ANDRATop Fuel is a class of Australian drag racing. It caters to the premium Nitromethane burning 300 inch long Dragsters. The class uses large-capacity, superchargedV8 engines with a displacement of 500 cubic inches. Identical to the Top Fuel class of the AmericanNHRA. Top Fuel in Australia is regulated by ANDRA, and is considered a Group 1 or professional category. Top Fuel Dragsters are the fastest accelerating vehicles in the world. These are the most recognisable of all Drag Racing cars. The 25-foot-long Top Fuel dragster can cover the quarter mile in 4.4 seconds at up to 540 kilometres per hour. Mostly using a 4130 chrome moly chassis constructed in the USA. They weigh about 1000 kg which makes for a massive power to weight ratio. The total finished cost of a Top Fuel dragster is estimated at $500,000. Some notable drivers competing in this category are Darren Morgan, Andrew Cowin, Phil Lamattina, Damian Harris, Wayne Newbey, Martin Stamatis and Phil Read and various drivers representing Santo Rapisarda. Some notable crew chiefs include Bruce Read, Robert Cavagnino Santo Rapisarda JNR and Santino Rapisarda The nitro burning 11000+ horse-powered Top Fuel dragsters. Top Fuel is the elite Drag Racing category, known as the “Kings of the Sport”. The dragsters that race within this category are capable of covering a quarter mile from a standing start in as little as 4.5 seconds. They achieve speeds in excess of 530 km/h by the finish line and are the fastest accelerating vehicles on the planet, faster even than a Space Shuttle. The energy and sound these incredible machines generate can be felt through the ground and into your body from the grandstand as they thunder down the track, measuring 3.2 on the Richter scale on each pass. In order to exceed 300 mph in 4.5 seconds Dragsters must accelerate at an average of over 4G's. In order to reach 200 mph well before half-track, the launch acceleration approaches 8G's. Each run consumes approximately 100 litres of Nitro Methane. Top Fuel Engines turn approximately 540 revolutions from light to light! Including the burnout the engine must only survive 900 revolutions under load
Television broadcasting
Top Fuel Championship is on SBS Speedweek and the new SPEED Channel on Foxtel.
