How to Setup Drag Race or Land Speed Parachute

Proper Parachute Mounting: Because crashing sucks.

By Brian Gillespie

One of the requirements for fast land speed and drag racing cars is the use of a parachute. It’s used to safely slow the vehicle down from the high speeds on the race course. The key word being “SAFELY.”

When a chute is deployed it can exert more than as 2Gs of force on the car in deceleration. On a typical 2000 lb FWD drag car, that can mean 4000 lbs of force jerking on the back end of the car. If the connection point isn’t in the correct place, that can upset the car in a big way, even causing a loss of control.

Hondata’s Doug Macmillan and his team have done a lot of testing, having made dozens of runs from 150-240MPH in land speed and drag racing. He shows us how determine the correct placement for the chute tow line attachment point on any race car.

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