Top Fuel

Top Fuel Dragsters represent the pinnacle of drag racing performance. Utilizing a supercharged engine producing over 5,000 horsepower from 500 cubic inches of displacement, these machines can accelerate from a standing start to 100 miles per hour in less than one second. Each quarter-mile run will cost nearly $3,000 in basic wear on equipment, including almost $400 for the fifteen gallons of nitromethane fuel used for every pass. Using sophisticated computers to monitor all engine functions and complicated clutch-engagement systems, each team is typical of the $1,000,000 investment needed to fund a full season of racing. The Top Fuel Eliminator field is comprised of the eight teams which recorded the quickest elapsed times during qualifying rounds.

Pro Modified

One of the most popular divisions in the sport, Pro Modified embodies the true spirit of hot rodding, offering a wildly diverse group of race cars and a variety of 2,000-horsepower engines. Combining classic body styles and modern equipment, constructors are permitted to extensively modify either to enhance both appearance and performance. Competitors are offered the options of supercharging or adding nitrous oxide injection to the powerplants; a displacement limit of 711 cubic inches remains on non-supercharged engines while supercharged versions face a ceiling of 527 cid. Minimum weights include 2,450 (nitrous) and 2,700 (supercharged). A 50 pound weight break is allowed for cars 1959 and earlier. Gasoline or methanol are the only accepted fuels. The Pro Modified field is composed of the 16 quickest teams from the qualifying rounds.

Funny Car

Among the most difficult vehicles to control, the supercharged Funny Cars are the quickest and fastest full-bodied race cars in IHRA drag racing. Cloaked in fiberglass or carbon fiber replicas of passenger car bodies, each vehicle is powered by a supercharged, fuel-injected engine capable of 3,000 horsepower. Funny cars are permitted to weigh no less than 2,200 pounds, including the driver. Because the engine is located in the front of the driver, the danger of fire mandates extensive safety equipment in the class. The methanol or ethanol fuels used in the class are less expensive than nitromethane, but each car represents a $100,000 minimum investment. The Alcohol Funny Car field is open to the 16 quickest teams based on qualifying rounds.

Pro Stock

To the drag racing purist, Pro Stock remains the most important category in the sport. Deeply rooted within the legacy of production musclecars, Pro Stock vehicles retain street car identitiability while relying solely on gas-burning, carburetor engines to surpass 200 miles per hour. The home of the ‘Mountain Motor’, IHRA Pro Stock racing often offers a field of qualifiers separated by less than a tenth of a second and consistently presents the closest professional category competition on race day. Engines are limited to no more than 815 cid, and the vehicles must weigh more than 2,400 pounds. Pro Stock Eliminator is made up of the 16 quickest teams from qualifying rounds.

Top Sportsman

As the class which spawned the Pro Modified division, Top Sportsman remains the last true ‘no rules’ sportsman category. Covering the spectrum of passenger car body styles and powerplants, Top Sportsman racers are not encumbered by displacement limitations or customizing rules. In fact, the class offers some of the most radical visual and mechanical thrills in drag racing. As in Top Dragster, the drivers are allowed to use state-of-the-art electronic driving aids and the teams calculate their own performance predictions to determine handicaps during eliminations. Top Sportsman Eliminator is composed of the 48 quickest teams from qualifying sessions.

Top Dragster

The fastest sportsman category in drag racing, Top Dragster is also renowned as one of the most innovative classes. Combining dragsters and altered vintage roadsters, it presents handicap racing with 6-second, 225 mph contestants. Dragsters powered by big block engines are permitted nitrous oxide injection, while dragster using small block engines may opt for supercharging. The altereds are allowed virtually any choice of engine modification. Teams determine their own performance predictions in order to establish handicaps during eliminations. The Top Dragster field is composed of the 48 quickest teams from the qualifying sessions.