We have partnered with the Indy and Fort Wayne regions to complete some work on the Grissom surface so that we can use more space for course set up and clean up the driving and paddock areas. Indy region has the lead and is working well with us to try to get the work done before our event there on June 2/3.

Now we just need some workers to help! The work will take two days to complete and the first dates are scheduled for May 26th and 27th with a rain date of late June.

We need about 5 workers for each day on that weekend. If you can only attend one day, Saturday is the preferred day!

Indy would like us to bring the following if you can when you attend:
* Gloves
* Safety Glasses
* Shovels
* Trowels
* Brooms
* and Water – for your self and for the patching cement

The goal is get as much work done as possible on Saturday. The equipment arrives Friday – sweeper for the pebbles and a grinder for those pesky high spots.

Work will start at 9:00am! Please email me at solo@sbrscca.org or call me at
574-277-6016 if you can help out.

We’ll take all of the help we can get as this work will greatly enhance the fun and competition we have at Grissom.

DEFINITION OF ACCELERATION

For those who love numbers, engineers, speed freaks and those who think they have gone too fast at one time or another. 

There are no rockets or airplanes built by any government in the world that can accelerate from a standing start as fast as a Top Fuel Dragster or Funny Car…..and that includes any aircraft launched by a catapult from an aircraft carrier. Nothing can compare…..
One top fuel dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi engine makes more horsepower than the first 4 rows of stock cars at the Daytona 500.

It takes just 15/100ths (0.15) of a second for all 6,000+ horsepower (some believe 8,000 HP is more realistic – there are no dynomometers capable of measuring) of an NHRA Top Fuel dragster engine to reach the rear wheels.

Under full throttle, a dragster engine consumes 1-1/2 gallons of nitromethane per second; a fully loaded 747 consumes jet fuel at the same rate with 25% less energy being produced.

A stock Dodge Hemi V8 engine cannot produce enough power to drive the dragster’s supercharger.

With 3,000 CFM of air being rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the fuel mixture is compressed into a near-solid form before ignition.

Cylinders run on the verge of hydraulic lock at full throttle.

At the stoichiometric (stoichiometry: methodology and technology by which quantities of reactants and products in chemical reactions are determined) 1.7:1 air/fuel mixture of nitromethane, the flame front temperature measures 7,050 deg F.  (Oxy-acetylene on “cut” is 6,300)

Nitro methane burns yellow.  The spectacular white flame seen above the stacks at night is raw burning hydrogen, dissociated from atmospheric water vapor by the searing exhaust gases.

Dual magnetos supply 44 amps to each spark plug.  This is the output of an arc welder in each cylinder.

Spark plug electrodes are totally consumed during one pass.  After halfway, the engine is dieseling from compression, plus the glow of exhaust valves at 1,400 deg F.  The engine can only be shut down by cutting the fuel flow.

If spark momentarily fails early in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the affected cylinders and then explodes with sufficient force to blow cylinder heads off the block in pieces or split the block in half.

In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters must accelerate an average of over 4G’s.  In order to reach 200 mph well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G’s.

Dragsters reach over 300 miles per hour before you have completed reading this sentence.

Top fuel engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light!  Including the burnout, the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load.

The redline is actually quite high at 9,500 rpm.

Assuming all the equipment is paid off, the crew worked for free, and for once NOTHING BLOWS UP, each run costs an estimate $1,000.00 per second.

The current top fuel dragster elapsed time record is 4.428 seconds for the quarter mile (11/12/06, Tony Schumacher, at Pomona , CA )..  The top speed record is 336.15 mph as measured over the last 66′ of the run (05/25/05 Tony Schumacher, at Hebron , OH ).

Putting all of this into perspective:

You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter ‘twin-turbo’ powered Corvette Z06.  Over a mile up the road, a top fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass.  You have the advantage of a flying start.  You run the ‘Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and pass the dragster at an honest 200 mph.  The ‘tree’ goes green for both of you at that instant.

The dragster launches and starts after you.  You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 3 seconds, the dragster catches and passes you.  He beats you to the finish line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.

Think about it, from a standing start, the dragster had spotted you 200 mph and not only caught, but nearly blasted you off the road when he passed you within a mere 1,320 foot long race course.

…… and that my friend, is ACCELERATION!

Submitted By: Mark (Captain Slow) Manninen

William Loring
wloring@comcast.net
574-675-0641

We  need volunteers to help set up our Grissom weekend Solo #3 & #4. Mark Manninen will have the trailer at the gate by Noon Friday 6/1. Anyone wishing to help set up the event, let Mark Manninen or Nick Mawhorr know.

We are planning to bring a gas grill and and have a Set-up Workers Cookout for dinner Friday evening.  Typical burgers, dogs, brats, chips and such will be provided by the Solo program. Bring your own beverages. Anyone can bring other food and use the grill.

Please note: The site will only be open for workers and early arrivals on Friday 6/1. Registration and Tech will be open on Saturday 6/2 and  Sunday 6/3 morning per the published schedule.

Thanks,

Mark Manninen, Grissom Event Chair 574.271.0810