A quarter mile drag strip is 10 acres. The Santa Pod Dragstrip has the fastest quarter mile record, 3.58 seconds at 621 km/h. The Rimac Nevera recently set the quarter-mile record for a production car. The Dodge Demon covers a quarter mile in 9.65 seconds.
In 2008, following a driver death, the NHRA shortened Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1,000 feet from the traditional quarter mile (1,320 feet). A 60 foot timer measures the launch time, which affects elapsed times. Top dragsters reach 100 mph in under half the quarter-mile distance.
The usual drag boat racing length is 1/8 or 1⁄4 miles. They start with a short rolling start and cannot pass until the light turns green. In NHRA drag racing, racers must post top qualifying times to make Sunday’s field. A computerized system measures speed and elapsed time. The quarter-mile distance originated from informal 1950s races.
A 10-second quarter mile car averages 144 kph. A 700 hp car can exceed 290 kph. The fastest Porsche and Ferrari quarter mile times are under 10 seconds.
One mile equals 640 acres. A parcel with four 1,320 feet sides is 40 acres. The NE 1/4 SW 1/4 Section 3, Township 4S, Range 2W is a 40 acre quarter-quarter section.