Drag engines can be built a lot hotter than round trackers. When the load is only on an engine for seconds, not minutes, and there's no on/off/on power application, it's simpler to push the envelope toward a complete blowup. Aluminum rods absolutely cannot survive round track racing, as a few of my competitors learned the hard way. A set of Carillo tool steel rods are so hard they're impossible to recondition- - -they wear out the honing stones! A King's lightweight billet crankshaft (38 lbs.) used to cost $5500.00, and the rods, pistons, and rings to complete the rotating assembly would add another $2,000.00 or so. A standard OEM crankshaft weighed 55 lbs. Those prices are probably out of date now.
BTW, a real quarter mile race track has four turns and is paved with chert gravel! LOL!
Jerry
