Why Dragsters Wear Tall Wings — Under the bleachers, where rubber dust smelled like pepper and sunshine warmed the concrete, Perry taped cardboard fins to a broom handle. Read the full story →
Under the bleachers, where rubber dust smelled like pepper and sunshine warmed the concrete, Perry taped cardboard fins to a broom handle. He had invented Start-Sail: if his tiny paper sail stayed upright when the engines rumbled, he would know his new rear wing could hold. All week he had cut, folded, and glued it himself, smoothing every edge with his tires until the tape squeaked.
At the drag strip, the light tree clicked: pre-stage, stage. The other cars growled low, and the air shook like a drum. Perry’s handmade wing trembled. One strip of tape peeled loose, whispering zzzt. “Hold, little sail,” Perry murmured. Instead of rolling back, he pressed a fresh ribbon of silver tape across the struts and angled the wing just a pinch higher.
When GO flashed, the wind shoved hard. Perry’s front end stayed calm, his rear tires bit the track, and the cardboard sail did not fold. Ever since, dragsters have worn tall rear wings to press them steady when speed tries to lift them away. If you spot the big wing above Perry now, you can almost hear that first paper sail holding its breath under the bleachers.
