Top Fuel Dragster Drifting in Slow Motion Makes for 80 Mesmerizing Seconds

The man (if we can call him that, because his reflexes would suggest otherwise) you see here is called Doug Kalitta, and he was taking part in the NHRA Kansas Nationals driving (or manhandling) his Tac Tools Top Fuel dragster.

The thing with these very powerful and very fast machines is that things can turn very quickly from sweet to sour, so you not only need to be on your toes, but also be the proud owner of a pair of steel balls and the reflexes of a cat after an adrenaline shot. If something goes wrong, the time in which the pilot needs to react is measured in hundreds of a second.

But reacting is one thing, doing it right is completely another. With this type of racing, you don't really get that many second chances, so experience is earned only by those who are naturally gifted. We have no idea how many times Doug Kalitta went through something similar, but since he's just two months shy of his 52nd birthday, it probably isn't the first time he saved the day like this. And then went on for a photo-finish.

This time, though, somebody had the fortune of pointing a very capable camera at his car as it charged down the track, and did so while filming in a gazillion frames per second. That's why we can now see the tremendous pressure exerted on these vehicles' bodies, the heat-like rhythm of the flames coming out of the exhausts, the strain put on the huge rear tires, and the very limited contact those front wheels make with the ground. This time, though, it proved to be enough as Doug managed to keep his dragster from spinning.