There is "myth" on the internet about a Corvette vs a Top Fuel dragster. Is read some thing like :
You are driving the average $140,000 Lingenfelter "twin-turbo" powered Corvette Z06. Over a mile up the road, a Top Fuel dragster is staged and ready to launch down a quarter mile strip as you pass. You have the advantage of a flying start. You run the 'Vette hard up through the gears and blast across the starting line and past the dragster at an honest 200 mph. The 'tree' goes green for both of you at that moment. The dragster launches and starts after you. You keep your foot down hard, but you hear an incredibly brutal whine that sears your eardrums and within 4.5 seconds the dragster catches and passes you. He beats you to the finish line, a quarter mile away from where you just passed him.

The math works out. I don't think it has been tested and it would be really cool to see on Mythbusters !

When I watched drag racing (about 10 years ago) John Force's Funny Car (just a bit slower than a top fuel 'rail' dragster) crossed the 1/4 mile mark at 304 mph and about 4 seconds. Are we assuming the Vette maintains a steady 200 mph throughout the run or accelerates a bit more (I think it can go about 218) Im not sure it makes much difference anyway. ok at 200 mph the Vette will cover 1/4 mile in ...[math/crunch..crunch] 4.5 seconds. Thats actually a lot closer than I thought. Ok I looked up recent ET's on NHRA.com and a recent win by Larry Dixon (Miller Lite Dragster) was 324mph and 4.535 seconds. :stunned look:: Myth Confirmed: Corvette wins by a nose. Even though the dragster blows by it like its not moving just past the finish line. It would be a good race to watch.

i totally agree, just a little additive, the lingenfelter topped as i recall at 245. pretty impressive. good math done though. it would be a great race. practical, i think not.

One of the hardest things to do would be to signal the top fuel guy when to go. I guess you'd have to put a sensor back a ways to pick up the vette, then given standard reaction times, turn the light green.

I've been watching for this one too. This would be a visual that would be hard to beat!! Wonder how we could get somebody's attention?

While it might be interesting to watch, there isn't really a myth here. Given the specs of the Corvette and the dragster, it's a simple calculation to see who'd cross the line first. Seems more appropriate for a car show than for Mythbusters.

I was going to be sarcastic and link a corvette funny car , but this video turned out to be much better :
http://videos.streetfire.net/v...-dragster_169142.htm

Just matter of getting the right parameters. The corvette just has to already going fast enough to traverse the 1/4 mile faster than the drag racer can starting from zero speed. Like the OP mentions, it's simple math.

They do a similar thing at airshows except they use an airplane and the jet truck. The truck sits on the runway and as the airplane passes overhead he takes off. It is only done for visual/entertainment so they have it calculated so that the plane and truck reach the finish at the same time. I dont know the speeds involved but you get the same effect.

They did something similar on Top Gear as well, raced a RAF Typhoon against a Bugatti Veyron in a 2 mile drag race. Plane did start on the runway though, and they had to turn around halfway and get back to the starting line instead of doing a straight line.