Funny car

Although we don't race Funny Cars here at Curacao Int'l Raceway, I thought it an interesting enough category to break down. It competes almost exclusively in the NHRA, and is governed by strict guidelines, following some horrendous crashes in recent years.

Only V8's are allowed with two valves per cylinder. The most popular engine type is loosely based on the Chrysler 426 Hemi, a.k.a. the Elephant engine. Funny thing is that, unlike regular engines, these do not use water for cooling (no water jackets), since the latent heat of the methanol in the fuel along with the shortness of the run is not enough to require the cooling of the cylinder heads. The latter are machined from a solid block of billet aluminum.
Although the engines are limited to 500 c.i., superchargers are allowed and restricted to a basic roots type (19" rotor case width with a breadth of 11.25"). One single camshaft per head. From the two types of common bore-stroke combinations, in particular the 4.1875" by 4.5" called a 3/4 stroker or the 4.25" by 4.375" called a 5/8 stroker, the former is more popular and equals 496 c.i.

The engine blocks are usually made out of billet, intake valves are titanium while exhaust valves are made of inconel (a superalloy used in the jet industry). Key to the 8.000+ bhp engines is the fuel system. During a single run a Funny Car can burn as much as 15 gallon of fuel, which mixture is usually 85-90% nitromethane with 10-15% methanol. The fuel to air ratio can be as high as 1:1 while the engine's compression ratio may vary from 6:1 to 7:1.

Funny Cars use a fixed gear ratio of 3.20 :1 with a seperate reversing gear. Power is transmitted from engine to final drive through a 5 stage clutch which provides progressive incremental lock-up as the run progresses. The crew chief is responsible for calculating the rate/degree of lock-up, which is most often pneumatically controlled, necessary to make a good (read winning) run. The wheelbase is between 100" and 125" while maintaining a 3" ground clearance.

In my view, along with the Pro Mod, the Funny Car is the most exciting drag race car to watch. These supercharged, nitromethane-burning engines derive their extremely high speeds (300 mph+) from their torque, which is estimated at about 7.000 ft lbf. Drivers experience some 6 Gs in acceleration from a standing start.

This video shows the brute force of the Funny Car. The music is good too!

Due to several severe accidents in recent years, and in particular that of Scott Kalitta, many changes have been introduced to improve safety, the biggest one being the reduction in track length, from 1.320 to 1.000 ft. hereby allowing for a longer shutdown area. Furthermore, the death of Eric Medlen spurred continued research (a.k.a. Eric Medlen Project) in the field of safety.

About the F/C's history:
They were first built in the 1960's in California, the birthplace of drag racing. Because the rear wheels had been moved forward on the chassis in order to improve weight transfer under acceleration, hereby increasing traction on the rear tires, which were oversized too, the cars didn't look quite stock as regular cars would. So they began calling them "Funny" and the rest is, as they say, history.

In the early 1980's an alcohol burning Funny Car, called Tequila Sunrise, was brought to Curacao by Sonny Hanst. Maybe the time has come to bring another one, at least as an exhibition.

Pictures courtesy of: Mark J. Rebilas Photography