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Copyright 1999-2001, Drag Racing Online and Racing Net Source |
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With
only eight passes on his brand-new "Kentucky Thunder" Top Fuel ride,
Adairville, KY's Scott Price was kept busy dialing in a workable power
combination. Price, a Top Fuel rookie in 2000, ran Top Alcohol Hydro
for the previous seven years, but points out, "the power curve [on the
nitro boat] is a whole lot different than an alcohol boat. You have
to gear it right and try different props, and finding the right combination
is really tough to do sometimes. It takes several laps before you even
know what's going to work."
A
Top Fuel drag boat engine puts out about 4,500 to 5,000 horsepower,
a little less than their land-based counterparts, primarily because
of slightly smaller fuel pumps. The engine turns at about 8,000 to 9,000
rpm and gearing in a V-drive transmission boosts propeller rpm to roughly
double that speed. A two-bladed prop can push the boat to more than
230 mph in just over five seconds, and the prop lasts only about 10
runs before stress cracks render it useless and dangerous. Losing half
the prop at speed can easily lead to disaster. 
Even
as an Alcohol racer, though, Price has headed south between the Savannah's
Georgia and South Carolina riverbanks at more than 227 mph, so he says
he's "not bothered by the speed." "I'm just trying to find the right
combination," he stresses. "There's so much to consider between gearing
and prop settings, and it all has to work together or it's not going
to work at all."
