Bangshifters certainly know that nitromethane powered drag racing vehicles are the most bone chattering loud cars on Earth. Others outside the realm of straight line fever don’t, however. ESPN The Magazine’s Ryan McGee took up our cause in a fun to read piece that was recently published. Believe it or not, some sports fans actually believed that human generated stadium noise was louder than a fuel car. Oh, if they only knew.
Part of the charm of the story comes in the form of some awesome quotes from Don Garlits. He teases the writer some and jokes with him about the effects of a life around nitro cars. In the case of Garlits, they have rendered him nearly deaf.
The writer gets credit for actually buying Db meters and consulting with doctors familiar with noise levels and auditory health. He actually seeks and finds some interesting information, while nuking a couple of noise measuring devices along the way.
If you have only experience a nitro car, in any form, on television, you honestly owe it to yourself to find a way to get a snoot of nitro in person. Even if your interest in drag racing is only mildly passing, it is a gearhead experience you need to check off your bucket list. Words, and television do it no justice at all.
As you’ll see in the story, those babies are so loud they literally hurt.
Source — ESPN.com — Drag Racing: The Loudest Sport
