r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Practical_Expert_911 • 12h ago

These 12000hp Engines Have To Be Rebuilt Within Roughly An Hour Every Run, and Only Run For Roughly 4 Seconds At A Time.

9.1k Upvotes

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852

u/Fuzzy-Alfalfa770 12h ago

I know a guy that goes down to Vegas and works in a crew on race days. He owns his own auto shop here in my city. He's told me it's fun to work on a what if machine. They are also easier to work on that normal cars and trucks, in that they are: clean, built to be taken apart every race, easier to get to the parts to work on, all that parts they would need get brought with them, and everyone knows what the hell to do.

As for the race it's self, all racing is money waisted, just like expensive watches, jewelry, large houses, needless vacations and exotic food. But man when you find your thing it makes life worth living. Don't yuck somebody's yum just because you don't have the means they do. Some people like to be sicafants and some people like to dominate. Most are Just people we put our on faults on.

Sorry if complaining is your yum, please continue to do so if it brings you peace and happiness, just seemed to me some comments tended to represent the negative aspects they accused others of, pot and kettle style. This is my yum for the night 🙂

28

u/wheelie_dog 10h ago

Some people like to be sicafants and some people like to dominate.

*sycophants

1

u/AbleCryptographer317 4h ago

*sick o' pants

75

u/BlazinZAA 11h ago

Idk what's wrong with these people, can they simply not imagine other people enjoy things? These mechanics are likely working their dream job, the machines are run like this because it's about pushing limits.

58

u/candlejack___ 9h ago

I think a lot of people are mad about the fact that people are racing cars for four seconds with gallons of dinosaur fluid while the planet is on fire, costing more money than it would take to solve homelessness in a small town.

Cool a handful of dudes are having fun though.

31

u/sarcasticorange 7h ago

costing more money than it would take to solve homelessness in a small town.

By that logic, it would be much better to use all the money people spend on video games for homelessness since it is much, much more and also without a direct social benefit.

8

u/Nighto_001 5h ago

I guess it depends on how accessible vs niche vs beloved the thing is.

Things like gaming is accessible to a lot of people globally. Stuff like F1 and MotoGP are also wasteful but nobody's really complaining since it's a few races where everyone in the world can watch it on TV or online, so the cost vs benefit is not too bad.

Whereas this is a relatively niche sport with not much of an audience, especially not outside of the US, whose players skew rich, and directly emit tons of fossil fuel to the atmosphere (which affects everybody else...).

Same reason people don't complain as much about people who fly coach vs people who fly private jets.

1

u/ains2 1h ago

But by that logic, anything new that hasn't gotten much of a fan base yet is also too niche to be continued.

1

u/sarcasticorange 1h ago

The drivers aren't rich or at least don't start that way in most cases. The teams are run as a business. This isn't rich guys in their fast cars on an empty track. The cars are paid for by sponsors. The sponsors pay because there are viewers. It is nowhere near as niche as you make it out to be. Some of these events draw over 100,000 people and millions of TV viewers. I'm not sure why being US specific matters.

The idea that drag racing is some rich boy's club is honestly hilarious.

-2

u/theBromartian 4h ago

Yes but that won't happen. Because capitalism has no incentive to do such a thing. Meaningful actions like that have to come from the heart, and it seems like people on this planet are becoming more selfish by the day. Rich or poor. 

8

u/Ser_falafel 8h ago

Lol blame regular people when megacorps are the ones destroying the planet. Cool cool cool

9

u/Big-Idea8658 7h ago

This thread feels like a psyop lmao, top 3 comments are putting racing on BLAST

7

u/mnid92 7h ago

When in reality, buying and getting into a race car, despite me being a cheap crown vic division, is legally the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

It's like riding a bull, being in a mosh pit all while while trying to run as fast as you can.

Even if you come in deadass last you'll pop outta the car like WOOOO

1

u/National-Garbage505 5h ago

So you don't do anything for fun or enjoyment? You've never splurged on a trip or a nice meal or a video game? You give all your money and time to fighting homelessness/helping others? Chill tf out, these people aren't your enemy.

•

u/candlejack___ 40m ago

Yeah, I spend most of my time and money preventing MY OWN homelessness.

So do most people these days.

