Vegas Free-for-All - Has anybody been to the Mike Tyson show?

Has anybody been to the Mike Tyson show?

BobOrme

Aug 25, 2016
2:30pm

The top fuel teams have been testing for a few days at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, prepping for the US Nationals. 10,000 to 11,000 horsepower from a single nitromethane-burning V-8 engine makes more than just a loud noise. It is physically disturbing...sets off car alarms in nearby parking lots...can be measured on the Richter Scale. I'm surprised you never checked out the US Nationals, not even for one day - the "Big Go" is a 6 day marathon of drag racing. The top fuel cars run qualifying and eliminations Friday through Monday. Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars are a sensory overload, and it's not just the ground (and everything else) shaking experience. 0-100 mph acceleration in 0.8 seconds. 0-330 mph acceleration in less than 4 seconds!

I won't be at Indy this year (next week) so I can't take you up on your offer.

I do work at least one of the 2 NHRA National Events at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway every year, have since The Strip hosted their 1st event 17 years ago. Maybe we can get together next year during one of those races.

Quote

Originally posted by: IndyBoilerman
Hey Bob. The past several days I've been listening to the "Big Boys" fire up those NHRA beasts at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. US Nationals is about to happen, and I'm about to leave town without ever attending during my 19 years here.

I've always been in Vegas during Nationals, and currently I'm too busy with my move to attend. Are you out here? If so, I could break away for a few minutes and buy you a beer or cocktail.

Quote
Originally posted by: BobOrme
He might be the most unusual person I've ever been around in a closed environment. I was working an NHRA event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway years ago when he was sponsoring a Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, and Iron Mike spent a good 20 minutes talking to us in the media center. I was sitting maybe 10 feet away from him the entire time.

He is indeed a storyteller. Some of the stories he told were not possible, and he did on occasion make up words (or they were words not in any dictionary). He is entertaining, and he was an amazing machine in the ring. I still respect him, even though he claimed he road a street motorcycle that he had parked in his living room in his Las Vegas home at 300 mph on the German autobahn.

IndyBoilerman

Aug 26, 2016
12:07am

Block User

I live in Brownsburg where half of the NHRA teams are located. I have several friends and many acquaintances who work in the business. I've never attended mainly because I'm not a car guy and I don't find that sort of thing interesting. That being said, I should have attended.

Hell, I once lived 2 miles from the College Football Hall of Fame, and I never visited that either.

Quote

Originally posted by: BobOrme
The top fuel teams have been testing for a few days at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, prepping for the US Nationals. 10,000 to 11,000 horsepower from a single nitromethane-burning V-8 engine makes more than just a loud noise. It is physically disturbing...sets off car alarms in nearby parking lots...can be measured on the Richter Scale. I'm surprised you never checked out the US Nationals, not even for one day - the "Big Go" is a 6 day marathon of drag racing. The top fuel cars run qualifying and eliminations Friday through Monday. Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars are a sensory overload, and it's not just the ground (and everything else) shaking experience. 0-100 mph acceleration in 0.8 seconds. 0-330 mph acceleration in less than 4 seconds!

I won't be at Indy this year (next week) so I can't take you up on your offer.

I do work at least one of the 2 NHRA National Events at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway every year, have since The Strip hosted their 1st event 17 years ago. Maybe we can get together next year during one of those races.

Quote
Originally posted by: IndyBoilerman
Hey Bob. The past several days I've been listening to the "Big Boys" fire up those NHRA beasts at Lucas Oil Raceway Park. US Nationals is about to happen, and I'm about to leave town without ever attending during my 19 years here.

I've always been in Vegas during Nationals, and currently I'm too busy with my move to attend. Are you out here? If so, I could break away for a few minutes and buy you a beer or cocktail.

Quote
Originally posted by: BobOrme
He might be the most unusual person I've ever been around in a closed environment. I was working an NHRA event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway years ago when he was sponsoring a Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, and Iron Mike spent a good 20 minutes talking to us in the media center. I was sitting maybe 10 feet away from him the entire time.

