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As a visceral experience, there are few things that top a Top Fuel drag race. They're really something worth experiencing at least once personally. You really j

As a visceral experience, there are few things that top a Top Fuel drag race. They're really something worth experiencing at least once personally. You really just have to be there.

naikrovek 4y ago
yeah the real "all I hear is ringing" experience can't be beaten. I've been to two Top Fuel drag races and I left feeling like I was surrounded by people who have just enough sophistication to know that they like to play with fire whenever possible. they are not like that, of course, but they were definitely caught up in the visceral feeling of watching a race and I was caught up in the idea that I'd never be able to hear again. I do not recommend races, myself.
- karamanolev 4y ago
  Earmuffs? Isn't it worth seeing (maybe just once) even if you do wear hearing protection?
  - yamazakiwi 4y ago
    Worth seeing to whom? I'm not trying to be contrarian but none of that seems enjoyable or a Top 3 visceral experience when I'm not actually involved with the action. It's weird to hear someone say something is in general a Top Experience.
    - whartung 4y ago
      Even in todays world of crazy sound systems and 8K video, some things are simply worth experiencing live. "You have to be there." Like live music, like going to a playoff game, watching a rocket launch. Even if you don't care about the race, the game, or the music. The energy of being in these places, experiencing it, feeling it, the spontaneous giggles, the sense of awe being caught in the middle of it, has a value all its own. You can watch the race on TV, catch the game in a pub, listen to the live recording over, and over, and over again. But it's not the same as being there.
      - yamazakiwi 4y ago
        Oh, I don't have interest in seeing a drag race in video either which is what is leading me to believe it wouldn't be that exciting. I agree with what you're saying about live events vs video.
        samatman 4y ago
        Some of us like very loud sounds punching us right in the chest. Video is completely useless for this. Drag racing is not.
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    Wearing top quality ear protection is a requirement. They work, and do not subtract from the enjoyment.
  - naikrovek 4y ago
    I was wearing hearing protection. have you ever been to one of these? or maybe a concert? hearing protection does not block incoming sound, hearing protection attenuates incoming sound. after hearing protection it's all still very, very loud. loud enough to cause ringing immediately and for days afterwards.
- alfalfasprout 4y ago
  Bad take. Wear ear protection. Problem solved.
  - naikrovek 4y ago
    I was wearing hearing protection! why does everyone assume I wasn't, then reply as if it is fact? fucking internet, man. no one comprehends anything
WalterBright 4y ago
There are some things that audio recordings simply cannot capture. Top Fuel is one of them. When I go, I wear ear muffs that are made for target shooting. The pulses are so loud it is like being punched in the chest. Sometimes the engines explode which is also fun as the smoking parts fly around. Once, the Top Fuel driver had the silly thing in reverse. The christmas tree turned green, and he launched backwards. He had lightning reflexes, chopping the power incredibly fast. The thing still flew back nearly 100 feet, and if it had continued would have climbed up the grandstand behind it. I never, ever, ever stand in front or in back of a dragster when its engine is running. I also do not stand radially to the engine (when they blow, the parts fly out radially). Other than that, it is great fun to go to a race in person. It's the only motor sport left where the attendees can go into the pits and watch the mechanics at work. Watching a team rebuild a V8 engine in minutes is amazing. Then they'll fire it up to test it. Blipping the throttle produces shock waves that you can see hitting the bystanders. The barely restrained violence of those machines is just crazy mad fun you'll never get from watching it on TV.
- dylan604 4y ago
  I know a camera guy* that decided he wanted to get footage he'd never seen anyone else get. He got permission, but everyone just shook their head and suggested it not being a good idea (yes, please read foreshadowing there). This was back in the day of using a BCSP over the shoulder camcorder that brand new easily cost $75k with the particular lens being used. He was behind both cars standing between them, and when they took off, the forces were so violent it caused the spinning heads in the camera to stutter so badly the footage was unusable. Viewing the footage, the image is fine right up to the point of start, then the image goes crazy in the way only an analog system can do, then stabilizes again when everything calms down. Not only was it not usable footage, but he spent hours peeling/scraping melted rubber off of everything. IIRC, the driver of one of the cars was legendary John Force. * I swears it that it wasn't me in the "asking for a friend" manner
- VBprogrammer 4y ago
  > It's the only motor sport left where the attendees can go into the pits and watch the mechanics at work. It's almost certainly not useful for you but one other motorsport which is comparable in this way is the IOM TT. You can walk around and speak to the guys on the pit crews as they work. It also offers some visceral experiences, like standing 2ft from the bikes passing you doing the best part of 200mph. In fact when I went a couple of years ago selfie sticks were banned, as you are so close to the action that there is a real danger of hitting a rider with one.
sixQuarks 4y ago
I went for the first time couple of weeks ago. Standing right by the starting line, when the top fuel funny cars take off, they get engulfed in a bubble of blurriness, caused by the burning nitro, coupled with the tremendous rumbling which causes your eyes to shake, it’s impossible to get a clear view of the cars on takeoff. It’s insane.
Steve44 4y ago
I've been to Santa Pod in the UK a few times and the Top Fuel cars are in a league of their own, you really do know when they are running. Others have mentioned about the noise which is something very hard to describe in words. You can walk around the pits and watch the crews doing a partial strip down of the engine for each run, although it's fundamentally basic V8 pushrod technology, it's far more than that. There is a video [1] with a few slow motion clips of the preparation and running of a Top Fuel car. One poster mentioned a cameraman who stood between two cars, you can clearly see why that wasn't a good idea!! Looking at how the tyres deform, not just at launch 2:00 but also at 2:50 it looks like they are a real limitation in acceleration. To help them off the line the launch area is really sticky, shoes melt into the 'tarmac'. The 0-60 time, as with many really fast cars, doesn't tell the whole story of using their 10,000BHP to get to about 330MPH in about 4.5 seconds. It's something I think you really need to go and see. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6iltuxD48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6iltuxD48

