Nitro Flames! 10,000 Horsepower Funny Cars Shake The Ground (NHRA Big Show Spec)

The 10,000 horsepower Hemi motors in these Funny Cars use nitromethane, which produces these spectacular blasts from the headers. The same motors are found in Top Fuel Dragsters.
The cars in this video are often called 'big show' Funny Cars, because they are typically found at NHRA events. On this occasion they were racing over the eighth mile at Texas Motorplex for Funny Car Chaos - one of the few opportunities to see these kinds of cars outside NHRA events.
Have you seen these cars live before? Let me know what it felt like in the comments!
This video features Allan Middendorf, Del Worsham, Ray Martin, Terry Haddock, Todd Simpson and Terry Totten.
The acceleration is astounding. On the eighth mile we are talking 280mph in 3.1 seconds. The quickest quarter mile times for Funny Cars were in the 4.6s at 330mph, before the shift to 1000 feet racing by the NHRA.

[@joshuamillan7457]

The feeling in person at an NHRA event is like no other that I have felt in my life. The ground shakes. Car alarms go off in the distance. You heart races and at the four wide events it feels like somebody took your breath for four seconds. It is awesome to say the least! I highly recommend nitro racing to anyone, even if they are not a race fan, to go see it just once. Its an experience you'll never get or feel anywhere else, except maybe a space shuttle launch.

[@LivingNitro]

Everyone needs to see it!

[@joshuamillan7457]

@@tylerchristlieb339 You'll love it! I promise! NASCAR doesn't allow fans to get close in the pits like NHRA does! Enjoy!

[@joshuamillan7457]

@@tylerchristlieb339 As have I. I've been to Indy car at Nashville Superspeedway. Nascar at Bristol, Charlotte, Martinsville, and Nashville. NHRA at Bristol and Charlotte. Monster Jam in Roanoke, VA. Various dirt tracks, asphalt tracks, and dragways for smaller events and truck and tractor pulls also. They all still don't compare to an NHRA event! Period! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!👍

[@joshuamillan7457]

Told you. Glad you enjoyed it! I've been going every chance I get! Now you need to go to a 4wide event either in Charlotte or Las Vegas. They're the only tracks that run 4 cars in 4 lanes at one time. That's 48000HP! I love it!

[@corymoyer8541]

I'm trying to talk my fiance in to getting married at Michigan's track. I said what's more romantic than 11,000hp and 3 second runs? Hopefully our marriage 😆

[@billymanilli]

Just listening to those things idle makes me giggle and smile and feel like a little kid again! I freakin love it!!!! Thanks!

[@brianspangler3771]

The sound of these cars firing up never gets old. The car at around 3:50 has the most badass wrap I've ever seen.

[@LivingNitro]

There’s something so special about that sound.

[@sydneyann20101]

Man that car at 3:52 might have the coolest wrap I've ever seen. Very cool and badass

[@soundslikebstome]

Funny's are badass, period. But under the lights they are even more badass.

[@LivingNitro]

Absolutely! I remember them capturing my imagination as a kid, and they still do!

[@alancesar5968]

ALL CANDLES ARE LIT , WHAT A RUSH . NO VIAGRA NEEDED THERE .WELL DONE

[@LivingNitro]

Haha!

[@michaelflowers5712]

"I love the smell of Nitro in the morning"--Or anytime for that matter!! (Good video & sound! Thanks!)

[@LivingNitro]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kevinbirmingham3863]

Damn there's so much power I could watch this all day everyday

[@jeffwhite3021]

Highly recommend sitting just after the finish line for at least a few runs. The car is going 300 mph and then the chutes open. Sounds and looks badass.

[@rayblack9657]

I bet "BIG Cheef" won't drive one of these but I think Reaper would for the right money! lol

[@vicfreeman]

Freakin’ phenomenal video. If you’ve never seen Top Fuel cars in action: There is absolutely no way to adequately describe it. It’ll shock you to your core and you MUST go. THIS summer.

[@dmeemd7787]

You can really see the difference in this video with the way Del's car leaves the line vs the others (which leaves harder on the wheelie bar, etc.) -- really awesome stuff!! Great to see so many awesome cars come out to FC Chaos! 😊🤘🏻

[@LivingNitro]

Great point!

[@sliehgtofhand]

The power these machines have is legitimately frightening.

[@williamcole7843]

I haven’t seen any of these since the Springnationals held in Tulsa many years ago! We would sit on the pit side about where they would finish their burnouts. The ground would shake, you could feel it in your chest, and the south breeze would blow the nitro into your face. Ahhh, I can smell it now!! I’m going to take my grandson to the next Funny Car Chaos in Ennis Texas this fall!!!

[@leehrvyoswld]

Got to go to NHRA Nationals in Topeka last weekend. One of the best motorsports experiences of my life and definitely a bucket list item crossed off. Did the first two rounds without ear protection. The funny cars seem louder than the top fuel -- they definitely shook my chest more. Hehehe. Annyway, thanks for the cool vids.

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

Love how these machines always run engine-rich.

