Evolvement of the Slingshot Dragster Era - Essay Example

One of the racers cited that the newspapers did not like the cars and in some way ridiculed their make as well as its speed. The racing grounds were smooth and could accommodate many vehicles at the same time. However, the slingshot experienced a considerable transformation with time (Reyes, 57).
Drag racing in the 1950s was America’s extreme sport and the NHRA Drag Racing Championship was the renowned festival of characters, speed, and color. Today, it remains unparalleled by any other automotive sports area. The slingshot had a fair share of its disadvantages that had for the longest time been highlighted by the media. For instance, many of the slingshot drivers in most cases experienced painful burns and at times disfigured faces and hands and to a greater extent, they lost their dear lives. The reason for that was because fuel, oil, or a mixture of both ignited and as a result blow on them. Notwithstanding the injuries and loss of lives, slingshot remained a revered king of dragsters. However, there were plans to come up with an engine of a rear design but the inventors wanted to develop something bigger and better than the slingshot and could once and for all erase the slingshot (Reyes, 68).
Don Garlits one of the greatest dragster legends came up with a design that would put the engine and the fuel motor behind him. Partnering with Connie Swingle, they put their heads together and made a breakthrough in achieving what would later slow down the ratio of steering. While the new vehicle would be a sigh of relief to the drivers, there were still some who claimed that locating the cockpit forward was disorienting. After a series of tests under the belt, the sleek car which had a simple appearance was favored only that its motor was situated between the rear wheels and the driver. The building of the chassis of such a vehicle was demanding more so producing a rear engine. The concept of the rear engine proved to be forever more effective and the cars with the rear engine grew in length, size and that epitomized evolution into a colossus of the current top fuel (Reyes, 80).
That moment sparked the growth of the slingshot in the big league. It also marked the period of transition and many drivers cherished the cars. The slingshot was then pegged back to the rear while the new make grew into bigger folds. The early 1970s experienced the best moments of drag racing cars. The slingshot remains the stepping stone toward the production of bigger racing cars while pegging back the slingshot into more of a grandstand spectator event. Consequently, spectators attended the events into four-folds. In the 1940s, the event occurred once every year and as the years went by, it became an event that by the end of 2001 was held 24 times annually. It’s not surprising that the racing car event remains to be a grandstand event that continues to lure many followers in the United States.