Gainesville Raceway
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Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip just outside Gainesville, Florida. It opened in 1969 and is most famous for hosting the NHRA's prestigious Gatornationals event since 1970. Kenny Bernstein became the first drag racer to break the 300 mile-per-hour barrier at the track on March 20, 1992, during qualifying for that year's Gatornationals. Overview Gainesville Raceway, which has a capacity of 30,000, opened in 1969 and held its first Gatornationals event in 1970. Long considered one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit, it was from this launch point that drivers clocked the first 260-, 270- and 300-mph Top Fuel runs. It also was from this starting line, during the 2000 Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals, that eight of 10 national records were set in the professional classes. Gainesville Raceway has a separate road course, which is purpose-built for vehicle testing and driving schools. Completed in 2000, the road course has 1.6 linear miles of asphalt, with a 1-mile-lo ...
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Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2020. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, the List of largest United States university campuses by enrollment, fourth-largest public university campus by enrollment in the United States as of the 2021–2022 academic year. History There is archeological evidence, from about 12,000 years ago, of the presence of Paleo Indians in the Gainesville area, although it is not known if there were any permanent settlements. A Deptford culture campsite existed in Gainesville and was estimated to have been used between 500 BCE and 100 CE. The Deptford people moved south into Paynes Prairie and Orange Lake during the first century and evolved into the Cades Pond culture. The ...
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National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world. The association was founded by Wally Parks in 1951 in California to provide a governing body to organize and promote the sport of drag racing. NHRA's first Nationals was held in 1955, in Great Bend, Kansas. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, the national event series which comprises 24 races each year, is the premier series in drag racing that brings together the best drag racers from across North America and the world. The NHRA U.S. Nationals are now held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana and are officially called the U.S. Nationals. Winners of national events are awarded a trophy statue in honor of founder Wally Parks. The trophy is commonly referred to by its nickname, “Wally”. ...
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NHRA
The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsports sanctioning body in the world. The association was founded by Wally Parks in 1951 in California to provide a governing body to organize and promote the sport of drag racing. NHRA's first Nationals was held in 1955, in Great Bend, Kansas. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, the national event series which comprises 24 races each year, is the premier series in drag racing that brings together the best drag racers from across North America and the world. The NHRA U.S. Nationals are now held at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg, Indiana and are officially called the U.S. Nationals. Winners of national events are awarded a trophy statue in honor of founder Wally Parks. The trophy is commonly referred to by its nickname, “Wally”. ...
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Gatornationals
The Gatornationals is an annual National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national drag racing event held each March at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida. The event was held for the first time in 1970. The traditional East Coast opener and the season's first of 16 events for Pro Stock Motorcycle riders and first of 10 for NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series racers moves back to the second spot on the calendar. The event is one of the sport's most revered with a rich tradition of history-making performances. The Gatornationals have the title of being the drag race to see the first 260-mph Top Fuel and Funny Car runs in 1984 by Joe Amato and Kenny Bernstein respectively, and the first 270-mph and 300-mph Top Fuel passes by Don Garlits and Kenny Bernstein in 1986 and 1992, respectively. Its 675-foot concrete launchpad is one of the longest on the tour. In 2014 the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals entered its 45th annual national event which makes it the f ...
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Dragstrip
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile (1320 feet, 402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201 m) tracks, and the premiere classes will run 1,000 foot (304.8 m) races. The race is begun from a standing start which allows three factors to affect the outcome of the race: reaction time, power/weight ratio, and traction. Features A dragstrip is a straight, purpose-built racetrack, typically an eighth, ten feet longer than three-sixteenths, or a quarter of a mile long (660/1,000/1320 feet, 201/304.8/402 m), with an additional ''shutdown area'' to allow vehicles room to stop after crossing the finish line. Common features also include a 'water box' where vehicles and motorcycles start their burnouts for tire clean-up and also to heat up their tires to improve traction. There is a set of lights known as a 'Christmas ...
