Have you ever wondered ?

[steve wilson]

When you arrive at the pit area, you have to unload the equipment, lower the tailgate and get the racecar out of the hauler, set up the pit area, and finish work from the previous day, such as building racks and making sure all the motors are prepared. Then you have to charge the ignition and computer before running tests. The crew chief will give the call on what head gasket to use. The cylinder head guys put the head gaskets, cylinder heads, and valve covers on the car and the manifold and supercharger are put back on. The crew chief also gives the call on the floaters to the clutch guy, then another crewman puts the clutch pack in the car. Now, it's time to put fuel in the engine and hang the starter on the motor.

About 60 minutes before the run, the crew will warm up the engine to make sure things are working properly. Once the engine is started, the crew chief checks the idle and rpm. Then the fuel pressure is checked, along with the EGT temperature (cylinders) and the blower boost (about 40 pounds at the step of the throttle). Then, the magneto is set, the timers are checked and both fuel pumps are turned on to check the fuel pressure again. The crew chief will check the load on the stall and the lag on the motor. Then brace yourself because it's going to get loud. The crew chief gives the signal - for Dick LaHaie, it's a head bob to driver Larry Dixon - and the driver then whaps the throttle not once, but twice. This is done to put heat in the clutch.

After warming the car, the valve covers come off, the blower belt is changed, and the clutch pack is adjusted. The crew also sets the bearings, while the assistant crew chief runs the timers. Fuel is again added to the tank and fresh oil put in the engine. The head guys adjust the valves and the bottom-end guy puts the diaper on the motor and the belly pan on the car. Now, you have a few minutes to relax before loading into the van and towing to the staging lanes.

The staging lanes are the calm before the storm. Some crew members will fraternize with their buddies from other race crews, while other crew guys make the normal adjustments to the clutch and engine in the lanes. The crew then pushes the car into position. On a Funny Car, a crew member takes the pin out of the fire bottles to activate the fire containment system in case of an explosion or fire.  

Crewman Tim Kulungian knows time with his family is a precious commodity, especially when he's on the road.

Now it's time to start the engine. The crew chief sets the fuel pressure and makes sure the idle is correct. The body is lowered and the driver does the burnout. The driver backs into position and the throttle stop is taken off the engine before the body is lifted so the crew chief can make last-second adjustments to the idle and rpm while everyone gives the engine one last look. The air bottles are turned on before the body is again lowered. A last adjustment is made to the wheelie bar and the driver is given the signal to stage the car. Pre-stage, stage, ambers, green, Go! A few seconds later the madness is over and the real work begins.

At the top end of the track the crew members in the van turn the air bottles off, put the ground wires back on the ignition, and turn the driver's fresh-air helmet system off. They unhook the fuel lines to drain fuel from the cylinder heads and put the pin back in the fire bottles. Someone rolls up the parachutes and puts the pin back in the wheelie bar. Strap the car to the van and if you improved on your E.T., set a record, or won your round during eliminations, you stop at the scales before picking up the time slip. The guys then tow back to the pit area, unhook the car from the tow vehicle, take the body off the car, put the jacks underneath the car, and raise it off the ground.

If you've never witnessed a race crew service the car following a run, stop by a pit and take the time to appreciate the effort and energy that goes into make these precision racecars perform. It's an art that takes place with very little verbal interaction. Each crew person has a specific role and they tend to those particular duties before assisting their teammates. Pretty much all that's heard is the sound of air guns, wrenches, and parts being moved.

The bottom-end guy takes off the oil pan and services the bottom end of the engine. The bearings, rods, pistons and the main bearings are changed following each pass. The oil and puke tank is drained. It's a tannish-looking concoction, sort of eggnog color. The head guys take off the valve covers and cylinder heads. The pistons are taken out of the engine. The blower and manifold are taken off. The clutch pack is removed. The pushrods, rocker assembly and piston sleeves are checked, while new lifters go into the engine. A new rack (pistons and rods) is put in the engine. After getting the call on the head gasket, the engine is reassembled. The clutch pack, heads, manifold and supercharger are put back on the car. The blower overdrive is checked. The valves are adjusted and the clutch is checked. A crewmember torques the bead locks on the rear wheels, while clean oil and fuel are added to their respective tanks. The fresh air bottle is refilled and the CO2 bottle is changed. The body has already been wiped down following the run. Now the crew is ready to warm the engine again.  

