Funny Car is a
drag racingDrag racing is a competition in which vehicles compete to be the first to cross a set finish line, usually from a standing start, and in a straight line. First gaining popularity in the USA after World War II , the sport steadily grew in popularity and spread across the globe...
car class. In the USA, other "professional" classes are
Top FuelTop-Fuel Racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a maximum of 90% nitromethane and about 10% methanol , instead of gasoline...
,
Pro StockPro Stock Drag Racing is a class of drag racing featuring 'Factory Hot-Rods'. The class can be known as "all motor," as the cars cannot use artificial induction such as turbocharging, supercharging, or nitrous oxide, and there are very strict rules governing the modifications allowed to the...
, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and
carbon fiberCarbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers about 0.005–0.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. The
Dodge ChargerThe Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by Chrysler, under the Dodge brand name. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, on three different platforms, bearing the Charger nameplate. The name is generally associated with a performance model in the Dodge range; however, it...
and
Chevrolet ImpalaThe Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. One of America's most successful nameplates, the early Impala became the best-selling automobile when full-sized cars dominated sales, though the name was eventually revived in 2000 for a full-size...
sedans, along with the
Ford MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York...
and Toyota Solara coupe, are now commonly used in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA).
Funny Car is a
drag racingDrag racing is a competition in which vehicles compete to be the first to cross a set finish line, usually from a standing start, and in a straight line. First gaining popularity in the USA after World War II , the sport steadily grew in popularity and spread across the globe...
car class. In the USA, other "professional" classes are
Top FuelTop-Fuel Racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a maximum of 90% nitromethane and about 10% methanol , instead of gasoline...
,
Pro StockPro Stock Drag Racing is a class of drag racing featuring 'Factory Hot-Rods'. The class can be known as "all motor," as the cars cannot use artificial induction such as turbocharging, supercharging, or nitrous oxide, and there are very strict rules governing the modifications allowed to the...
, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and
carbon fiberCarbon fiber is a material consisting of extremely thin fibers about 0.005–0.010 mm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in microscopic crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. The
Dodge ChargerThe Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by Chrysler, under the Dodge brand name. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, on three different platforms, bearing the Charger nameplate. The name is generally associated with a performance model in the Dodge range; however, it...
and
Chevrolet ImpalaThe Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. One of America's most successful nameplates, the early Impala became the best-selling automobile when full-sized cars dominated sales, though the name was eventually revived in 2000 for a full-size...
sedans, along with the
Ford MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York...
and Toyota Solara coupe, are now commonly used in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). Worldwide, however, many different body styles are used. These "fake" body shells are not just cosmetic: they serve an important aerodynamic purpose.
Guidelines
The NHRA has strict guidelines for funny cars. Most of the rules relate to the engine. In short, the engines can only be V-8s displacing no more than 500 cubic inches. (The most popular design is loosely based on the Chrysler 426 Hemi.) There can only be two
valvesA poppet valve is a valve consisting of a hole, usually round or oval, and a tapered plug, usually a disk shape on the end of a shaft also called a valve stem. The shaft guides the plug portion by sliding through a valve guide...
per
cylinderA cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it...
and
superchargerA supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine. The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally-aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be provided and more work to be done per cycle,...
s are restricted to a basic
RootsThe Roots type supercharger or Roots blower is a positive displacement pump which operates by pulling air through a pair of meshing lobes not unlike a set of stretched gears. Air is trapped in pockets surrounding the lobes and carried from the intake side to the exhaust...
type— rotor case length with a width of . Only single
camshaftA camshaft is a shaft to which a cam is fastened or of which a cam forms an integral part.-History:An early cam featuring a camshaft was built into Hellenistic water-driven automata from the 3rd century BC. The camshaft was later described in Iraq by Al-Jazari in 1206...
s are allowed. There are two common bore-stroke combinations: (called a
3/4 stroker) and (called a
5/8 stroker). The 3/4 stroker is the most common combination used today and equals 496 CID (8.1 L).
Engine blocks are usually made out of
billetBillet refers to a cast semi finished product. It is also referred to as ingot, particularly for smaller sizes. A billet is typically cast to a rectangular, hexagonal or round cross section compatible with secondary processing, e.g. forging or milling. It can be produced either as coil or cut...
.
CrankshaftThe crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
s are CNC machine carved from a single piece of steel billet. Intake valves are
titaniumTitanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Sometimes called the “space age metal”, it has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color.Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, molybdenum, among other...
and of diameter, while exhaust valves are diameter made out of
InconelInconel is a registered trademark of Special Metals Corporation that refers to a family of austenitic nickel-chromium-based superalloys . Inconel alloys are typically used in high temperature applications. It is often referred to in English as "Inco"...
. Every funny car has ballistic blankets covering specific parts of the engine prone to explosion, namely the supercharger
Funny car fuel systems are key to their immense power. During a single run (starting, burnout, backing up, staging, 1/4 mile) cars can burn as much as of fuel. The fuel mixture is usually 85–90%
NitromethaneNitromethane is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3NO2. It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a slightly viscous, highly polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in extractions, as a reaction medium, and...
with 10–15%
methanolMethanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with formula CH3OH . It is toxic: drinking 10 ml will cause blindness, and as little as 100 ml will cause death...
. The ratio of fuel to air can be as high as 1:1.
Compression ratioThe compression ratio of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber; from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
s vary from 6:1 to 7:1. The engines in funny cars commonly exhibit varying
pistonA piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod...
heights and ratios that are determined by the piston's proximity to the air intake. Funny cars have a fixed
gear ratioThe gear ratio is the relationship between the number of teeth on two gears that are meshed or two sprockets connected with a common roller chain, or the circumferences of two pulleys connected with a drive belt.- General description :...
of 3.20:1 and have a reversing gear; power is transmitted from engine to final drive through a multiple staged clutch which provides progressive incremental lockup as the run proceeds. The rate/degree of lockup is mechanically/pneumatically controlled and preset before each run according to various conditions, in particular track surface.
WheelbaseIn both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels.- Road :In automobiles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the center of the front wheel, and the center of the rear wheel...
is between . The car must maintain a ground clearance.
Horsepower claims vary widely—from 6,978 to 8,897—but are probably in the 8,000
BHPHorsepower is the name of several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other...
range. Supercharged, nitromethane-fueled motors of this type derive their extremely high speeds from their
torqueTorque, also called moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....
, which is estimated at about . They routinely achieve a 6
GThe g-force experienced by an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. The term g-force is considered a misnomer, as g-force is not a force but an acceleration....
acceleration from a standing start.
Safety
Many safety rules are in place to protect the driver and fans. The more visible accoutrements are the twin
parachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are made out of cloth, most commonly nylon....
s to help stabilize and decelerate the car after crossing the finish line.
During safety evaluations in the wake of the fatal crash of
Scott KalittaScott Kalitta was an American drag racer who competed in the Funny Car class in the National Hot Rod Association Powerade Drag Racing Series. He was killed in Englishtown, New Jersey, after an accident during qualifying...
on June 21, 2008 in Englishtown, N.J., the NHRA has temporally reduced the distance of Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1,000 feet effective July 2, 2008. Pro Stock and sportsman classes still race to 1,320 feet.
Origins and name
The first funny cars were built in the mid-'60s and so-called because the rear wheels had been moved forward on the chassis to improve weight transfer under acceleration, increasing traction on the rear tires, which were oversized compared to stock. Looking at the cars, they didn't quite look stock, hence the name "funny." Many of the older cars are still raced today in the NHRA Heritage Hot Rod Racing Series, including the National Hot Rod Reunion and the California Hot Rod Reunion.
External links