A Winged Advantage - An Important Dragster Design

A Winged Advantage - An Important Dragster Design Component

There are many different parts that go in to the construction of a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel dragster. Each one of those parts has a specific purpose. Believe it or not, a lot of science, technology, and research have gone into each piece of the dragster to either make the car faster or safer. Two of these parts are the topic for this post today; they are the front and rear wings.

The rear wing is the large piece of carbon fiber at the full rear of the car that is mounted on a set of 1¼ diameter tubular aluminum and painted to match the color and design of the dragster. The purpose of this wing is to give the dragster the ability to cut through the air as it is moving down the track. It also helps to keep the car on the ground. You read that right - it keeps the dragster on the ground during a pass. As the dragster is moving down the track, the amount of down force produced from the position of the rear wing helps to keep the car on the ground, giving it more traction, thus making for a better run time.

Of course, there is a lot more to it than just a flat piece of carbon fiber cutting through the air at 320 miles per hour. There is also a smaller piece of carbon fiber or aluminum secured to the back of the wing itself called the gurney flap.  This aerodynamic appendage was first used by Dan Gurney, an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner for All American Racers.

The gurney flap is placed at the trailing edge of a wing at a right angle. The flap reduces flow separation on the lower side of the wing particularly in high angle of attack applications.

Since Top-Fuel Dragsters compete in sanctioned races, the NHRA has instilled rules and regulations that must be met. According to the NHRA 2000 Rulebook, the rear wing is limited in type, size, and position:

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• The wing and flap must be locked into place as to prevent adjustment of any part of the wing during the run.
• The combined total area of all wings, flaps, canards, and airfoils mounted behind the front spindle of the dragster can be no more than 1500 square inches.
• The position of the rear wing is limited by its height and aft placement. The trailing edge may not extend more than 50 inches behind the centerline of the rear axle and the height of any part of the wing may not exceed 90 inches measured vertically from the ground.

Front wings are constructed similarly to the rear wing, with the mounting points at the center to facilitate the nose mounting method that is typically used today. The single front wing has replaced a two piece wing used in past versions of a dragster body. The latest addition to the front wing is an extension of the chord length with another gurney flap extension and employing the use of a saw tooth shape in the center of the gurney flap. This saw tooth shape is also known as crenellating.

The primary purpose of the front wing is to keep the vehicle from pitching up in the front and flipping over. Since the rear wing is mounted as far aft as possible, there is a tendency for the front wheels to be lifted off of the track. The counteracting balance comes from the negative lift produced by the front wing. The required down force of the front wing is enough to keep the overall vehicle from flipping over and provides enough pressure to the front wheels so that the driver has control over the steering while moving down the track.

With top fuel dragsters going faster every year, design improvements and materials used in vehicle wing construction are likewise becoming more and more prevalent, making the sport of drag racing even more competitive - just the way we like it!

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