Drag boat racing is very similar to its asphalt cousin. The biggest difference is the medium.  Because water is unpredictable, drag boat racing is an exciting, explosive sport.  In Asphalt drag racing, the vehicles start from a dead stop.  In drag boat racing, boats are given a 125 foot approach to allow boats to achieve a stable plane.  Boats run down a straight ¼ mile course (1320 Feet).  There are two lanes, each measured with it's own timing device, to record elapsed time as well as mile per hour.  The start of the race is set to a 40 second countdown, of which the last 10 seconds are counted down on a visible clock.  The boats leave their positions on the holding rope and travel 125 feet to the start line.  The object of the start is to cross the line as close to, but not before the clock reaches zero.  The competitor to cross the finish line first is claimed the winner, unless he had reached the start line before zero, then he would be considered disqualified.

Drag boat racing consists of 14 different classes.  The top six classes make up the sports pro categories.  The remaining classes are considered bracket categories.  Classes are designated by hull type, intake setup, and fuel type.  The fastest of the hull types are called hydroplanes.  The others consist of jets, and flatbottoms.  Hydroplanes achieve their tremendous speed by developing an air foil under the hull in it's tunnel, similar to an airplane, which allow the boat to almost fly.  Hydros and flatbottoms both use a hybrid steel propeller in order to transfer the power of the motor to the water.  Jet boats use a specially designed pump that takes water in an opening in the bottom of the boat and pushes water with an impeller out the back through a nozzle that not only pushes the boat but also steers it.

The fastest classes in drag boat racing is the Top Fuel Hydro. Derived from the original Chrysler Hemi of the 60's, some Top Fuel Hydros are powered by an all-aluminum hybrid V-8 engine.  The "Loose Cannon" is powered by nitromethane for fuel.  The intake systems are very sophisticated. They use a device called a supercharger.  The supercharger is like an air compressor which forces air into the engine, in turn produces the tremendous horsepower created by these engines.  A Top Fuel Hydro can cover 1320 feet in less than 5 seconds at speeds around 235 MPH.

At a typical race event, each competitor is given the opportunity to qualify a minimum of two times in their perspective class on Friday & Saturday.  A qualifying pass is a timed run down the course.  The top qualifiers are then assigned an opponent within their class for Sunday's eliminations.  The winner of each elimination run moves to the next round and when only one competitor remains he is claimed the winner.

Each competitor is given his/her own space in the pit area (this area is where the boats are assigned to perform repairs and maintenance, during an event).  Here spectators can view the crews while they perform work on the boats, as well as the see the team's transports, buy racing apparel, and talk with drivers.

Click here to go back!