IHRA class action: AMSOIL Nitro Funny Car

A fan at the Good Vibrations Texas Nationals Fueled by Sunoco at San Antonio Raceway perhaps said it best: "These cars remind me of some of my best times at the drag strip." She is not alone – the IHRA's AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars are consistently one of the most popular classes, and invariably put on some of the best action.

With bodies based on cars no newer than 1979, nostalgia is a big part of this IHRA class, and Chevrolet Camaros, Pontiac Firebirds, Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Vegas and Chevrolet Novas are especially popular.

But make no mistake – the look outside may be vintage, but underneath, the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars are absolutely up-to-date, with some sporting brand-new supercharged engines of 3,000 horsepower or more, on new chassis. And, of course, the cars incorporate the latest in safety equipment.

The AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars are fast, too – at last weekend's Good Vibrations Texas Nationals, Jason Rupert won the class with a blistering quarter-mile pass of 5.6495 seconds, at 255.68 mph, defeating Orlando winner Shawn Bowen. With typical half-track burnouts, the pits empty when the Funny Cars are on the track.

The class has attracted some true veterans of drag racing, such as former world champion Bruce Litton, driver of the U.S. Male funny car. "It's a great class," he said. "There's some top-notch competition."

The class has been a staple of IHRA competition when it was introduced for the 2010 season. Without the plethora of computer controls that new conventional funny car racing uses, the IHRA class puts much of the results back in the hands of the drivers – the way it used to be.

Old school? Definitely. But the AMSOIL Nitro Funny Cars are teaching drag racing some new tricks.