internet facts it's louder than a 747 at takeoff too.
If you try and BS me and say that you've been to a club or stood next to a stack at a metal concert and they're way louder I might just kick you in the ovaries and spit on you while curled in the fetal position (unless it was Manowar or KISS concert then I'd give you a high-five because it was probably pretty loud). You're just kidding yourself otherwise.
I mean it's not just the noise - I'm talking so loud that I'm pretty sure your organs get slightly injured because the pressure, vibration, noise and heat raging directly on you is so intense (especially if you're riding the rails all day aka standing against the fence right next to the track).
I wear full blown NRR 30 dB earmuffs because even with ear plugs you still need to cover your ears (some people wear both at the same time). Yeah, noise is part of the experience but I remember the first race I went to I didn't bother to really protect my ears, and after the first top fuel passed by I think my hearing was impaired for about a day and a half. So I wised up and use my shooting earmuffs nowadays.
It might only last 4 seconds but that's 4 seconds of sensory overload, which is why I think people like it so much. I can only imagine that those guys driving the things are pretty deaf already.
So you get it? It's loud. Just take my word for it...
Now some fun facts about Top Fuel:
- NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than 0.8 seconds, almost 11 seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed
- NHRA Top Fuel dragster leaves the starting line with a force nearly five times that of gravity, the same force of the space shuttle when it leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral
- Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free & for once, NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimated $1,000 per second
No wonder why tickets to these things are always so expensive. Anyway, if you are interested the full set is HERE.
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