Drag Racing 101, Please teach me

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bml2200

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Oct 16, 2008
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Tracks around me don't care about the exhaust. A few things I learned at the track:
  • The lower the tire pressure (~30 front, 35 rear), the faster I went (bring a tool to relieve air pressure and not use a piece of gravel). Also have a way to air up your tires.
  • Clamp your leaf springs if you don't have traction bars (I have them and still clamp the springs)
  • Drop the torsion bars (bring a jack, 6x6, and tools to return it to ride height)
  • If you're only concerned about your ET, don't worry about "racing" the car in the other lane, leave when the time is right
  • Try to arrive at the track with the least amount of fuel possible to complete all the passes, get you to the gas station, and not cavitate the lift pump
  • Leave all the extra weight at home but it's handy to bring a friend or two to watch your tools, cooler, etc while you race
  • Only do a small burnout to clean your tires off so you don't make your allison mad
 
V

Verlon at ATP

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So I am here, what now?

Just had a great weekend up in Billings, MT at the NHRDA event. Took first in Super Diesel and the Dyno and 2nd in Sportsman. Cut a perfect light on a 4 tenths pro tree. Was a good day.

All right. Back to the task at hand.....

As many have said, Track prices will vary. I have seen as high as $35 for test and tunes out in my area. If you are actually entering an event, be prepared to pay more.

After you have paid, you will want to find a place to pit, AKA dump all your shtuff. Pay attention to where you pit. some tracks will have reserved spaces and can be dicks about it.

Find out what the radio station is so you can listen for track info. They will let you know where Tech inspection is, what lanes to stage in and so forth.

I like to get tech'd as soon as possible so I can relax a little before running down the track. Have all of your required safety gear with you when you tech. Be sure to have your tech card filled out before you get there. They will just move onto the next car if you are not ready.

Once you have tech'd, I like to go over my vehicle once more. Make sure proper tunes are loaded, tire pressures are set and so forth. Clamp your springs and make sure everything loose is out of the truck. Don't forget to turn your lift pump back on after flashing tunes. :eek:

Once you feel you are ready, listen to the announcer for the call to the lanes for your class. Be courteous to the track crew and other racers. You never know when you will need a hand. Be willing to help out to. A little goodwill goes a long way.

Next time we actually start racing. This is where it gets really fun, but is easy to make mistakes. I have a few good stories for that....
 
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NRA223

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Verlon at ATP said:
I like to get tech'd as soon as possible so I can relax a little before running down the track
Click to expand...

This is key, don't be nervous or you will have issues focusing to launch. I had been to the track as a spectator dozens of times and street racing for years before i decided to run my car. My first pass i was so nervous at the tree that i blew the tires off on the launch, let out of it, got back into it, blew the tires off again, short shifted into 2nd still spinning, skated toward the wall, let out of it, got back into it finally hooking, missed 3rd gear and ran a 13.0 lol. 2 passes later after calming down i ran 11.72 @ 122.99. I never could get the car to hook at the track as good as on the street.
 
56taskforce

56taskforce

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Mar 30, 2014
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Something no one has mentioned is that if you are running 2whd or forget to put it in 4 whd and lose traction on the prep let off many track get very upset if you peel up their prep...
Same thing while doing a burn out stop before getting on the prep...
If you break get to the side of the track it slows everything down if you oil down the track...
 
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Verlon at ATP

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Lining up 101

So here is the part that I think keeps most people from the track. Many find it intimidating and would rather not try so they can't be embarrassed. Don't worry, you have made it to the track, the truck is ready to go and you have been called to the staging lanes. Here is what you need to know.

Follow the directions of the track crew. They will let you know when it is your turn to go. They have a lot of things going on, so pay attention to what they are telling you to do.

Once you have been motioned to come into the lanes there are a couple things to be aware of. Most of us who run in four wheel drive will want to avoid the water box. Wet tires make for crappy traction. Some tracks it is easy to avoid, others not so much. Try not to hit anything or anyone as you go around the water box. If you want to do a burnout, again, watch the track official. They will let you know when to stop, and when to start your burnout.

