Power-to-weight ratio is very important in a drag race.
In order to accelerate faster off the line, you might want to sit in the lighter and grippier car when the light turns green. Of course, if your opponent is boasting considerably more power, it will eventually catch up with you if the drag strip is long enough.
It’s all about the perfect balance; brutal horsepower to cope with the increasing air resistance and lightweight to sprint like a bullet from the barrel of a gun.
For instance, if you drag race a tuned Bugatti , with a power-to-weight ratio of around 636HP/ton, against a track-only, water-cooled 300hp Kawasaki, with a power-to-weight ratio of 1,395HP/ton, then things get tough…