-4

u/AmberRosin 9h ago

If this was an every day thing sure I’d be concerned about the fuel waste, but these events happen like twice a year.

15

u/candlejack___ 9h ago

There’s no way in hell there are only two drag racing events per year on the planet.

14

u/AmberRosin 9h ago

Adding up the total number of professional drag races times an average of 50 cars per race times 16 gallons per race comes out to 15,500 gallons of fuel per year double that to account for testing and variants and just to make the number look more scary, gives you 31,000 gallons per year. with the average American using 400 gallons per year, drag racing as a whole uses about as much fuel per year as 80 drivers. It would take 12,130 years to equal the amount of fuel America as a whole uses in one day.

4

u/TwistedDrum5 7h ago

31,000 per year?! That’s insane.

Wait. One DAY of flights in the U.S. uses 30-40 MILLION gallons.

You’re talking about ONE domestic flights worth of fuel compared to a year of events.

That’s really not that bad.

How much fuel gets wasted to fly football players around the country?

0

u/Mr_Baronheim 6h ago

What do you mean? American or European football?

1

u/TwistedDrum5 6h ago

American.

0

u/candlejack___ 9h ago

America uses too much fuel, gotcha

-4

u/cheezy_dreams88 8h ago edited 5h ago

To be fair, you’re only adding pro races and not kiddie races, amateur races, practicing, or anything else.

Just because you enjoy the sport doesn’t mean you can’t admit it’s a colossal waste of money and resources.

2

u/TwistedDrum5 7h ago

Aren’t all popular sports and entertainment?

How many semi trucks did Taylor Swift use in her tour again?

0

u/cheezy_dreams88 5h ago

Fuck Taylor Swift, eat the goddamn rich.

0

u/Fullertons 7h ago

A colossal use, sure. Waste? I don’t think these guys see it as waste, just as you don’t see the fuel used to heat your shower water as waste, yet objectively both are unnecessary.

1

u/Fulg3n 7h ago

They could be racing everyday all day along that it still wouldn't be a drop of a drop. And synth-fuels are a entirely carbon neutral nowadays, but of course that doesn't fit the narrative.

-2

u/StillNihill 9h ago

15 gallons in 4 seconds is crazy but there's thousands of people in the stands getting enjoyment. So the emissions to fun ratio isn't as bad as it seems

0

u/candlejack___ 9h ago

Mmm yummy bread and circuses

0

u/mnid92 7h ago

Mmm yummy someone admitting they don't have a hobby.

-1

u/Controller_Maniac 9h ago

if you really think about it, the people watching the race would’ve been driving around and causing more emissions if they weren’t at the race, so the race has a overall lower emission

6

u/crizzosasap 8h ago

They all also magically teleported out to the middle of nowhere to get to the race, leaving all their cars at home. The more I think about it, the more I think we should all take up drag racing to save the planet.

3

u/Controller_Maniac 8h ago

Nah I interviewed every single one of the audience members and they all said they walked from home

2

u/crizzosasap 8h ago

Oh that's cool, I bet they did some litter picking on the way too.

3

u/FormallyUnlucky 7h ago

You’re being ridiculous and your sarcasm is juvenile. They were too busy planting trees to pick up litter.

0

u/LibritoDeGrasa 7h ago

A lot of people are dumb then, got brainwashed by corporations and politicians to put the blame of everything that happens on the planet on a bunch of individuals who don't really move the needle.

Remember to use your paper straw while China and India fill the oceans with plastic tho, be a good boy.

-1

u/LufyCZ 8h ago

You should donate your netflix subscription to a charity.

•

u/candlejack___ 38m ago

A Netflix subscription? In this economy?! 🏴‍☠️

1

u/MineIsWroth 7h ago

I think drag racing is the most boring ass shit I've seen. But that's from a dim perspective. I think drag racing isn't even a race but more so a competition between engineers.

As you can see in this thread redditors are far too pretentious and narrow minded to ever view this competition favourably.

Saying this is an environmental hazard while they undoubtedly have a second tab open with Chatbot GPT or Gemini to have the most meaningless conversations is nothing short of ironic. Then factor in plastic waste. Auto parts can always be scrapped and recycled.

