Top Fuel Dragsters: Drag Racing's Rear-Engine Revolution

Top Fuel Dragsters: Drag Racing's Rear-Engine Revolution

In general terms, drag racing is the fastest form of motor racing; within drag racing, Top Fuel is the fastest of the classes. Top Fuel has always been the leading class in terms of technology, cost, excitement, and speed. Over the years, technology has changed greatly. What started out as a flathead engine, four wheels, frame rails, and a steering wheel has morphed into technological wonders producing horsepower figures in the thousands and running supercharged nitromethane cars over the quarter-mile in the 4-second range.<p>Over the course of the evolution of these technological developments in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Top Fuelers were making enough horsepower so that sitting directly behind the engine, as the "diggers" did in the 1950s through the 1960s, was recognized as a fairly dangerous proposition for the driver. Any blower explosion or clutch and bellhousing failure occurred directly in the face of the pilot. Teams and engineers developed the rear-engine layout that is still in use today, where the engine sits behind the driver but in front of the rear wheels.<p>Industry legend and veteran journalist Steve Reyes was there through all the technological changes; he has the photos, anecdotes, quotes, and tales of the era. He discusses it all, including the experimentation that led to incredibly exciting racing and wild mishaps. Join him in the pages of this book where he shares all the stories of this incredible racing era.