The NHRA funny cars were racing at the track by my house this weekend and the paper did a story on the price of imported race gas. The bold stuff is crazy.

Quote :

"MORRISON — At a time when reaching for the pump has become a royal pain in the gas for every motorist, nobody has a sorer wallet than John Force. When his Ford Mustang gets thirsty for fuel, Force is paying $39.26. Not to fill the tank. Per gallon. But here's the real bummer. Force races dragsters for a living. He might own the heaviest lead foot in America. On his work commute, when the light turns from red to green, Force can burn 10 gallons in 4.2 seconds. Quicker than a guy can reach for his credit card, nearly 400 bucks are gone in a puff of exhaust smoke. "I'm cutting costs everywhere I can. The world has changed since 9/11, and the problem for a lot of us in racing is we felt we were untouchable in terms of money," Force says. "You know what my wake-up call was about the price of gas? We were driving down the interstate to Lake Tahoe to have a few days off, I open up a newspaper and it says the brothels in Nevada were giving gas-discount coupons to truckers. So I said to my wife: 'I know how we can save some money. Drop me off.' Now, was that nutty? Maybe the idea was a little extreme. But you get the point." On drag strips across the country, including Bandimere Speedway, the crowd roars as loudly as the engines. The mean machines that Force and his National Hot Rod Association rivals drive at speeds of nearly 300 mph have long been affectionately known as nitro- burning funny cars. But when the Earth and everybody on it is getting hot about fuel prices, those same high-tech Fords, Chevys and Dodges are being cursed as cash incinerators, burning dead presidents found on large-denomination bills at the speed of light. "I think it's always smart to drive with your wallet, but that's because I'm poor," says Tim Wilkerson, whose small, budget-conscious team rolled into Colorado atop the funny car standings. Funny cars run on nitro- methane, an ultra-premium soup that has become a hot political issue, and the argument has nothing to do with greedy oil sheiks from the Middle East. U.S. drag racing teams currently import 100 percent of their nitro from China, whose government has created a shortage by shutting down factories in order to meet environmental requirements so the country can look and smell better during the upcoming Summer Olympics. "We've got ourselves into a pickle getting this stuff, and the nitro supplier realizes it, so they jack the price up. It's tripled during the last year alone," says Wilkerson, whose car can chug 20 gallons from the time an engine is fired in the staging area until he shuts it down after each lightning- quick qualifying run. All the proof anyone needs of America's jones for cars is to watch how funny cars induce trance-like stares from spectators. Gawkers bump into each other so often, you would think Angelina Jolie was walking naked through pit row. And every rubber-squealing hot rod that roars down the 1,000 feet of narrow strip at Bandimere leaves a carbon footprint the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex. "We're a fuel-consumption pig, no doubt about it," says Wilkerson, born and raised in a country built on the two-car garage. So, it's with some hesitation I ask Force, who got rich and famous by punching pinholes in the ozone, what he thinks about global warming. "Wouldn't you rather hear my views on God?" says Force, a self-deprecating laugh bouncing off the walls of his tour bus. Without missing a beat, the 59-year-old veteran adds that when we Homo sapiens go extinct and dinosaurs make a comeback, he hopes old T-rex returns with a mug as pretty as his wife's lovely face. "Without a doubt, we're adding to global warming. The glaciers are melting and rivers are rising. There is change," Force says. "But the point is: It was coming anyway. We only gave it a small nudge with our buses and cars and barbecues." He knows the pain at the pump is real. A 14-time NHRA champion and one of the most powerful forces in the sport now pinches pennies and counts the hot dogs his crew eats. In recent days, Force issued a stern memo to every employee on his four-car team: "We run for the championship, and I'm at a point where I can't pay my bills." When racing fuel pushes the needle to 40 bucks a gallon, even a driver with a need for speed starts getting nervous about how long America can run on empty. Maybe better than anyone on the road these days, Force understands the three scariest words in the English language. Fill 'er up."

It costs $800.00 from the time they start there car until they shut it off on one freaking run.

7/14/2008 12:55:04 PM

sucks to be someone who wastes their time on expensive and silly endeavors, i guess

7/14/2008 12:57:20 PM

yeah but they also have more power in 1 cylinder than and entire nascar engine has.

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 1:00 PM. Reason : p.s. nitromethane isn't gasoline ]

7/14/2008 12:58:44 PM

^^ cheap and silly endeavors (tdub) are much better.

7/14/2008 1:00:56 PM

^ EXACTLY...tdub might be a waste of time, but it costs me very little

[Edited on July 14, 2008 at 1:02 PM. Reason : .]

7/14/2008 1:01:37 PM

he owns 4 teams now maybe 5... i think he gets compensated ok.

7/14/2008 1:02:40 PM

Not to say that's not a lot, but you have to consider the cost of everything involved.

7/14/2008 1:18:11 PM

Yeah, I kind of wish they went into it a little deeper, like average amount of runs per team*# of teams Force has*$800

7/14/2008 1:21:54 PM

I just meant all the individual costs for one team. A set of tires runs around a grand, and they last four runs tops.

7/14/2008 1:24:52 PM

they run 5 times a day for atleast 3 days then up to 5 runs (if they win or come in second) on sunday


they also rebuild a $100k engine AFTER EVERY SINGLE RUN!
their gas isn't that awful expensive in comparison

7/14/2008 1:28:18 PM

^ Exactly. $800 worth of nitro on an engine that runs around $100k and gets a $5k rebuild every run is no big deal.

7/14/2008 1:30:02 PM

Maybe he can ride his high horse to work.

7/14/2008 1:35:17 PM