[@billymanilli]

Literally around 1:1 air/fuel ratio with nitromethane!!

[@joeljenkins2876]

@@billymanilli sometimes, it’ll actually be 1:2!!!

[@kawythowy867]

Freakin badass. Love top fuel.

[@slowpoke96Z28]

7:45 got him a win over a big show car. That made the whole race worth it lol.

[@iggyfritz7150]

Those are the kind of candles I want to see lip for my birthday cake

[@iggyfritz7150]

Lit

[@dmeemd7787]

😊🤘🏻

[@iggyfritz7150]

People at the starting line standing that close it's like being in front of a bomb every time they launch. You can feel the concussion in your face something you want more and more of💪🇺🇸😄

[@LivingNitro]

It is! Like some kind of long explosion/earth quake feeling.

[@mingram008]

The coolest time I had as an photographer was when I got a press pass on an exhibition meet with a number of top fuel, alcohol and a whole bunch of super comp dragsters. I was right ahead of the line in the photographers pit setting my rig on the wall. The top fuel cars were unbelievable man. I’ve gone to drag races for years but to get that close to the cars when they launched was a whole new game. And every pass I would have to clean new motor oil off the lens! I never knew they were passing that much oil on a run. I bought film for three days and got a half of a Friday and it rained for the next three days! What a bummer. It was next to impossible for a guy like me to get a press pass at the motorplex.

[@kawythowy867]

Amen To That

[@jakobole]

That's quite the lawn-mower :) I'm more into planes, but this is also great :)

[@Crimepaysaskapolitician]

American outlaw body looks cool

[@chevy427ify]

love that,,Nitro

[@nickkost8904]

Fantastic reaction time at 3:33 Wow!!

[@hankschrader149]

I don't think I've ever heard a nitro funny car Rev that high 😬 no wonder she banged the supercharger 🤯

[@richf.7845]

Just a thought, NHRA...maybe if you produced content like this, that shows the true essence of fuel racing, fans wouldnt be leaving in droves and you might....just might...attract a few new ones.

[@raymondmasse5577]

Bro the pandemic hit a lot of people. The fact that a lot of fans in 2021 even consider spending their hard earned dollars to attend one of these events shows you the love we have for this sport.

[@joshsantana7792]

@ the 3:13 minute mark that cop was ready to hand out 2 speeding tickets 🔥🏁🔥

[@LivingNitro]

Surprised no one else has mentioned that!

[@joshuamillan7457]

Lol! Just now caught that! 🤯🤣

[@blgonzo79]

Anyone who has seen these live knows the true effect period!

[@user-hh1cu9sx8e]

Yeah, you can feel that reverberate throughout your whole body and don't forget about that distinct smell. Man, I love it!

[@markriley4222]

I love the fill the start n the heels move up the up the spin than u get rush of energy, power forst

[@gilarmenta1526]

I got John Force's autograph all the Pedregon Bros. Brandon Bernstein dad Kenny Bernstein Jeg Coughlin Tony Schumacher Antron Brown in Phoenix Arizona winter nationals. Can still feel the concussion of the engine from the pit!

[@mikesr4890]

Bad to the bone 🔥

[@LivingNitro]

You know it!

[@toniocavalari6936]

A "T-REX" dynasaur would run like a puppy if they heard these dragsters echo through the valley . . . . .👍

[@sammygonzalez7627]

You cannot film from the sidelines at NHRA, but you can film from the stands

[@ThyGoose888]

Do they have multiple gears or is it just forward and back?

[@stevel1458]

Top Fuel? Just forward and back.

[@morphman21]

Where they match racing or just doing exhibition runs and were they racing 80% or the same they run in the nhra?

[@LivingNitro]

The event was Funny Car Chaos. 70 Funny Cars of all different kinds turned up. Thanks for being a subscriber!

[@user-kv5fw7xz9c]

2:50 Wow, it can do middle RPM! Is this Top Fuel engine?

[@Software_Issue]

0:05

[@vicfreeman]

Sell a kidney if you have to in order to get to a Top Fuel event this summer. It’ll change your life, it’s freakin’ indescribable but I’ll try: The entire universe shakes under your feet. When they hit the pedal on those freakin’ cars the ground feels like you’re on a boat in rough seas. Don’t leave an open soda on the bleachers because it’ll go flying into the ground.

[@MrSuzuki1187]

The exhaust headers produce over 6,000 pounds of jet thrust, more than both engines on some corporate jets, like the one I fly. This equates to 2,400 equivalent shaft horsepower. Too bad they cannot point their headers directly to the rear and use the exhaust to power the car down the track, like a jet plane. They need about half of that 6,000 pounds of thrust for down force to keep the tires and car planted to the track.

[@enigma51ted]

OMG i cant sleep tonight with this physics insanity-yet-reality....really OMG vacation-time off my job

[@stevel1458]

A few years back the exhaust headers were laid back a bit to help provide additional speed. That's the year Robert Hight set the TF Funny Car speed record (for 1000') of 339.87 mph. The NHRA quashed that idea due to safety. There was less down force, making the possibility of losing control greater. Not only that, higher speeds require a longer slowdown area, and at some tracks, this lack of a really long slowdown area could be downright dangerous.

