Six Seconds of Pure Speed
At Old Dominion Speedway in suburban Manassas, VA, watch top sportsman, “rails”, motorcycles, and street stock cars race side by side down the 1/8 mile drag strip in the annual Spring Drag Spectacular.
Drag racing is an exciting sport, with multiple classes and levels of performance. National Top Fuel champions run in 1/4 mile in under 5 seconds and hot speeds of over 300 mph.
The first stage of a drag race is the burnout. Drivers pour water (not bleach) under their tires and accelerate quickly to quickly spin the tires, creating a huge amount of smoke. the burnout is designed to warm the tires for maximum traction.
As the engine’s RPMs rise, you can feel the tension rise in unison as drivers approach the staging area, where the cars inch up to the starting line. Once in place, the starter will engage the “Christmas tree” or starting lights. A series of three yellow lights flash in order a half-second apart followed by a green “go” signal. If the driver jumps the gun, a red signal is indicated and the driver is eliminated.
The driver’s reaction time along with the car’s acceleration and top speed are the key factors as the two cars race side-by-side down the straight track.
Third Spring Drag Spectacular
Old Dominion Speedway
10611 Old Dumfries Road
Manassas, VA, 20112 (map it)
Dates and Times - Sunday, April 27, 2008. Junior dragsters at 10:00 a.m., Time Trails at 10:00, Eliminations at 2:00 p.m. Rain date - May 4th.
Tickets - Adults (16 & up) - $15.00, kids 6-15 - $6.00, under 6 free and are available at the track.
Parking - free.
Hearing Protection - You may want to bring hearing protection or cotton for your ears as the engines can be deafening, at over 140 decibels, similar to standing near a jet engine.
Images - Flickr - Yellow dragster, Hot Rod, The Burnout, Drag bike, Ninja
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