I use to live near El Mirage dry lake in SO CA where they run some top speed time trials 4 to 6 times a year for SCTA, So CA Timing Assoc..
I had thought about building a car to race their until I found out that there is no money or any other rewards to race their even when you set a new record, in other words you pay, pay and pay some more to go fast. They gave you a one mile running start and timed you for 1/4 mile and you had a little over 2 miles to stop depending on the conditions of the lake bed at the time of the races.
One of the old timers ended up telling me that any one can make a car go 125.+ MPH, many can make the same car go 150 MPH but after that you need to double the HP or really reduce the wind drag to step up to go 175.+ MPH
My message is it is not the distance, it is the speed that comes into play on wind resistance
My current S/P car runs 5.50 in the 1/8 mile at 125.+ MPH, it runs 8.86 ET at 150.+ MPH in the quarter mile. The last 1/8 mile takes 3.36 seconds and the car only gains 25 MPH It shifts into high gear around the 400 ft. mark, best 60 Ft times so far are 1.24
I've wanted to go watch the racers at Bonneville Salt Flats for years but that may not happen now, some of those same racers from SO CA run their cars at El Mirage dry lake in the winter months.
That is the basis of most car racing in SO CA going back to the early1900S, I got to meet and become friends with one of those old time racers back in 1963 that raced at Murock (SP?) Dry Lake before WW2, which is now part of Edwards A.F.B.
I've learn that most drag racing carnage in the 1/4 mile is either at the starting line or in the last 300 FT before the finish line