[@alkennedy1124]

Ok my question, Is the( fink )part of Worsham team , don fink that used to run a funny car way back in the late 70 s and 80 s at LACR , it was called different strokes for different volks, powered by a mid engine Volkswagen 3.00 alcohol burner, 10 seconds consistent , yes that’s my question, I remember there warshams running at LA CR, . Oh yes way back in the day , as it is, thanks BigAl California.

[@LivingNitro]

I think it's John Fink? Drag Race Central has an old article on it from 2000.

[@alkennedy1124]

@@LivingNitro ok John fink, nice wander if it’s the same guys that had the different strokes for different volks , it was a Fiat funny car with a 10 second VW mid engine 4 speed, nice thanks BigAl California.

[@jerrymunsch1349]

NHRA go back to a true 1/4 mile.

[@audiman6875]

Are they all shutting down at the 1/8th?

[@LivingNitro]

Yes, this was an eighth mile event.

[@HighAway]

the last car didnt have flames shooting out and wins. looks like it conserve fuel for the win!

[@stevel1458]

I daresay there were some Top Alcohol cars in the mix.

[@djack2058]

@gamemillentertainment this is how y'all nitro cars should sound. Y'all did great, but it can be a little better

[@starlightwolves1525]

Hats off to the cameramen standing 5 feet from the flames with the motor at full stroke. These things in idle will pop your eardrums and shake the ground, I can only imagine being next to it at full bore. Maybe?… getting punched in the gut with a hot rock every time?

[@redblue40rc33]

Love to go ta a topfuel race once in my life..I'm 47

[@LivingNitro]

Do it!

[@mikebaker9574]

Go at least once!!!!!

[@BroccoliHead7]

Why would you not wear ear pro whilst in the vicinity

[@slowpoke96Z28]

2:52, I wonder if there was still some fuel in the lines.

[@LivingNitro]

Got a jump from everyone!

[@thelostmachine8395]

All that on 500 cubic inches...

[@MrSuzuki1187]

The parachutes automatically deploy when the blower explodes.

[@Ericgomez214]

Yup glad to see safety equipment improved over the years

[@martinshackelford467]

I don't see how people stand beside those cars without ear plugs, I'd be deaf lol

[@LivingNitro]

Haha, maybe they have ear plugs!

[@martinshackelford467]

@@LivingNitro I thought I seen one guy that didn't. He bold af lol

[@alch3myau]

Funny cars are a bit like sex, Lay some rubber down and its over in 4 seconds

[@drxst]

fibra de carbono????

[@aggabus]

312 fps at 4.27

[@dannyviveros7095]

???? Mix racing?( Nitro & Alcohol) Wasn't revealed in your comments!! Who wins or???

[@LivingNitro]

Yes it was a mix - Funny Car Chaos was the event.

[@aggabus]

314 mpg

[@FlamesAt1000ft]

So these Funny Cars are firing up 💥on Gasoline,..idling up to Nitro 🔥and bringing the RPMs up to 5000 or more,.running/leaving the line on Nitro⁉️🤨..not Methanol ⁉️🤔😒What up❓What have I missed❓😟😳

[@LivingNitro]

It’s probably the sound of the methanol car in the other lane you can hear.

[@Romans--bo7br]

You haven't "missed " anything.... most of the fuel F/C's are running against TA/FC's.

[@2910mack]

Why do some cars show flames and other don't?

[@stevel1458]

Top Fuel: Flames. Top Alcohol: No flames.

[@2910mack]

@@stevel1458 i see

[@travisginyard5383]

Ain't no Nitro Flames, Dem cars run off Nitromethane

[@markriley4222]

U want 2 fill the ground move beneath feet u don't just here the thunder u fill it and breath come with me on ever, other Sunday join n my world and meat my family I have over 2 and 5 hundred thousand

[@bravofoxable]

Nitro or nothing

[@v10l3t40]

I love that

[@enigma51ted]

Female camera Op should be fired

[@stupidhead9117]

There’s no crowd. No one cares.

[@esabatm4988]

Once again we have pathetic eighth mile racing.

[@LivingNitro]

Sorry! Unfortunately this is one of the few events where you can film 'big show' cars. You can't video the racing at NHRA events.

[@esabatm4988]

@@LivingNitro I really like your channel and all of the footage that you provide but i am just not a big fan of eight mile racing. And what do you mean when you say you can't video at NHRA events.

[@LivingNitro]

@@esabatm4988 It's a condition of their media passes. No video of any of the racing, only stills.

[@jeffperdue6689]

This is better than watching NHRA today on tv

[@esabatm4988]

@@LivingNitro Pretty stupid on their part. You would think they would like to get as much coverage of their racing out to the masses.

[@Johnny_Thunder]

whats this 1/8th mile crap? drag racing is getting worse and worse. 1000ft is bad enough.

[@markgolding71]

Amazon advert. IGNORE.