There’s No Drag Race Like a Construction Rig Drag Race
The leisurely pace gives you plenty of time to take it all in.
When it comes to drag racing, typically one's mind will drift to V8 muscle cars, grudge matches on the street, or the sheer fury of nitro-powered Top Fuel dragsters. However, there's nothing that says you can't drag race trucks, as ably demonstrated by Carwow on YouTube.
The trucks, or "heavy goods vehicles" as they're officially known in the United Kingdom, were provided by Daniel from Ashville Aggregate, who runs his own YouTube channel covering the story of his waste management company. Seven lorries took to the start line, each hoping to walk away with the win in a series of challenges.
Carwow host Mat got behind the wheel of a Scania P410 8x4 tipper truck, boasting 410 hp from a 13L engine. Other competitors include various sizes of crane trucks with 280 hp and 410 hp respectively, a skip truck with 250 horsepower, a concrete mixer with 450 hp, and a 500 hp Scania tractor unit with Daniel himself behind the wheel. There's also a lone Volvo in the mix, charged with concrete pumping duty. It's got the smallest engine in the bunch at just 5.0L, good for 220 hp.
There was some argument over the best gear to start in, with Mat noting that his truck's automatic gearbox was sitting in third gear for takeoff as the truck was unloaded. However, with some finagling of the controls, the trucks were kicked into first which proved to be advantageous in the race.
The drag race is, naturally, one of the slowest you'll watch in your life. Mat's Scania P410 tipper wins the day with a scorching time of 27.5 seconds, while the more powerful Scania tractor is weighed down by its low loader trailer, finishing in 31.3. The slowest of all is the concrete mixer, bringing up the rear and crossing the line in 32.1 seconds.
In a rolling test, the more powerful Scania tractor truck shows off its prowess. With the trailer removed, it sprints out to an early lead, though is eventually overhauled by the 8x4 tipper somewhere around the one-mile mark.
A further emergency stop test is perhaps a great example of how capable modern trucks really are, with all the vehicles coming to rest with a minimum of fuss and not even a hint of screaming tires. The performance is relatively even across the pack in this regard, with only a few meters between each competitor. With varied reaction times taken into account, it's hard to really pick a winner here.
In terms of conclusions, the only one to really make here is that more power tends to improve drag performance and more weight does the opposite. Outside of that, it could be said that drag racing trucks is fun, amusing, and gives both the drivers and audience more time to enjoy the spectacle, because it certainly isn't over in a flash.
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