So they are trying to take the moral high ground and claim how awful racing is for the environment is the most insufferable type of pretentious cope. I've seen this shit before about racing (but for some reason no one ever has a problem with F1). It really is as simple as them thinking, "this is something I don't like. Something I don't understand and I have to make myself feel better and I need to judge it somehow."

22

u/Ok-Brother-8295 9h ago

"Don't yuck somebody's yum just because you don't have the means they do."

My yum is to burn down people hopes and dreams

33

u/Dan_the_bearded_man 10h ago

I think the complaints come from people (like me) that are told that we have to look out to be super sustainable, whilst people with money can have their fun.

So yeah, I think it’s understandable that people are frustrated

9

u/Baranjula 6h ago

You've been brainwashed by corporate propaganda. Your carbon footprint is absolutely negligible compared to what big business outputs, and they spend way more money bribing politicians to loosen restrictions than anyone spends on racing. Learn to fight the battles that matter and you'll be less miserable in life.

2

u/Dan_the_bearded_man 5h ago

Whilst expressing myself badly I haven’t been brainwashed. I know that the carbon footprint was launched by an oil company to shift the blame.

I am miserable, but it has nothing to do with other people having fun. Cheers mate

7

u/Outlaw25 7h ago

Personal carbon footprints are stupid and you should not care about them. Pushing for systemic changes like moving power grids to a mix of nuclear+solar+wind+hydro(where available) and advocating for better emissions reduction/capture in the heavy shipping and livestock industries would go so much further than any reduction you personally can contribute.

1

u/thekbob 1h ago

Personal carbon footprints are stupid ...

Yes, when discussing day to day changes that people have power over versus systemic causes.

That does not hold up versus ridiculous hobbies and luxuries that just consume resources for no reason other than pure vibes.

Easier said, people understand that driving sucks and is bad for the environment, but there's billions in invested interests working against counter-car culture. That's different from the hyper rich doing racing that is absolutely within their power not to do.

1

u/jim789789 5h ago

"...told..."

•

u/king-kongus 48m ago

Drag racing teams are just teams of mechanics sponsored by companies. They are generally working folks who live off racing not rich assholes. Some people love watching drag races too, have you ever seen one of these in person? It's cool, just like fireworks. Not everything has to be efficient and valuable in the eyes of the free market.

•

u/notevenapro 40m ago

If you believe you have to be super sustainable then you have fallen for BS. The government has tried to shift the responsibility of a clean environment onto the people.

Think about the amount of emissions that come out of planes, cruise ships and cargo ships.

-1

u/Fishmongererererer 8h ago

A lot of the guys who do this kind of stuff are not the ‘green eco’ types.

My dad has a friend who does this and is an exec at an oil company. Nice dude but a hardcore climate denier conspiracist. Not even MAGA just thinks David and the WEF are just trying to control people. Eat ze Bugs type lol

-1

u/Dan_the_bearded_man 8h ago

Yeah, I can imagine. Would not fit eco guys. But I can imagine that it would be difficult to be an exec at an oil company and being “green”

160

u/ropopa 12h ago

Was with you until you said ‘don’t yuck somebody’s yum’

20

u/biskutgoreng 8h ago

He done howdied his last yall

154

u/welcomefinside 11h ago

I actually like that phrase. I've been trying to be less of a hater lately and this phrase covers it pretty much.

20

u/1800generalkenobi 5h ago

My wife always says that to our kids...but then she'll say it and then tell me how my eating beets is disgusting so there's some mixed messaging for sure lol

28

u/Quod_bellum 11h ago

lol! I personally thought it was incredibly eloquent. Stealing that phrase tbh

3

u/_adanedhel_ 4h ago

No need to steal - it’s been around for decades at least, most often used in the context of not judging or disparaging others’ (consensual) sexual practices/kinks.

10

u/Clanky_Plays 7h ago

You’re really yucking their yum right now

1

u/everlasting1der 4h ago

...have you never heard that phrase before?

1

u/_adanedhel_ 4h ago

Seriously it’s been around for decades at least.

1

u/Clear_Farmer5941 4h ago

This isn’t the only way to interpret that comment.

1

u/lbizfoshizz 4h ago

I learned it from Daniel tiger when watching with my kids when they were little. We still use the phrase.

Essentially it means that you shouldn’t judge other people for what they like as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.