Anthony Vanetti works on the tires.

All that happens quicker than it takes most people to get an oil change at their local Jiffy Lube on a Saturday morning. Oh, one last thing - before the final qualifying session Saturday night, some teams put a brand new engine in the racecar.

You wonder how all the crewmembers are so productive? Experience and the right equipment helps, and for Snake Racing, those Mac Tools come in handy. The Skoal Racing Funny Car teams of Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. carry eight short blocks and eight racks each and can use up to 72 clutch plates during a weekend. The also carry three sets of tires, 12 sets of cylinder heads, four blowers, two intake manifolds, five pressure plates and flywheels, some 200 pistons and 150 rods, and more than 1,000 piston rings. The crew will go through 1,100 clutch plates a year and 200 blower belts during a 23-race season.

[Westfields Rock On]

[brianm]

[Mrs Westy]

The crew will go through 1,100 clutch plates a year

About the same as Tommo, then  

[steve wilson]

OUCH!!!

[pistonbroke]

Bet they don't know how to stop the mother in laws tap from dripping  

[felters]

Very similiar to my own rigourous preparations at a track day.

Arrive in Paddock and locate burger van.

Meanwhile my chief engineer takes bonnet off and applies Duct tape and cable ties as necessary. A large hammer is always available in the event of detailed engineering work being necessary. Tyres are visually inspected to ensure that they have air in them.

Car is now ready for use.

After several hours of track time the car is then rolled back into the garage and systematically ignored until the next track day.

[SteveD]

what the chuff ,it's there problem if there that stupid   that aint motorsport   and all for a couple of seconds ! foooooooooooooooooools

[stu999]

Very similiar to my own rigourous preparations at a track day.

Arrive in Paddock and locate burger van.

Meanwhile my chief engineer takes bonnet off and applies Duct tape and cable ties as necessary. A large hammer is always available in the event of detailed engineering work being necessary. Tyres are visually inspected to ensure that they have air in them.

Car is now ready for use.

After several hours of track time the car is then rolled back into the garage and systematically ignored until the next track day.

    ROTFLMAO!!!

[hilux]

     

Ditto

   

[Pepi]

If you ever get a chance to watch these guys in action its amazing, they can strip an engine in less time it takes to eat a bacon sandwich/burger/kebab and don't forget they are messin with superchargers/turbos, exotic fuels etc etc and the engines are churning out around 2000 bhp (Good grief!!! so there aint much leeway for mistakes!!

[pistonbroke]

When you arrive at the pit area, you have to unload the equipment, lower the tailgate and get the racecar out of the hauler,

Pit crew guide for Dummies or what!

[cast iron]

Its ironic realy, but the only reason they have to do so much work is that the regs were developed in 1960 something, and they have to use a particular similar vintage base engine. If they were allowed a little more freedom to run something a little more up to date, restricted a bit, the whole sport would be less frantic and costly.

I'm not complaining its just what I picked up from an article earlier in the year.

[Nick M]

Its ironic realy, but the only reason they have to do so much work is that the regs were developed in 1960 something, and they have to use a particular similar vintage base engine. If they were allowed a little more freedom to run something a little more up to date, restricted a bit, the whole sport would be less frantic and costly.

Actually the engine is only loosely based on the old Chrysler Hemi engines.  They're 500 cui maximum but they are all aluminium and don't run coolant.  To get 8,000bhp out of any engine, more modern or otherwise, is going to mean it will need rebuilding after every run because the engines don't run conventionally once the spark plugs have all been used up - basically they run like a diesel for the final part of the run, i.e. a pure compression based engine.

The cost of a top fuel engine is remarkably cheap in real terms - think they're about $50K for a complete engine and blower, ready to run.  The blocks are only about $5k each for example.

[cidersurfer]

Then brace yourself because it's going to get loud. The crew chief gives the signal - for Dick LaHaie, it's a head bob to driver Larry Dixon - and the driver then whaps the throttle not once, but twice. This is done to put heat in the clutch.

And if you're standing close enough, squeeze your hands over your ears and you'll feel it pulling the air out of your lungs...