Drag boat racing is a form of
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, mos ...
which takes place on water rather than land. As with land-based drag racing, competitors race their vehicles for the lowest elapsed time (low ET) over a straight race course of a defined length. There are three standard drag race course lengths, 660 feet (1/8 mile), 1,320 foot (1/4 mile), and the most common length, used in professional drag boat racing, 1,000 feet (3/16 mile plus 10 feet). Unlike traditional drag racing on land, which begins from a standing start, drag boat racing begins from a short rolling start to a point that cannot be passed until the green "start" light illuminates, an idea which has now taken place with drag racing on land ("roll racing"). There are numerous categories of professional and sportsmen classes based on various engine configuration, fuel type, hull design and propulsion types. The premier category of drag boat racing being the Top Fuel
Hydroplane class which is the water based equivalent to
Top Fuel Dragsters capable of covering the liquid quarter mile in less than five seconds with a top speed of around 270 mph (434 km/h). The biggest event on the drag boat calendar is the LODBRS World Finals which takes place at Firebird Raceway
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
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Lake Lucas was the world's first purpose-built drag boat racing lake when built in 2011. The facility played host to drag boat races for eight straight years until the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series was discontinued at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Citing a need for the company to move in a new direction, then everything changed in 2020.
Drag Boats then returned to Lake Lucas in 2020 for events under SDBA, KDBA sanctions and then in 2021 for a three-day summer event Diamond Nartionals for drag boats with top fuel.
Notable drag boat racers
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Eddie Hill
Eddie Hill (born March 6, 1936) is an American retired drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Fath ...
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Casey McClellan
See also
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List of fatal accidents in motorboat racing
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Austin Aqua Festival
The Austin Aqua Festival (usually called Aqua Fest) was a ten-day festival held the first week of August on the shores of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) in Austin, Texas from 1962 until 1998.
1962–1969
The Austin Aqua Festival was created in 196 ...
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Hydroplane (boat)
A hydroplane (or hydro, or ''thunderboat'') is a fast motorboat, where the hull shape is such that at speed, the weight of the boat is supported by planing forces, rather than simple buoyancy.
A key aspect of hydroplanes is that they use t ...
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Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil Products, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants founded in 1989.
History
Lucas Oil was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989. The company is a m ...
References
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