NHRA Winter Nationals 2006
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The first and last races of the NHRA season are always at Pomona Raceway. These
pictures were taken on the first day of the weekend of races, Thursday. The AAA club offers members free admission
on Thursday so I took the day off
work to go.
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The pictures on this page are of cars that use Nitro Methane fuel.
They were the only cars we watched. They are quite simply the most exciting,
visceral experience there. The ground literally shakes as they go by. They
have something outrageous like 8,000 horsepower.
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This near the start line as the car launches. Look at the back of the rear tires how
they deform from the forward grip and motion. The tire also grows in
height as it starts spinning faster and faster.
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Here is a good shot showing the flames coming out of the open headers. The
force so much fuel into the cylinder it doesn't all burn so is still left to
burn as it exits the exhaust system. We
used to love to go watch them in Ohio where they were allowed to race at
night. Here the neighborhood has grown up so much around the track they
don't allow racing at night.
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Look at the front end in this picture. You can see how the frame of the car
has twisted and lifted one tire off the ground from the power. They cover the
1/4 mile in less then 5 seconds and reach speeds over 300 miles per hour.
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