A Top Fuel engine is one of the most awesome internal combustion machines ever created, and the fuel system is the key to it all. Courtesy of NHRA, here’s a closer look.

For an NHRA Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car, the statistics alone are mind-boggling: 11,000 horsepower, zero to 100 mph in well under one second, and for us, the most fascinating spec of all: At peak torque, the engine consumes one gallon of fuel every three-quarters of a second. That’s more than a jumbo jet airliner. And it’s the key to the ridiculous power and acceleration numbers for these vehicles: the ability to combust massive quantities of oxygen-rich, nitromethane-blend fuel in a series of just-barely controlled explosions. Like a piston-powered rocket engine, it’s been described.

To deliver all that fuel to a 500 cubic-inch Top Fuel engine, as many as 42 separate nozzles are used. A dozen or so are positioned at the top of the supercharger, to cool the intake charge and improve air density, while another eight to 12 are mounted in the blower manifold. Finally, there are 16 more built into the cylinder heads, two for each intake port. All this magic and more is expertly explained by Alan Reinhart in this nifty video, courtesy of the NHRA social media crew. Great stuff, please enjoy.