Funny Car Racing

Funny car racing is a type of drag car racing popular in the United States of America. The funny cars have their engines on their forward part and the body is made up of carbon fiber. The Chevrolet Impala and the Dodge Charger are the most commonly used cars in funny car racing.

The association in charge of funny car racing is called the NHRA or the National Hot Rod Association. This association has laid down strict guidelines regarding the engines which can be used in funny car racing. According to the guideline the engine can only be a V8 engine at 90 degree. Only two valves are allowed per cylinder and only a Roots type supercharger can be used. Roots type superchargers are 19 inches in length. The length and breadth of the rotor case can only be 483 and 286 mm respectively. This is as per the guidelines laid down by the NHRA.

A single camshaft can be used whose combinations are 4.1875 x 4.50 inches and 4.25 x 4.375 inches respectively. The 3/4 stoker is the most used stoker in today's racing circuit.

The cars used in funny car racing are prone to explosion. Such explosions can cause serious accidents and can be life threatening to the driver. In order to prevent such explosions a ballistic blanket is placed over the combustion chamber. This provides a lot of additional protection. The funny cars are extremely powerful and the power comes from the fuel system of the cars. The fuel system is designed to give maximum fuel while running and during a single race a funny car can use as much as fifteen gallons of fuel. The gear ratio of cars used in funny car racing is fixed at 3.20:1. The option of a reverse gear is also available in funny cars used in funny car racing. The funny cars have a multi stage clutch which gradually transmits power form the engine to the wheels.

The safety standards in funny car racing are very high and care is taken to prevent any accidents while racing. There is a special parachute system designed to help drivers to eject once the car engine catches fire. The parachute system is synchronized with the fire alarm and goes off immediately if it senses fire. The drivers participating in funny car racing have to wear specialized suits and helmets to prevent injury in the wake of a crash.

The name funny car racing was given because the cars looked funny due to the rear wheels being placed in the front of the chassis. The purpose was to improve the total weight transfer when the car was under high acceleration.

The look of the cars justifies the name funny car racing.

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