11,000 horsepower in under four seconds: Top Fuel, explained

A Top Fuel dragster is engineered for a single purpose: covering 1,000 feet faster than anything else with wheels. The quickest cars do it in around 3.6 seconds, crossing the finish line at more than 330 mph.

The power comes from a supercharged, roughly 500-cubic-inch V8 burning nitromethane. Because nitro carries its own oxygen, the engine can burn far more fuel per cycle than gasoline would allow — estimates of output run to around 11,000 horsepower, although no dynamometer can measure it directly.

That intensity has a cost. Crews tear down and rebuild the engine between rounds, often in well under an hour, replacing pistons, rods and bearings in a choreographed routine fans can watch from the pits.

Since 2008, NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car races have been run to 1,000 feet rather than a quarter mile for safety. Race day is a head-to-head ladder: qualifying sets a 16-car field, and every pairing is sudden death until a winner remains.