As a visceral experience, there are few things that top a Top Fuel drag race. They're really something worth experiencing at least once personally. You really just have to be there.

naikrovek 4y ago

yeah the real "all I hear is ringing" experience can't be beaten. I've been to two Top Fuel drag races and I left feeling like I was surrounded by people who have just enough sophistication to know that they like to play with fire whenever possible. they are not like that, of course, but they were definitely caught up in the visceral feeling of watching a race and I was caught up in the idea that I'd never be able to hear again. I do not recommend races, myself.

karamanolev 4y ago
Earmuffs? Isn't it worth seeing (maybe just once) even if you do wear hearing protection?
- yamazakiwi 4y ago
  Worth seeing to whom? I'm not trying to be contrarian but none of that seems enjoyable or a Top 3 visceral experience when I'm not actually involved with the action. It's weird to hear someone say something is in general a Top Experience.
  - whartung 4y ago
    Even in todays world of crazy sound systems and 8K video, some things are simply worth experiencing live. "You have to be there." Like live music, like going to a playoff game, watching a rocket launch. Even if you don't care about the race, the game, or the music. The energy of being in these places, experiencing it, feeling it, the spontaneous giggles, the sense of awe being caught in the middle of it, has a value all its own. You can watch the race on TV, catch the game in a pub, listen to the live recording over, and over, and over again. But it's not the same as being there.
    - yamazakiwi 4y ago
      Oh, I don't have interest in seeing a drag race in video either which is what is leading me to believe it wouldn't be that exciting. I agree with what you're saying about live events vs video.
      - samatman 4y ago
        Some of us like very loud sounds punching us right in the chest. Video is completely useless for this. Drag racing is not.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  Wearing top quality ear protection is a requirement. They work, and do not subtract from the enjoyment.
- naikrovek 4y ago
  I was wearing hearing protection. have you ever been to one of these? or maybe a concert? hearing protection does not block incoming sound, hearing protection attenuates incoming sound. after hearing protection it's all still very, very loud. loud enough to cause ringing immediately and for days afterwards.
alfalfasprout 4y ago
Bad take. Wear ear protection. Problem solved.
- naikrovek 4y ago
  I was wearing hearing protection! why does everyone assume I wasn't, then reply as if it is fact? fucking internet, man. no one comprehends anything

