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Top Fuel dragsters rely on incredible engineering and skill to become the most extreme machines on the drag strip.

In the world of NHRA drag racing where speed is everything, Top Fuel dragsters are the most audacious and ambitious of all dragsters. Their special features and unique designs are there to maximize performance and acceleration in every way possible, and they would be even faster but for the NHRA regulations.

Top Fuel dragsters are nothing compared to any regular automobile or drag racing cars. For size, they are 25 feet long and weigh 2,330 pounds. They have front and rear wings and massive rear tires designed for maximum grip. The tires on a Top Fuel dragster can also expand to about 44 inches in diameter at maximum speed, versus their normal 36-inch diameter. However, the real star in a Top Fuel dragster is the engine.

Priced at about $500,000, Top Fuel dragsters are track-tearingly fast. Here are some of the most insane facts gearheads should know about these unique dragsters.

Top Fuel dragsters are not called the King of sports for no reason. One of the most insane facts about dragsters is their neck-breaking speed. A Top Fuel dragster can reach 335 mph at top speed and make a thousand-foot run in just 3.62 seconds.

From a standstill position, Top Fuel dragsters can accelerate to 100 mph in 0.8 seconds, beating the record of top alcohol dragsters and even the Porsche 911. This makes them the quickest accelerating cars on the planet. Due to this record-breaking speed, NHRA restricted Top Fuel Dragsters to only a distance of 1,000 feet and not the traditional 1,320 feet.

Regular car engines can go hundreds of thousands of miles untouched, but that's not the case for these automobiles. Due to their speed levels, the seals last for only one full-throttle pull, the spark plugs could disintegrate, and the engine could overheat or suffer some damage.

To keep a Top Fuel dragster on the lane, its engine needs to be disassembled to bare block, examined, reworked, and reassembled after each lap. Worn or damaged parts are replaced before any reassemble. Moreover, the tires must be changed after 8 runs or 1.5 miles to reduce failure.

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While burnout is unhealthy for most regular cars, especially front-wheel drives, it is an important pre-run principle for Top Fuel dragsters if efficiency is required.

A typical top fuel burnout comprises 80 seconds of warm-up to clean and heat the tires and other necessary parts, applying fresh rubber to track surface, oil changing, refueling, and taking off of valve covers. The full run of a Top Fuel must include the burnout, which results in about 100 seconds and a lap of about three minutes.

The ability of Top Fuel dragsters to produce more gravitational force than gravity in a single turn is a startling characteristic. Top Fuel racers experience a gravitational force of about 5gs, which is five times their body weight. This is because their open headers produce about 1100 pounds of downforce at full throttle to achieve the speed feat.

No other automobile comes close to pulling such gravitational force, and that is where Top Fuel dragsters have something in common with space shuttles which only need 3gs to launch. That means Top Fuels are 2gs more than a space shuttle.

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Top Fuel dragsters have a duo-protocol brake system to ensure better brake performance. The first brake protocol system comprises a lightweight carbon brake system. This system improves stopping power and is better adapted to extreme temperatures during top-speed driving at full throttle.

On the other hand, the parachute (second break protocol system) supplements the carbon brake system by using intense wind resistance to slow down the car. These duo-brake protocols are designed to ensure reduced mechanical brake failure and driver-casualty incidence.

Instead of gasoline, Top Fuel dragsters use nitromethane and methanol. This explains why they are called 'Top Fuel dragsters.' According to NHRA regulations, a maximum of 90% Nitromethane and 10% methanol mixture is used, although a lesser amount of nitromethane can be used.

A Nitromethane engine needs 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) of oxygen for one kilogram of nitromethane compared to a gasoline engine that requires 14.7 kg (32 lb) of air for one kilogram of gasoline. This unique fuel system is one of the factors behind their insane speed ability.

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Nitromethane is extremely volatile and can ignite with or without any contact with atmospheric oxygen. This is the burning seen in Top Fuel dragsters when the nitromethane escapes from the exhaust pipes. If the engine falters for any reason or if there is any impact on it, there could be an explosion strong enough to smash the engine's block or head.

As a result, Top Fuel racers are required to use mandatory safety equipment such as HANS devices, full-body fire suits made of Normex or fireproof material, onboard fire extinguishers, and complete face masks. Synthetic bullet-proof blankets are also placed around the clutch assemblies' superchargers in case of engine failure or an explosion.

Top Fuel Dragsters are equipped with a second-generation Chrysler RB Hemi supercharged engine. These motors come with no transmissions or radiators. They were built from thoroughly specialized parts with aluminum billets cylinder head containing two valves made from solid titanium per cylinder.

However, NHRA regulations have limited this engine to only 500 cubic inches. Top Fuels can put out as much as 7,000 to 10,000 hp, and some even go as much as generating a whooping 11,000 hp at full throttle. Top alcohol dragsters come a distant second in terms of horsepower produced with 4,000 hp.

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Watching Top Fuel dragsters race live is similar to standing beside a bomb explosion or a minor earthquake. The sound is loud enough to make an impression on the eardrums, but it doesn't end at that; it can also be felt. A Top Fuel's engine churns out about 150 decibels of sound at full throttle, making them the loudest cars in the NHRA.

This sound level is enough to cause physical pains, headache, earache, or permanent damage to the eardrum. Spectators are required to wear foam earplugs that can cut the sound by about 20 decibels or even earmuffs before a Top Fuel Dragster makes a run.

An insane machine such as a Top Fuel dragster would certainly require a tremendous amount of fuel to run. Top Fuel Dragsters consume as much as four to five gallons of nitromethane for a quarter-mile run and up to 15 to 22 gallons for a typical run which includes the burnout, staging, and the quarter-mile run.

This is equivalent to a fully loaded Boeing 474. Their dam-like fuel pump system can pump out 77 gallons per minute at full throttle to save the time it takes to feed the ever fuel-hungry Top Fuel dragsters.

Hillary Princewill is a Nigerian writer who grew up spending a lot of time in his Dad's garage. He loves sports car, F1 and military vehicles.