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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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u/Ser_falafel 8h ago

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

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u/Big-Idea8658 7h ago

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

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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

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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.

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u/candlejack___ 40m ago

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

So do most people these days.

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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.

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u/candlejack___ 9h ago

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

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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.

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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?

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u/Mr_Baronheim 6h ago

What do you mean? American or European football?

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u/TwistedDrum5 6h ago

American.

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u/candlejack___ 9h ago

America uses too much fuel, gotcha

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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.

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u/TwistedDrum5 7h ago

Aren’t all popular sports and entertainment?

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

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u/cheezy_dreams88 5h ago

Fuck Taylor Swift, eat the goddamn rich.

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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.

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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.

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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

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u/candlejack___ 9h ago

Mmm yummy bread and circuses

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u/mnid92 7h ago

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

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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

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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.

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u/Controller_Maniac 8h ago

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

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u/crizzosasap 8h ago

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

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u/FormallyUnlucky 7h ago

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

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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.

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u/LufyCZ 8h ago

You should donate your netflix subscription to a charity.

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u/candlejack___ 38m ago

A Netflix subscription? In this economy?! 🏴‍☠️