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Drag Racing Basics

2K views 15 replies 3 participants last post by  Coyote Chaser 
#1 ·
I've noticed numerous posts on this FB page dealing with drag racing (Bracket Racing), involving reaction times (R/T), Elapsed Time (E/T) and trap speeds and the modifications made on Ecoboost Mustangs to make them go faster. I've been Bracket Racing for over 16 years. My home track is Bandimere Speedway in Morrison Colorado, home to the annual NHRA Mile High Dodge SRT Nationals. It's a professional track that is one of the best tracks to race on in the country. No, it's not either Vegas or Charlotte, both new tracks with four wide racing. It's been around since 1958.But every pro NHRA racer, from John Force, to Matt Hagen, to Steve Torrance, Antron Brown, Erica Enders, Leah Pruett, and the rest of the NHRA pros, all love this track even though the altitude drives them nuts.

The physical altitude of this track is 5860 feet above sea level with the Density Altitude oftentimes reaching 9000+ feet depending on the weather. The air, in a word, sucks. If you can race on this track successfully, you can race anywhere.

I'd like to start a thread where members share their experiences, their run slips, and what have you, and to have a place where people can go to get advice and help. Let me know what y'all think.
 
#5 ·
I know Colorado is a bit on the far side (actually it's in the middle of the country), but go to www.bandimere.com and take a look around. It's a premier NHRA track where they run the Dodge SRT Mile High Nationals as well as Division 5 Regional Events. We run everything from Jr. Dragsters and Jr. Street all the way up to Top Fuel Dragsters and Top Fuel Funny Cars and Jet Cars. If NMRA came out here, they'd be a hit. Seriously. Even Street Outlaws puts on a show here. It's a "big league" track.
 
#6 ·
Anyone who is either contemplating drag racing (read: BRACKET RACING), or is just starting out would be doing themselves a favor by going onto Amazon and buying a book entitled "Bracket Racing" by Tony Sakkis. It's the Drag Racing Bracket Racing 101 book. I'm including the link to Amazon for the book.


Next post will start with basics. The difference between Heads Up racing and Bracket Racing. Stay tuned.
 
#9 ·
Looking forward to this thread.
I’m from Italy so Drag Racing rules are as mysterious as baseball’s ;-)
Always wanted to learn how the Drag Racing world works and maybe improve my launches from the ditch.

Alex
 
#10 ·
Anyone who has watch NHRA races either in person or on TV normally sees two types of racing. Heads up racing where both drivers launch at the same time. Their lights, whether they be a .5 second "full tree" or a .4 pro tree, drop at the same time. Whoever gets to the finish line first wins as long as they don't go red at the light. Going "red", means you launch before the green light lights up. Bracket Racing however, is a handicap form of drag racing.

Let's say you have a car that runs 15 seconds to 15.5 seconds. When you compete in an elimination round you "dial in" meaning you write your predicted E.T. to within a hundredth of a second. Example 14.95. So if you dial in at 14.95 and run a 14.949, you LOSE because you breakout. So, if you dial in at 14.95 and your competitor dials in at 16.95, then your competitor's light drops a full two seconds before yours. In other words your competitor gets a two second head start. But as I said, if either you or your competitor run faster than your dial in times, you lose because you break out. Break out rules were established to prevent sandbagging.
Looking forward to this thread.
I’m from Italy so Drag Racing rules are as mysterious as baseball’s ;-)
Always wanted to learn how the Drag Racing world works and maybe improve my launches from the ditch.

Alex
Alex, start by getting Tony Sakkis' book "Bracket Racing" from AMAZON. If you get the NHRA Rule Book it'll confuse you even more because it goes into classes of racing you don't compete in. My guess is that you Bracket Race. That's when you predict your Elapsed Time and write it on your passenger side window. If you run faster than what you predict you lose, even if you cross the finish line first.. Whoever crosses the finish line first without going faster than their predicted Elapsed Time or E.T. (Dial In time), wins.

Also, you do not wait for the green light to go on before you launch. You go on the third yellow. That's the subject of another discussion, "When to Launch", shallow staging, deep staging, staging etiquette, etc.
 
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