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Kenny Bernstein
Kenneth Dale Bernstein (born September 6, 1944) is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King funny car and dragster. He has also been nicknamed the "King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start quarter mile. Bernstein owned King Racing, which he drove for in the NHRA and fielded various cars in other racing series such as IndyCar and NASCAR. Bernstein retired from full-time competition in 2002 and moved his son Brandon into the Bud King Top Fuel dragster, but returned to finish the season in place of his son after Brandon suffered a severe injury. With the exception of a brief return to Funny Car in 2007, Bernstein did not return to the car and instead continued to run his team until the end of the 2011 season when he left drag racing altogether. Early life Bernstein attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, Texas; he played o ...
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Catch Fence
The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3–4, etc. depending on a combination of racing series and team size. ;107% rule: Often used in Formula One or other racing series, it is a rule where the driver must qualify the car within 107% of the polesitter's time to be allowed to compete. Variations of this may be used to monitor drivers and warn them to reach the required pace or be parked (disqualified). Similarly, the IndyCar Series uses a 105% rule, and NASCAR has a 115% rule, mainly for performance on track, though IndyCar and NASCAR often adjust the threshold for tracks with very abrasive surfaces (such as Atlanta Motor Speedway) where lap times can be considerably faster with less worn tires. ;200 MPH Club: A lifetime "membership" awarded by the SCTA or another sanctionin ...
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Top Fuel
Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 seconds. A top fuel dragster accelerates from a standstill to in as little as 0.8 seconds (less than one third the time required by a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach ) and can exceed in just . This subjects the driver to an average acceleration of about over the duration of the race and with a peak of over . Because of the speeds, this class exclusively races to only a distance, and not the traditional one-fourth of a statute mile, or . The rule was changed in 2008 by the National Hot Rod Association following the fatal crash of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta during a qualifying session at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. The shortening of the distance was used by the FIA at some tracks, and as of 2012 is n ...
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Funny Car
Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers' showroom models. They also have the engine placed in front of the driver, as opposed to dragsters, which place it behind the driver. Funny car bodies typically reflect the models of newly available cars in the time period that the funny car was built. For example, in the 1970s, then current models such as the Chevrolet Vega or Plymouth Barracuda were often represented as funny cars, and the bodies represented the Big Three of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Currently, four manufacturers are represented in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car — Chevrolet with the Camaro, Dodge with the Charger, Ford with the Mustang, and Toyota with the Supra. Worldwide, however, many different ...
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Pro Stock Motorcycle
Pro Stock Motorcycle, formerly known as Pro Stock Bike, is a motorcycle drag racing class that is the two-wheeled equivalent of Pro Stock. It has been a feature of NHRA drag racing since the 1980s when it was added to the professional class structure and has since spread around the globe. The first points championship season was the 1987 NHRA season. Frames are purpose-built specifically for drag racing and are not based on their road-going counterparts. One of the most successful Pro Stock Motorcycle drivers in NHRA history was six-time champion Dave Schultz, who died in 2001. The first female driver in this category is Vicki Farr; the first officially licensed driver is Stephanie Reaves, as well as first to qualify at a NHRA National Event, and the best known female face in this category is Angelle Sampey (Seeling), who set a national record 7.38 second elapsed time in 1996, during her rookie year. John Myers was one of the most dominant and legendary riders in the sport. ...
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Ron Capps (racing Driver)
Ron Capps is an American NHRA Funny Car racer who owns and drives the NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Supra. Capps drove for Don Prudhomme, who recruited him from Top Fuel dragsters, and later for Don Schumacher, winning twenty NHRA Funny Car national events and three Skoal Showdowns, coming second in the NHRA title race three times, twice behind John Force, once (while with Schumacher) trailing teammate Gary Scelzi Gary Scelzi (born August 11, 1960) is an American dragster racer and midget car owner who has won the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship on three occasions and the Funny Car title once. In 1997 he won the title in his f .... Since he began driving funny cars, Capps has earned 67 NHRA national event wins and has come second in the championship three times. His best career elapsed time is 3.837 seconds. His best career speed is 339.28 mph. Capps won his first NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car championship in 2016. References Sources *Burk, Jef ...
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