Originally Posted by MrFatbooty

Torque is pretty much a force applied around an axis.

Here's a basic physics lesson for you.

Newton's second law states that Force equals mass times acceleration, or

F = ma

To explain how this would apply to drag racing, let's move some variables around and we have

a = F/m

So to achieve a certain acceleration you need to have a certain amount of force acting on a certain amount of weight. Assuming a constant weight, the more force you have the more acceleration you have. This however only applies at the moment of initial acceleration, or right when you come off the line.

If you want to continue to increase the rate of acceleration as time goes by, you have to continue to apply more force to the same mass. But as you increase the speed at which the car is travelling, you also increase the speed at which the wheels are turning and thereby the speed with which the engine is spinning. You need an engine which is also able to produce torque at high rpm in order to continue to increase the vehicle's acceleration over time.