Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I've always been in awe at the speed and reaction of a 410 Sprint Car, I use to argue with a friend who was a crotch rocket nut 15 years or maybe more ago that a Sprint car could beat a crotch rocket in a 1/4-1/2 mile drag race on a slow rolling start. This debate was obviously never settled, I did however ask Stevie Smith one night in the pits after an Outlaw show this question and he told me that his Sprint car would smoke his motorcycle.

Now days I am not so sure with the bad ass bikes out there like the Suzuki Hayabusa's and such. What are some of your opinions on this?

I remember quite a while back seeing a segment on television, I think it may have been Lasoski took out the stagger and raced down a drag strip against one of the top Pro Stockers at the time, Like a Warren Johnson or someone like that and if I remember correctly they came out 1-1 Lasoski won one and Johnson won won and they left it at that. That is pretty damn impressive.

Damion Gardner went 211.59 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Sprint Car although the car was modified so it could run that fast.

I ran 410 winged sprints for 20 year...now play with bikes. The big advantage that a bike will have is multiple gears whereas a sprinter only has one. I remember the lasoski thing and it seams it was at Bristol. I don't know how it was staged but I'm guessing the sprintvwas rolling along and when he crossed the start line, the pro stock left. This gives a huge advantage to the sprint. 

The sprint car has the power to weight advantage but the bike has gears. I'm a huge sprint car fan but I'm betting on the bike. 

After doing a little research, the NHRA Pro Stock record appears to be 6.455 and the record for Pro Stock Bike is 6.72.  I am under the assumption the Pro Stock Bike will kick the hell out of a crotch rocket.  (?? true or not??)  So, if true, and Lasoski split with the Pro Stock car, then, by the transitive property, one would believe the sprint car would beat the crotch rocket.

One major unknown is your range of "1/4-1/2 mile".  I am thinking the sprint car is king in the 1/4" but the crotch rocket is just going to keep going through the gears for a long time.  I would think by the 1/2 mile mark the bike would be gone.

Fun to ponder though. 

I'm missing something here. How does one drag race a true sprint car when they have to be push started?

Rolling start for the sprint car. My guess is that as the sprint car rolled trough the staging area area lights, the tree went green for the pro stock car.  My question is what speed was the sprint car allowed to reach before the lights - just a slow idle or faster?

I've also done enough street racing to know that a car rolling up from behind has a huge advantage. I've used that same scenario and have a fairly slow car beat one that's much quicker. 

Ive heard this too, there is a little similarity to the OP. A new ZR1  corvette/NASCAR/Indy car/F1 has a 1 mile run to reach 200mph  at the end of the mile is the starting line for a 1/4 drag strip which sits a TF dragster. Just as the first car crosses the start line at 200 mph the TF leaves.. who wins?  The fuel car wins in the last few yards.. I'm not a huge drag race guy but will go see the fuel cars once a year, they are incredible  

Drag racing is all about power/weight ratio,and of course traction. A modern street legal 1000cc sportbike has 200hp and a weight of 550lbs with rider,a WoO sprintcar has approximately 900hp and 1400lb with driver,so the sprintcar has a huge power advantage. So from a roll on drag race my money is on the sprintcar

.... do your research ..... dragster catches & passes the vette in mere 3 seconds ..... not in the last few yards ...... no contest

dttfowtm ...  
Proud Member of Sprntlover's Babysitting Service
Pa Posse Says Race or Shut Your Pie Hole!
Work hard & become a leader. Be lazy & end up a slave.
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Possibly you went to public school or failed math or both? The corvette is still ahead at the 1000 ft mark. He gets passed in the last 320 ft,  close enough for me to call it a few yards.....jeez

You're not considering the huge advantage the bike has with gearing.   yea you could put very low gearing in the sprint car and it'd help tremendous,  it then may not run 100 mph.  Im a huge sprint car fan too. 

320 feet equals 106.67 yards ........ maybe I should look up "few" definition ......

google search ..... covette top fuel dragster ...... find acceleration put in ...... corvette forum result. .... last three paragraphs should be read.

await my diploma ..............

dttfowtm ...  
Proud Member of Sprntlover's Babysitting Service
Pa Posse Says Race or Shut Your Pie Hole!
Work hard & become a leader. Be lazy & end up a slave.
I Challenge anyone to give an example of a program that
the government has managed efficiently and/or cheaper
than the private sector. Please no enactments, laws or
statutes.

Just youtube sprint cars drag racing. Pretty interesting.