^Iv remember going through a phase where I thought getting loaded regularly was a neato thing…but I was astute enough NOT to mistake methanol for drinking booze! (I also think I got an A in chemistry that semester.)
Everyone has their own way of being immature. I wasn’t close enough to racing to have access to race fuel, and my mom had already related the story about the custodial crew at work. I occasionally heard what she said. I suppose she was offering a little education. Alcohol is alcohol until you are taught otherwise.
Mustangman
Race gas or nitro-methane… I can’t imagine someone trying to drink that.
Based on the smell of nitro, I doubt that you could choke it down. It’s made with nitric acid and propane.
Imagine having a cigarette along with your drink!
I guess nitromethane isn’t actually that volatile, it just explodes with tremendous force once it does get lit. I think that’s the main reason they tend to have trouble getting Top Fuelers to run on all cylinders.
You can actually put lit kitchen matches out by dipping them into a tray filled with nitromethane. I know because I have done it. The stuff is surprisingly difficult to ignite, especially on a cool day. Once you do get it lit, it just lazily burns sort of like alcohol, with a pale greenish-blue flame that’s almost invisible in bright daylight.
There’s a reason why the pit crew squirts a stream of gasoline into the blower while they crank these engines.
When I flew glow engine model airplanes, a neat trick I learned for getting these engines to start on cold days was to prime the engine with lighter fluid. A few flips of the prop and I usually had a running engine. Trying to do it by just using nitro fuel and choking the engine was an exercise in frustration, you almost had to get it rich to the point of hydro-locking the engine, which results in nasty kickbacks.
Other people less obstinate than me just bought electric starters to spin them up to running speed, but I’m stubborn and besides, that big 12 volt battery is another thing to keep charged up and it really adds weight to your field box.