Inside the Mind of a Pro Drag Racer

http://www.streetfire.net
Mike Neff
John Force Racing
Team Castrol/Old Spice Ford Mustang Funny Car
www.mike-neff.com
www.nhra.com
*2008 NHRA Rookie of The Year

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Autos & Vehicles

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• john
• force
• racing
• mike
• neff
• nhra
• top
• fuel
• funny
• car
• ford
• mustang
• team
• castrol
• old
• spice

[dilirent]

@alessasdream so i recently got curious of how dragsters work and are driven...before in my ignorance i used to think that they didnt have manual gearboxes like f1 but someone told me they do have gearboxes...so how do u shift and do u have a clutch..is there a video i can see of it being driven from the inside....

[rob418r]

rob418r Very Good

[patmoss99]

Haha, you and I are 2 the same. Perhaps one day these dream will become reality...

[alessasdream]

I know what you mean. My brothers ask me if I was nervous at all....I told em, once that engine starts ITS BUSINESS!!! Too much is at stake to be nervous ya know. There were 15 people in my class and only 2 of us got licensed in the alotted 6 runs. People kept asking me "are you sure you've never driven a race car before lol." My dream has been Top Fuel since I was like 9 years old. So it was the start of a dream for me. But I know it so well I can give u driving procedures for SC, TAD, and TF.

[patmoss99]

8.54 is some feat man, congrats- towards the top end of the track i noticed the car drifting slightly towards the center line so i calmly guided the thing back in the groove...10.004 could have been a 9.98, or .99 lol But odd as it may sound, I felt right at home in that cockpit. Hopefully a trip back to Doug Foley's is in my near future, I'd love to get my Super Comp license too.

[alessasdream]

I agree with you on this. I've driven as fast as 8.54 seconds @ 156-157 mph in the 1/4 mile at Frank Hawleys Drag Racing School where I got my Super Comp license and YES it does take more than balls to drive a drag car. It takes awareness, good judgement, and you have to have that "seat of the pants feel" for whats going on on the track. Anyone can jump in a dragster and THINK they're gonna make it all the way, but the initial G-Forces are enough to make some people quit right then and there.

[patmoss99]

If you've never driven a drag car, I'd suggest you keep those ideas to yourself. I've never driven anywhere near the speeds that a funny car travels, however I have driven a dragster and have run the 1/4 mile in 10.004 seconds at 128 mph. Accellerating that quickly requires more than just driving skills. That's not to say rally is stupid- all racing requires balls. But its not just balls that will keep you in control of the vehicle.

[nicoderm]

I have friends on rally and in drag racing, you cant compare one thing to another.

[onederful100]

all that means is that NHRA is smarter than rally. haha.

[seroyer2]

I would not say that, I'm not a fan of drag racing, in fact I go and watch the Oregon trail rally every year, and I love Subaru's and have had many of them. but in Top Fuel you are strapped to a bomb that is about ready to exploded wale your going 300 mph. there was that drag racer that just dyed like last summer, but yes rally racing is very dangerous.