Once the starter calls you forward to stage there are several things to keep in mind. MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN FOUR WHEEL DRIVE!!! Your truck will go no where and it will piss off the track officials if you do a 300 ft burnout.

As you are pulling up to the staging beams, make sure you are pointed straight down the track and that you are lined up in the 'groove'. This will generally be the dull looking part of the track. Not the shiny part.

Staging is every first timers biggest fear, so here are a few tips. The staging beams are delineated by the 3 holes spaced a little apart on either side of your lane. These are the staging beams and what will activate the staging lights once your FRONT tire has rolled into the beams.

The "TREE" has several sets of lights, and many tracks will have slighty different setups, but this pattern holds true. On the top you have your pre-stage light and then your stage light. These are the lights you want to be watching as you are rolling into the beams. It will be wise to practice building boost before you get to the track to know how your truck responds. I personally start building boost before I light the pre-stage bulb. I then roll forward to light the pre-stage bulb. Once my first light, or pre-stage bulb, is lit, I come up on full boost and slowly creep forward until the second, or staged bulb is lit. Once you have lit both the pre-stage and the staged bulb, this indicates to the starter that you are ready to race. At this point depending on how the TREE is set up, the next three yellow bulbs will light up.

The actual dropping of the TREE is done in a couple of ways. The most common for test and tunes and bracket racing is called a sportsman tree. It works like this. After you are fully staged the next three yellow lights will light up one after the other starting from the top. When the top one lights, the next one will light .5 seconds later and the third one .5 seconds after that. .5 Seconds after the last yellow has lit, the green light will come on. If you want to win your race, don't wait for the green light to come one before you launch. If you do, your reaction time will be very slow giving your competitor a large advantage. You will have to learn your truck and how deep you stage, but rule of thumb is leave on the third yellow.

The second style of of light is known as the pro tree. This is used mainly in Index and heads up racing. The staging process is the same as the sportsman tree, but once staged, things get funky. Once fully staged you had better be ready to go. In the pro tree all three yellows lite at once followed by the green either .5 or .4 seconds later depending on how the tree is set up. It is very important when racing on a pro tree that you are ready to race when you light your second stage bulb. Once it is lit the three yellows can happen at any time.

This moves us into what is called courtesy staging. This is not a rule, but any quality racer will follow this practice. Courtesy staging goes as follows. Once you light your pre-stage bulb, you wait for your competitor to light his pre-stage bulb. Once you both have pre-stage lit, then you can roll into the staged bulb. Double bulbing somebody is a dick move. Don't do it. It may happen due to weak brakes or apprehension, but apologize to whoever you raced and try not to do it again.

What a long post. Lastly, you will want to know about autostart and if it is active. If it is, it works as follows. Once three of the staging bulbs are lit, a timer starts, usually 7-10 seconds. That is the amount of time you or your competitor have to get the fourth bulb lit for staging. If it is not lit in that time, the person with only one staging bulb lit will be timed out and lose the race.

Wow, Racing in a nut shell. Hope that most of that is comprehensible. Please add any tips or tricks you may have.
 
TheBac

TheBac

Why do I keep doing this?
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Excellent post Vernon.

Might also want to get into the proper procedures and etiquette at the end of the track. Too many new racers dont know who has turn-out priority and such.
 
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Verlon at ATP

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TheBac said:
Excellent post Vernon.

Might also want to get into the proper procedures and etiquette at the end of the track. Too many new racers dont know who has turn-out priority and such.
Click to expand...


I'll be sure to add that to the next installment. Need a rest from one fingering that last post.... :eek:
 
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Verlon at ATP

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While I enjoy the time off from a hectic racing season, I seem to get the itch to go back to the track a lot sooner than any close tracks open up.
 
lutzjk

lutzjk

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May 5, 2010
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56taskforce said:
Something no one has mentioned is that if you are running 2whd or forget to put it in 4 whd and lose traction on the prep let off many track get very upset if you peel up their prep...
Same thing while doing a burn out stop before getting on the prep...
If you break get to the side of the track it slows everything down if you oil down the track...
Click to expand...

This is a huge help.

Especially coming from someone who blew a coolant line at about the 330' mark and didn't realize until going through the traps when it kicked the low coolant light on.
 
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