He is indeed a storyteller. Some of the stories he told were not possible, and he did on occasion make up words (or they were words not in any dictionary). He is entertaining, and he was an amazing machine in the ring. I still respect him, even though he claimed he road a street motorcycle that he had parked in his living room in his Las Vegas home at 300 mph on the German autobahn.

jatki

Aug 27, 2016
10:43am

Block User

Quote

I know it's not quite the same as the big boys but my friend had a VW sand rail that he used to drag at Old Dominion Speedway. He was one of those VW nut guys and although barely street legal it was set up for racing. He raced almost every Fri. night and we went fairly often, usually parking in the pit with him. I had my F-150 with the ladder rack which I would convert to a redneck viewing platform for races. I would strap a sheet of plywood on there, take the lawn chairs and a cooler full of beer and enjoy, best seats in the house. The kids loved it, their own personal jungle gym which was an added bonus.

Back to the rail and race night, it got loud enough everyone had to wear earplugs when all the cars fired up and started staging. Then once a year was the bug out, super hopped up VW's came from all over the east coast and a few from further. The car that won was usually the Fisher team with their Fisher buggy, that thing was awesome to watch. Here's a vid doing a record 1/8 mile run, I don't know what class or anything. The vid doesn't really do it much justice than the live thing.

Fisher Buggies world record 1/8th mile run at Farmington Dragway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIWZrVVvLUY

I'd love to be in the pits of an NHRA race, the ground rumbles a bit at the Friday night races I can't imagine the super big boys.

BTW, added bonus. he lived next door and would let me take it for a spin whenever it was out, pretty fun racing around the neighborhood. It was really cool when I would pick my son up from elementary school, talk about all the kids OOO'ing and AHH'ing especially when we'd do a little peel out and fish tail leaving, even the soccer moms. Good times.

jatki

Aug 27, 2016
10:50am

Block User

I just reread your post. Ten to eleven thousand HP is incredible, that's more than any heavy equipment (bulldozers and such for those not in the know) I'm aware of. I can imagine how it could be physically disturbing standing anywhere near it. Would love to be in the pits one time to witness first hand sometime.

BobOrme

Aug 27, 2016
2:09pm

Block User

Looks like you've seen some good sportsman drag racing. I love it all! From the slower class cars that have license plates and are street legal all the way to top fuel, I appreciate all of them!

I worked Farmington Dragway a few times when I was covering the IHRA Pro-Am series. It is 1 of 6 North Carolina drag strips that I've worked. The small local tracks (and small events) can be just as much fun as the national event shows with the Pro classes. I've worked 55 different drag strips - 52 in the USA and 3 in Canada.

To truly experience top fuel cars, you need to be track side. All they do in the pits is warm up the engines at idle. When I'm just spectating, I prefer to be as close to the finish line as possible for the nitro cars...not just for the full throttle noise, but you can see how freaking fast they really are going!

Here is a short video showing a bottle of soda sitting on a thick wooden bleacher during a top fuel dragster launch. I've seen other videos of cups of beer or soda jump high enough to get knocked over when placed on aluminum bleachers. It definitely is more than just a loud noise!

Everything Shakes!

IndyBoilerman

Aug 29, 2016
1:40am

Block User

I literally live 3 miles as the crow flies from the track where the big boys run this week, and I can hear them easily. Luckily this only last 10 days a year. They sound like a chainsaw from 100 yards away. 3.5 seconds of chainsaw noise, instantaneously beginning and instantaneously ending.

q]Originally posted by: jatki99
I just reread your post. Ten to eleven thousand HP is incredible, that's more than any heavy equipment (bulldozers and such for those not in the know) I'm aware of. I can imagine how it could be physically disturbing standing anywhere near it. Would love to be in the pits one time to witness first hand sometime.

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