First Pass in a 9-Second Dragster! HOT ROD Unlimited Episode 33

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On this episode of HOT ROD Unlimited

Transcript

00:00 On this episode of Hot Rod Unlimited, I get to drive a nine second dragster.

00:07 Driving a rail is something I've always wanted to do, so I was really excited to

00:15 get on a plane and head to ZMAX Dragway in North Carolina, where Top Fuel driver

00:19 and instructor Doug Foley had invited us to get behind the wheel.

00:23 There was only one small problem. Once we got there, I was really scared.

00:27 So scared, in fact, that we couldn't use the original introduction because I look

00:31 like I'm about to cry.

00:32 And I'm going to learn how to drive a dragster at the Doug Foley experience.

00:37 All I could think of was this.

00:44 Luckily, Doug's school is set up to alleviate the fears of sissies like me,

00:47 and he even brought in some special guests to talk us through the process.

00:50 Courtney and Brittany Force are the daughters of multi-time NHRA funny car

00:53 champion John Force. Courtney drives a funny car like her dad,

00:57 the Traxxas Ford Mustang.

01:04 And 2013 is Brittany's first year running a Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA

01:11 Mellow Yellow Series.

01:18 The Doug Foley school is set up so even first-time drivers will be able to

01:24 experience what it's like to pilot a fast drag car.

01:27 The school has small bracket-style dragsters built to withstand the abuse

01:30 of newbies and still make it down the quarter mile in under ten seconds.

01:33 These are 180-inch wheel-based dragsters, very similar to a sportsman-style

01:37 dragster. It's just purpose-built. We wanted to give people the opportunity to

01:41 come out of the grandstands and feel what a dragster feels like. What powers these?

01:45 It's a small-block Chevy. And they're carbureted, just naturally aspirated?

01:48 Naturally aspirated, carbureted with a power glide, two-speed power glide.

01:51 They can run on race gas and take some serious abuse from people like you.

01:56 And we're running it C12? Yeah, we run a mixture of C12

02:00 and some lower octanes and kind of come up with something that really works well for it.

02:04 The cars we were driving are much smaller and more mild-mannered than the

02:07 four-second Top Fuel machines that Brittany drives.

02:09 No nitro-burning Hemi here, but the 400-horsepower small-block Chevy moves

02:13 the 1,500 pounds of dragster and driver without any problem.

02:20 After the classroom session with Doug, it was time to suit up. Before I got to drive,

02:24 I went for a ride in the two-seater. Most tracks won't allow passengers in anything

02:27 but 14-second cars and require a license for cars quicker than 10-0.

02:32 So it's a big deal to get to experience what it's like to run so quick.

02:39 The double dragster is powered by an 800-horsepower big-block Chevy, and it clears the lights

02:44 in 8.86 seconds at over 150 miles an hour.

02:48 The launch on this car is enough to make your vision blur, and I was barely able to see

02:51 again when they called me over to drive myself.

02:54 This was it. Do or die. Hopefully not literally.

02:57 Luckily, Courtney Force was there to give us some advice on how to calm down and focus

03:01 on making it safely down the track.

03:02 A lot of people are nervous about, you know, remembering a routine, and I keep telling them,

03:06 just remember, you know, keep it basic, you know, go up there, don't try to mess with anyone on the tree,

03:11 you know, just do your job, and if you ever don't feel comfortable, you just gotta lift off the throttle.

03:15 You can learn a lot just by watching these cars, and, you know, I'm gonna try to help

03:19 walk them through, you know, the staging process and the shut-off process down at the other end.

03:23 It looks a little intimidating, it's gonna be a little nerve-wracking, but no matter what,

03:27 you just gotta get in, you gotta try to suck it up, and, you know, fight the butterflies

03:31 in your stomach, and it'll be a lot of fun.

03:38 When you're licensing for any kind of drag car, you're asked to make a series of short

03:43 runs before you go all out.

03:48 On the first run, I did a burnout and a 60-foot launch, then idled down the track, just to

03:52 get the feel of the car and the staging lights.

03:59 I thought I was prepared for the violence of the launch, but man, it really slams you

04:04 back against the seat.

04:05 I was a little shocked.

04:11 On the second run, the goal was to make it under power to half-track before letting up.

04:18 On this run, I really understood why driving instructors are always telling you to look

04:24 ahead.

04:25 I let my gaze wander to the mid-track cone and immediately found myself out of the center

04:28 group.

04:29 This earned me a scolding back in the pits.

04:34 On the last run, I was determined to make it all the way.

04:36 I had two goals, break into the nines so as not to shame the hot rod name, and don't die.

05:05 Mission accomplished.

05:07 Tell me what I did well and tell me what I did badly, because I know I made some mistakes.

05:11 The first run, you were just getting comfortable with it.

05:13 That's why we do it incrementally.

05:15 Second run, oversteered it a little bit, which I was a little concerned going on the third

05:18 run, because you don't want to oversteer it going the full quarter mile.

05:22 You warned me not to look at the cones for the half runs, but I did it anyway, and I

05:26 think that's what I was doing.

05:28 I was steering into what I was looking at.

05:30 On the final run, I just looked at the very far end of the drag strip, and every time

05:34 I wanted to turn the wheel, I was just like, "Don't do it!"

05:36 You kind of calm that down and right down Broadway, 986, 131 mile an hour.

05:41 I mean, considering you never drove a dragster before, what else could you ask for in three

05:44 runs?

05:45 It's the fastest I've ever been on a drag strip.

05:47 I'm hooked now.

05:48 I think I might need to go back and get a license, and then maybe an alcohol car?

05:51 Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but that was some serious fun.

05:54 The Doug Foley School offers ride-alongs in classes all over the country, so you can test

05:58 your bravery by getting in a dragster for a ride of your own.

06:00 [engine revving]

06:01 [music]

06:11 [music]

06:21 [music]

06:31 [music]

06:36 you

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