Top Alcohol refers to two different classes in professional

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

: Top Alcohol Dragster and the Top Alcohol Funny Car. Commonly known as "alky" cars, both are akin in design to the premier

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 ...

classes, but less powerful (about ). In both classes, the cars are either supercharged ( "blown") engines, burning alcohol (

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is a ...

) or can burn

nitromethane Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...

and be normally aspirated,

fuel injected Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...

engines. Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars resemble their nitromethane (Fuel) counterparts, with about half the power of their respective classes. Each car uses a three-speed transmission. Engine displacement is limited to 456 cubic inches for nitromethane engines (with a minimum weight of 2,125 pounds), 466 cubic inches for screw-type superchargers (1,975 pounds), and 528 cubic inches (2,050 pounds) for roots-type superchargers. Top Alcohol was devised in the 1970s as a replacement for the

Top Gas Top Gas (T/G) is a former NHRA drag racing professional class. Analogous to Top Fuel, Top Gas was a pro class, and allowed dragsters (T/GD) as well as bodied cars. Several noteworthy cars ran in Top Gas. One of the early streamliners, ''Scuder ...

class, which was similar but burned

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

. Initially, alcohol dragsters competed against Funny Cars in a category known as

Pro Comp Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

, before a separate class, Top Alcohol Funny Car, was created in the 1980s. It was within IHRA's version of this class use of ethanol fuel was pioneered with great success by Mark Thomas, an Ohio farmer who became a five-time champion within that organization. Despite this, ethanol has failed to capture the imagination of racers; the majority opt for more traditional methanol. Today both Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car compete in

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 motorsp ...

drag racing. They are classed not as ''professional'' but as ''sportsman'' within the USA but in Europe they are classed as a professional category within the FIA Drag Racing Championships. Top Alcohol classes also compete outside of North America, most notably in Australia and Europe. In Europe they are called ''Top Methanol Dragsters'' and ''Top Methanol Funny Cars''.

References

Drag racing classes {{Motorsport-stub

See also

References