Top Fuel

Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of 341.68 miles per hour (549.9 km/h) and finishing the 1,000 foot (304.8 m) runs in 3.62 seconds.

A top fuel dragster accelerates from a standstill to 100 mph (160.9 km/h) in as little as 0.8 seconds (less than one third the time required by a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach 60 mph (96.6 km/h))^[1] and can exceed 297 mph (478.0 km/h) in just 660 feet (201.2 m). This subjects the driver to an average acceleration of about 4.0 g₀ (39 m/s²) over the duration of the race and with a peak of over 5.6 g₀ (55 m/s²).

Because of the speeds, this class races a 1,000 foot (304.8 m) distance, not the traditional drag-race length of one-fourth of a statute mile, or 1,320 feet (402.3 m). The rule was introduced in 2008 by the National Hot Rod Association after the fatal crash of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during a qualifying session at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. The shortening of the distance was used by the FIA at some tracks, and as of 2012 is now the standard Top Fuel distance defined by the FIA. The International Hot Rod Association, which at the time sanctioned Top Fuel in Australia, dropped the 1/4-mile distance in September 2017 after a campaign by Santo Rapisarda, a car owner who often runs NHRA races in the United States.