Some facts about top fuel dragsters: the supercharger uses around a thousand horsepower to run, but that's ok because the motor puts out over 10x that. It uses around 15 gallons of fuel for a single quarter mile run, but that also includes the burn-out.
If you're anywhere near the pits, and the crew fires up the motor, and then just blips the throttle, the sound waves generated are like physical blows to your chest.
The only sweeter sound is a V12 Merlin coughing into life.
I snagged a ride in a P51 once. OMG. That machine just leaped into the air. I was smiling for a week.
Story of coincidences, I guess: I'm adopted, but a total car nut. My adoptive family weren't really car people except my uncle. A couple years ago I found my birth family, and they are all car nuts. My half sister was a test driver for Audi, my mom and much of the family worked at the local drag strip.
When very little, I thought I wanted to be a farmer, and tried growing crops in the back yard. Total failure. I threw an entire bag of grass seed in my yard 6 weeks ago. Not a single seed sprouted (a flock of birds ate every one). Total failure.
But by age 7 I knew that I was a born engineer. Engines, electronics, software, structures, all of it.