WalterBright 4y ago

There are some things that audio recordings simply cannot capture. Top Fuel is one of them. When I go, I wear ear muffs that are made for target shooting. The pulses are so loud it is like being punched in the chest. Sometimes the engines explode which is also fun as the smoking parts fly around. Once, the Top Fuel driver had the silly thing in reverse. The christmas tree turned green, and he launched backwards. He had lightning reflexes, chopping the power incredibly fast. The thing still flew back nearly 100 feet, and if it had continued would have climbed up the grandstand behind it. I never, ever, ever stand in front or in back of a dragster when its engine is running. I also do not stand radially to the engine (when they blow, the parts fly out radially). Other than that, it is great fun to go to a race in person. It's the only motor sport left where the attendees can go into the pits and watch the mechanics at work. Watching a team rebuild a V8 engine in minutes is amazing. Then they'll fire it up to test it. Blipping the throttle produces shock waves that you can see hitting the bystanders. The barely restrained violence of those machines is just crazy mad fun you'll never get from watching it on TV.

dylan604 4y ago
I know a camera guy* that decided he wanted to get footage he'd never seen anyone else get. He got permission, but everyone just shook their head and suggested it not being a good idea (yes, please read foreshadowing there). This was back in the day of using a BCSP over the shoulder camcorder that brand new easily cost $75k with the particular lens being used. He was behind both cars standing between them, and when they took off, the forces were so violent it caused the spinning heads in the camera to stutter so badly the footage was unusable. Viewing the footage, the image is fine right up to the point of start, then the image goes crazy in the way only an analog system can do, then stabilizes again when everything calms down. Not only was it not usable footage, but he spent hours peeling/scraping melted rubber off of everything. IIRC, the driver of one of the cars was legendary John Force. * I swears it that it wasn't me in the "asking for a friend" manner
VBprogrammer 4y ago
> It's the only motor sport left where the attendees can go into the pits and watch the mechanics at work. It's almost certainly not useful for you but one other motorsport which is comparable in this way is the IOM TT. You can walk around and speak to the guys on the pit crews as they work. It also offers some visceral experiences, like standing 2ft from the bikes passing you doing the best part of 200mph. In fact when I went a couple of years ago selfie sticks were banned, as you are so close to the action that there is a real danger of hitting a rider with one.

sixQuarks 4y ago

I went for the first time couple of weeks ago. Standing right by the starting line, when the top fuel funny cars take off, they get engulfed in a bubble of blurriness, caused by the burning nitro, coupled with the tremendous rumbling which causes your eyes to shake, it’s impossible to get a clear view of the cars on takeoff. It’s insane.

Steve44 4y ago

I've been to Santa Pod in the UK a few times and the Top Fuel cars are in a league of their own, you really do know when they are running. Others have mentioned about the noise which is something very hard to describe in words. You can walk around the pits and watch the crews doing a partial strip down of the engine for each run, although it's fundamentally basic V8 pushrod technology, it's far more than that. There is a video [1] with a few slow motion clips of the preparation and running of a Top Fuel car. One poster mentioned a cameraman who stood between two cars, you can clearly see why that wasn't a good idea!! Looking at how the tyres deform, not just at launch 2:00 but also at 2:50 it looks like they are a real limitation in acceleration. To help them off the line the launch area is really sticky, shoes melt into the 'tarmac'. The 0-60 time, as with many really fast cars, doesn't tell the whole story of using their 10,000BHP to get to about 330MPH in about 4.5 seconds. It's something I think you really need to go and see. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6iltuxD48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6iltuxD48