The Challenge Of Top Alcohol Dragster Intrigues Rookie Taylor Vetter

A year ago, Taylor Vetter was just starting to drive a Top Alcohol Dragster in NHRA competition. As she celebrated the first anniversary of her debut in the class at the recent Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Vetter has made satisfying strides in her Plan B Motorsports supercharged Top Alcohol Dragster. She also has developed some strong opinions about the class.

For as difficult as it is to find the driving rhythm with a blown Top Alcohol Dragster, Vetter is just that resolute to master it.

“I mean, it’s just that the fact that they take so much more to drive,” she said. “The A/Fuel cars, you pretty much do a burnout with a rev chip. In my car, I let the clutch out, and I have to hold it at the RPM that I want it. And there’s different ways to manipulate that. There’s other guys that have a burnout chip. I don’t have any of that. So I do my burnout at the RPM that I need to, holding the throttle there…I don’t have anything to control that, whereas the A/Fuel cars, they have something to control that.

“And then there’s the whole staging process and going down track. With the A/Fuel cars, you know, you put it on the high side, your foot comes off the clutch and you just stage it. Our car, you’re holding the clutch in and you’re revving it up to 6,500, wherever – each car is different, or each person is different, but say 6,500 you’re revving it up to. And up to now you’re holding that while the other person’s staging to making sure that RPM doesn’t go up too much, or drop too much. And then the A/Fuel cars, they just hit the throttle and then pull the ‘chutes at the other end, where us, you’re going down track and the first shift light comes on. So you have to shift it once and it goes down further. You’ve got to shift it twice and then pull the ‘chutes at the end. So there’s way more going on.

“This car is so much different than my Top Dragster,” Vetter continued, “so I’ve had to work on trusting myself and the car. I’ve also learned a lot about patience – patience with my driving, patience with tuning, and patience with the process. I’m extremely competitive, so I have to remind myself that this is a brand new learning curve for everyone involved.”

And that’s exactly why it appeals to her.

“I like that about it,” Vetter said. “It’s a challenge. It makes me feel like I’m a part of it.”

She knows her partner and team owner/tuner, Nick Januik, a…