Wheelie bar length question?

[TooTall999]

I notice on the Fuel funny cars the wheelie bars don't extend out the back of the car nearly as far as on a TA/FC or pro mod....Why is this?

 

[cdag]

I may be way off in my thinking, but I would say that a shorter wheelie bar would tend to be more rigid, and offer the fuel car more control in regulating how much tire squat is achieved at the hit. A longer bar would potentially be more flexible and would absorb some of the impact of a high RPM launch, making it less likely to break the tires loose on a TAFC or Pro Mod.

 

[FC138fan]

I noticed that back in the mid 90's the fuel cars had those long wheelie bars similar to the alcohol cars. I wondered technically why they shortened them as well. Good question.