NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

There’s not a dynamometer in the world that can handle the high-horsepower output of a nitro-burning Top Fuel or Funny Car engine, and for years, experts in many fields have struggled to come up with an accurate and indisputable horsepower number.

In the early days, simple weight-to-performance ratios were tried, followed by rudimentary computer programs that offered some ballpark calculations. As horsepower rose and technology increased, the estimates soared from 2,000 in the 1970s to more than double that in the 1980s to 8,000 in the 1990s, and, a few years ago, computer-modeling evidence was presented to show that the engines had finally eclipsed the 10,000-horsepower mark.

Unsatisfied with those numbers and the variables that could exist under such calculations, Don Schumacher Racing crew chief Mike Green collaborated with AVL to build an inline sensor to measure torque at the output shaft of the engine in Tony Schumacher’s Army Top Fueler. A simple math calculation allowed them to arrive at an astounding number.