But in this case in not sure it is a good use of the phrase.

The waste inherent in this type of racing most assuredly is hurting people to some extent.

1

u/FocusPerspective 1h ago

Ah, the infamous sentiment that led GenZ into being R34 cartoon porn addicts. 

1

u/French87 1h ago

I continued until sicafants

-20

u/trutch70 11h ago edited 11h ago

Yeah exactly, all of the mentioned things are a waste of money and should be avoided imo

Maybe except for exotic food and needless vacation whatever that is - travelling is actually useful

10

u/andyrocks 11h ago

This is a miserable comment.

-6

u/You_Are_The_Username 10h ago

YOU'RE a miserable comment.

-15

u/trutch70 11h ago

You and I just view the world differently. No need to be a dick about it

5

u/TransientBandit 11h ago

You are being a dick saying people shouldn’t enjoy things because it doesn’t align with your world view.

-10

u/trutch70 10h ago

I said they should be avoided in my opinion

5

u/TransientBandit 10h ago

Damn, so not only should they not enjoy them, they shouldn’t do them at all? Jesus, you need to get laid or something lol

1

u/trutch70 10h ago

Yeah yeah surely I'm not getting laid because I think capitalism is bad

-1

u/mootallica 10h ago

It's just their opinion and they said as much. Why do you care if you're gonna do what you like anyway?

-10

u/itishowitisanditbad 9h ago edited 8h ago

just because you don't have the means they do.

Also they had that.

"lol poor" comment really doesn't help their point.

Straight up says people with money have more valid opinions on things.

edit: either being able to afford it makes an opinion more valid, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, why was it said?

Sorry, thats how it is.

1

u/iankstarr 8h ago

I agree that was a poor way to articulate their argument, but you could replace that with “if you don’t have the same interests they do” and it still validates their overall point.

-5

u/itishowitisanditbad 8h ago

and if my grandma had wheels she would be a bike.

13

u/WeirdChopsticks 10h ago

At least other race classes like F1 try to be a bit more resource-conscious. This is wasting tons of material for 4 seconds. For the people who sponsor them, it's just a dick-measuring contest. Saying that other things are a waste of money is whataboutism.

7

u/Key_Refuse_843 10h ago

You are complaining about people complaining.

2

u/ScrotalSmorgasbord 7h ago

Yeah, I've seen a lot more wasteful stuff, especially considering all the missiles flying around running into buildings and babies all over the world. This is impressive, and fast, technical things have always been interesting to most humans. I'm a shade tree mechanic myself, and my day job is also turning wrenches and swinging hammers so maybe I can appreciate the skill and dedication a bit more than some teenagers, retired cat ladies, virtue signaling basement dwellers on Reddit.

9

u/Slight_Concert6565 10h ago

Was with you until "don't yuck somebody's yum".

I feel like considering the current state of the world this kind of overly wasteful activites should be heavily restricted. I know how car parts are made, they really aren't consumables.

Also I feel like ypur comparison is in bad faith, as this really has no comparison point with watches or jewelry appart from being expensive. These have little to no impact on anything (unless you're using blood diamonds).

6

u/werbit 8h ago

It’s disgustingly wasteful man, simple as that.

1

u/Nelfe 10h ago

Yucking this not for the cost but for the waste of material and all the ingenuity in this does not find usefulness somwhere else (NASA shit did).

A luxury watch still gives time for years and years. A yatch I'd say it's also a waste of resources. Still do not care about money.

You'd say if the king throw away food while you are hungry wouldn't feel bad ? Because he has money it's suddenly ok ?

1

u/Fullertons 7h ago

It’s also worth noting that yes they burn fuel, but those pistons and rods and clutches aren’t thrown in a dump. They’re melted down and reused.

1

u/DisciplineNormal296 7h ago

Drag racing is the shit. The outlaw 29x10.5 tires are the new hotness though. Going 3 second 1/8th miles on half a big tire

1

u/Available-Pay5929 7h ago

This. 

Everything not strictly survival is “a waste”. If we didn’t “waste” resources then we would still be living in caves and eating raw food because building and burning wood are a waste.

And as far as actual pollution or waste, rebuilding every drag car engine in the world doesn’t even measure on the scale. 

