Top Alcohol Dragster (TAD) and Top Alcohol Funny Car (TAFC) are consistently filled with seasoned veterans and new talents pushing the boundaries of performance and excitement, providing a dynamic and competitive landscape in the classes.<\/p>\n
Qualifying orders are frequently only separated by thousandths of a second, each event usually produces a different winner, and championships are clinched by a mere tens of points.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another added layer of interest is the internal rival within the classes \u2013 one that TAD has been familiar with for some time, but TAFC has recently been introduced to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are two different engine combinations available to competitors \u2013 the supercharged kind, which lends its notoriety to the class\u2019s roots, and then the injected nitro version, which is more commonly found nowadays. Oftentimes, the injected combination finds itself at the top of the class; however, the blown-alcohol machines are not far behind and remain competitive, too, making it more exciting for racers and fans.<\/p>\n
Jackie Fricke, a standout in the TAD category who pilots the injected Finke Racing dragster, has been aiming for a championship for several years, falling short by only 20 points in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo win a championship, no detail can be overlooked,\u201d says Fricke. \u201cIn 2021, the final round of our final points-earning event (after winning 11 straight rounds) ended our championship run. In reality, all of the rounds during the season make the difference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person on our team shares the same goal and is committed to winning a championship; our team owner John [Finke] said we will not quit until we get one. That is both good and bad because I want the championship, but don\u2019t want him to hang it up when we achieve that goal,\u201d Fricke says laughingly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
NHRA regional and national event winner James Stevens has recently introduced a second blown alcohol car as part of his team, which has been a growing trend in the class, especially for the nitro-injected dragsters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really enjoy the challenge of tuning the blown alcohol combination,\u201d says Stevens. \u201cSome of the best and worst times have been spent at the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nick Spiegel is newer to the game and is the other half of Stevens\u2019 Performance Truck team. He prefers the blown-alcohol combination as well, even though many newcomers veer towards the nitro-injected entry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competition these days is tough \u2013 just to qualify for a race is a win in itself. Driving a blower car is a blast; you have a lot going on as a driver in just a short amount of time, compared to just smashing the gas on an A\/Fuel car,\u201d says Spiegel, who was hooked on racing at an early age.<\/p>\n
Sean Bellemeur, driver of the Bartone Bros. Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car, is a three-time NHRA national champion and a two-time regional champion. He knows firsthand how hard it is to win a championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old adage comes to mind: if it were easy, then everyone would do it. There are so many factors. The obvious ones are having the time, money, and resources to even have the option to try,\u201d says Bellemeur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competition. Yes, there are fewer cars these days. But quality cars are everywhere. The competition itself is much tougher. If there are 12 cars at a race, 11 of them can win at any time \u2013 maybe all 12.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also points out the \u201cnot so obvious\u201d challenges, like having the right tune-up for the tracks across the country that the TAFC class visits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCold, hot, humid, dry, high track temp, low track temp, good prep and bad prep \u2013 you still must turn on win lights. No excuses. Treating each and every run you make with the same mentality, be as good as you can possibly be,\u201d adds Bellemeur, \u201cthat gets taxing \u2013 mentally and physically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a long season. This is no sprint. It\u2019s a marathon, and over the years, I\u2019ve learned that keeping that vision where it needs to be is critical to success,\u201d says Bellemeur.<\/p>\n
He even compares the run-to-run challenges of a TAFC to \u201ctwo bull riders in the same ring at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re damn hard to drive. They make you look like a fool in no time,\u201d confesses Bellemeur. \u201cBut don\u2019t slip up because there\u2019s Maddi Gordon, Bob McCosh, Ulf Leanders, Brian Hough, Shane Westerfield, Chris Foster, Phil Esz, DJ Cox, Kyle Smith, and so many others waiting to pounce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthering the point that the TAFC class is exciting for fans and rewarding for the competitors, Bellemeur explains what makes it all worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s mayhem at times; sometimes it\u2019s harder than others, but that\u2019s what makes the taste of victory so wonderful,\u201d he says. \u201cThat feeling at the end of the road when you get to stand in unison with your brothers and sisters and say together, \u2018We did it!\u2019 There\u2019s nothing better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on November 8, 2024. ![\"Drag](\"https:\/\/dragillustrated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/DI_flat_red-e1711481551475.png\")
<\/p>\n
The post 25 Reasons to Be Excited About Drag Racing: No.\u00a011 \u2013 Top Alcohol Turns Up the Heat<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re a fan of fast cars, particularly the dragster and Funny Car type, and just a good drag race, then don\u2019t sleep on the Top Alcohol categories that reach speeds of up to 275-plus MPH and elapsed times of 5.40 seconds or quicker. [Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}