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This is project time, a season when social distancing means the safest place to be—is alone with your race car project. Send us photos of what you're working on.
There are two places races are won, on the track, and in the garage. So what are you doing with this time to make your race car quicker? We want to see.
Send us photos and videos of your car being prepped, your engine being built, your new cage…
NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna wanted a car that was capable of 10-second elapsed times on the dragstrip and would be an effective weekly bracket racer, but it also needed to be suitable for daily driving. Was that too much to ask? Apparently not.
21 Apr 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
Many of us still romanticize about the so-called “good old days” of hot rodding in the 1960s and ’70s when vintage muscle cars ruled America’s dragstrips and streets. But the truth is, those days still exist, and in many ways, things are better than…
It’s often said the camshaft is the brain of the engine because it dictates the opening and closing of the valves, thus controlling the flow of air/fuel mixture to the cylinders. That’s the simple explanation, but there’s more to the story.
It’s often said the camshaft is the brain of the engine, but do you know why? It’s because the cam dictates the opening and closing of the valves, thus controlling the flow of air/fuel mixture to the cylinders. That’s the simple answer, but there’s…
Buffalo Turbine, the official track blower of NHRA, is a critical part of our track-preparation process. Its technology cleans and dries quarter-mile surfaces for racing’s quickest cars. But the same technology used to direct massive amounts of air…
Literally overnight, we saw additive-manufacturing labs (3D printing shops) that make drag racing parts, shift those capacities into making face shield…
We’re taking a deep dive into the factory muscle cars, engineered in Detroit, and campaigned by NHRA Sportsman racers in the SAMTech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown
Of the Big Three, Ford has been in this arena the longest. It’s the only Detroit automaker that’s continuously produced a ponycar from ’64 ½ to ’20. It launched its Cobra Jet Mustang drag car (based on the Ford FR500C Grand Am road race car) a year…
We’re taking a deep dive into the factory muscle cars, engineered in Detroit, and campaigned by NHRA Sportsman racers in the SAMTech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown
The muscle car gods were smiling down on NHRA drag racers when Ford, Dodge, and Chevy began offering supercharged ponycars from the factory. It started when GM reimagined its historic ZL1 engine code as a performance package for the fifth-generation…
The NHRA Motorsports Museum includes an interactive display that simulates the massive amount of nitromethane that pours into each cylinder of a Top Fuel or Funny Car engine. The first seconds of the display show the amount of fuel being…
One the fundamentals of building a drag car is plumbing. Fuel, oil, coolant, and hydraulic systems all need reliable and serviceable connections. In our world, that means AN fittings—an open-source fluid-transfer technology that dates back to World…
Maximizing exhaust flow is a key element in obtaining peak performance from any high-performance engine. Before you buy your next set of headers, collectors, and/or mufflers, you'll need to understand a lot of factors, and we're here to help.
Maximizing exhaust flow is a key element in obtaining peak performance from any high-performance engine. Whether it’s a 400-hp factory muscle car on 93 octane or a Top Fueler burning nitro, a properly designed set of headers will create optimum…
You head straight to the garage or shop every day after work. Late night after late night. Countless hours ensuring your dragster is prepped and ready for a pass that will take only seconds. Your i’s are dotted, and your t’s are crossed. Now imagine…
Found at the front of the engine attached to the snout of the crankshaft, harmonic dampers are used to quell the harmonics of the crankshaft and are vital parts of your hot rod.
A common part found on all high-performance engines is a harmonic damper (or harmonic balancer, as they are often called). Found at the front of the engine attached to the snout of the crankshaft, harmonic dampers are used to quell the harmonics of…
Supercharging has long been a favorite of drag racers who recognize that Mother Nature alone cannot supply ample airflow to the cylinders. You’ll find superchargers in a variety of classes within NHRA, and of course, today, they are regularly used…
Valve springs are the unsung heroes of horsepower. Evan Smith dives into the basics of the parts that control the valve train in the latest Racing Technology column.
It could be said that valve springs are the unsung heroes of horsepower. Tasked with a critical job of controlling the valve train, valve springs operate in a harsh environment. They are rapidly cycled while being subject to great force, friction,…
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