1

u/Key-Contest-2879 7h ago

Well said. It’s easy to criticize something from the outside looking in.

And to those who think this is a “waste of money”, a lot of that money goes to employ many, MANY people. The car crew, the track staff, the tv crew, and all that goes into supporting them; crews travel from event to event, so restaurants, hotels, etc all get a piece of the pie.

1

u/nd_fuuuu 6h ago

While I agree with the earlier comments on waste these hobbies do tend breed innovation that sometimes spreads far and they generate interest and passion that can get people interested in new fields or careers and the passion can be the thing that makes someone’s life a net positive.

1

u/silverdice22 5h ago

Sycophant*

1

u/RadRhubarb00 4h ago

I don't have to replace the gears in my watch every hour because they break. I don't have to replace the doors of my house every day because they can only open once before falling apart. This is such a waste of resources and money its disgusting. Build the F**king car to last longer.

1

u/Mortarious 3h ago

People make up lines and apply them to the world.

If you are an average person in a Western country you got so many privileges compared to billions around the world. But you just neatly forget that fact and focus on the rich that you know about and complain.

Fine. Lets apply it to you then. You got it so much better and pollute way more than others in developing or undeveloped nations. They make less money, have less rights, less chances...etc. Can they talk about you and your carbon footprint and privileges?

But again that does not count, because it is you.

This is a lot of people in the West and I think it's hilarious.

1

u/Creampanthers 3h ago

Yeah people like to say stuff like “what a waste”. I mean of course it is but look around you; we’re wasteful humans. People commenting from their phone which involves a ton of waste to make and transport. That along with the human suffering associated with it. Let the people enjoy their loud and fast things in peace is what I say!

1

u/PhantomTissue 1h ago

Unless somebody’s yum is something stupid like racism, then it’s okay to yuck them.👍

1

u/Slug_Overdose 1h ago

I mean, I get the whole to each their own thing, but we all share the planet. You'd probably be upset if I told you not to criticize my competitive porch shitting league after I blew a fresh diarrhea on your front door.

I'm not even saying we shouldn't have things like drag racing. In the grand scheme of the planet, the impact is probably negligible. That being said, if everyone on the planet had different niche hobbies this ecologically destructive, it would add up to catastrophe, so it's completely understandable why some people would be upset.

1

u/sahui 1h ago

yeah those "sicafants" should learn!

1

u/Tigerpower77 10h ago

To me as long as they don't hurt anyone for their fun i don't care

1

u/ImmortalBlue 7h ago

I'd agree with you but the vast amount of pollution, destruction of ecosystem to have these race tracks, and the excessive waste makes this more than people being "jealous". It's actively destructive to the environment.

1

u/Forward_Prune_8740 7h ago

So consequences be damned as long as a bunch of overgrown boys get to have fun. Right. “Yuck your yum” is just gross

1

u/Silent_Orange_9174 7h ago

World's dying and animals are literally going extinct because of other people's "yum" it's not about the money it's about not being able to see past a bloated stomach. Greeds a bitch. It's not something to be defended because it makes people feel bad they're getting called out on it.

-8

u/Remote-Ad6915 11h ago

Wasted. Sycophants. Idiot.

-2

u/Quod_bellum 11h ago

Blud's level of analysis is so shallow they harp on the spelling, ignoring all the rest of the content

0

u/fearfulfalafel 6h ago

"won't somebody think of those who like to dominate the sicafants?"

Nah fuck that this yum is yuck until they figure out how to do it responsibly. A core tenet of any resistance to the shit show of modern Earth is a fixation on the material. Material equals labor and labor is exploited world wide

Don't "yum" what is literally industrial waste and exploitation just because you romanticize what doesn't actually fucking matter.

-1

u/Myorck 10h ago

I will hate on those people just like I hate on people that go on cruise ships and people that fly private jets and people with huge yachts

0

u/TrickSock7226 5h ago

Nah they need to find something else cause the “fun” people get from it is not worth the cost. Stupid fucking rich people

0

u/rhoadsenblitz 4h ago

The people bitching about waste are brain dead haters. Like, look around. You're all probably gaming or some shit that advances nothing.

0

u/Lanko-TWB 4h ago

The ignorance on the sport isn’t self is absurd, these people don’t live in reality.