Dragsters were first built with their engines in front, simply because their builders followed the front-engine standard of production cars. However, they did not use (and current dragsters still do not use) any form of suspension. Because of this, these types of vehicles were prone to becoming unstable at speed. This is due to their making 2,000–3,000 hp, plus having poor tire technology, short wheelbases, and very light weight. (This was demonstrated to extremes in Fuel Altereds.) The driver sits angled backward, over the top of the differential in a cockpit situated between the two rear tires, a design originating with Mickey Thompson in 1954, as a way of improving traction. This position led to many drivers being maimed when catastrophic clutch failures occurred.
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