Drag racing 201

Drag Racing 201 – Class Racing with an Index Dave Schultz September 10, 2012

Recap 101

About ten years ago, I wrote an article by the name of “Drag Racing 101“, which was geared towards the beginner drag racer, or the person wanting to take their street car to the track without looking like complete novice. It discussed the pure basics regarding preparing the car, driver safety, tech inspection, staging lanes, making the run, picking up the ticket, and analyzing it.

This article assumes that you’ve read that article, and have by now actually made some passes, regardless of how fast or slow they were. If you’ve not yet read that article, I strongly suggest you start there first.

Racing 201

This article explains the technique of the type of racing I have the most experience in, Class/Index racing. However, before you can really take advantage of honing your technique, you should first be comfortable with the basics. Drag racing happens awfully fast, and you’re doing a lot in a short period of time. It all has to be done properly if you’re to be successful at it. The more that becomes second nature and is a reaction vs. you having to think about – the better you will be.

Just as home run hitters have a routine they automatically go through before every pitch, every drag racer should have his routine down. You need to have it be second nature to go through the bleach box, shift to second or third, do a consistent burn out, shift to neutral and clear the carbs, set your tach recorder, turn off your fan, shift to first, prestage and then stage without even thinking about it. This all comes from a lot of practice, even from sitting in the car in the garage and just visualizing it.

The first time that a full conscience focus happens should be leaving on the tree for the best light you can get. Then the better racers are back to automatic pilot with staying in the groove and shifting until they’ve reach high gear, and then they once again become fully focused again on racing the stripe.

Practice, practice, practice the exact same routine up to staging; and even repeat it to yourself as you’re sitting in the staging lanes until it is a natural reaction. Up until the time both racers are staged, everything you do has to become automatic, second nature, and not affect your biorhythm (stress, pulse, blood pressure, breathing, adrenalin, etc.) until you’re ready for the lights to count down. Again, sit in your car at home and visualize the whole process while belted in, helmet on, and shifting.

Class Racing vs. Bracket Racing and Match Racing

While most of this article is applicable for most all drag racing, it comes from a person who mainly does non-electronics, foot-brake, index class racing. First I should explain of a couple of the more popular types of drag racing:

• Match Racing is when both vehicles leave at the same time, and the quickest car to the finish line (assuming no fouls), wins. It is the racing that most spectators like to see, but because of the expense to be the fastest is so high, and because only a few have the money and technical knowledge to be competitive, few of us can do it.
• Bracket Racing has two drivers posting the elapsed time that they feel their vehicles will run based on their vehicle, weather, and track conditions; and the driver closest to his time without going faster wins. That is assuming their reaction time is the same, which it seldom is – but that will be explained later. If a driver goes faster than his time, he breaks out and loses. If both break out, the driver who broke out by the least wins. In the case of bracket racing, the slower car will have his side of the tree count down first by the time he is slower than the second vehicle, so the faster will chase him down, and they theoretically reach the finish line at the same time. For instance, if a 9.25-second car was to race a 11.75 car, the 11.75 car would leave two and a half seconds (an eternity for the faster car to wait) earlier than the faster car.
• Index Racing is when cars pick or are assigned (depending on organization or class of car) an Index, and they have to get as close to that index as possible without going faster. Because of the big Elapsed Time gaps between the indexes (IE: 10.00, 10.50, 11.00, 11.50… Seconds) vs. putting an exact time (of say 10.63) on the window. Most Index racers will tell you it takes more skill to index race as both types of racing are won by thousands of a second, but the Index racer might have to figure out to slow his vehicle by as much as a half second, and he has to live with his index through the entire event, while the bracket racer at many events can adjust time his for the conditions. In most situations, it is possible for different indexes to run each other, and the slower car would leave first as in bracket racing.
• Class Racing is when all of the vehicles are strictly constrained by the rules for the class of cars the run in. Class racing can be by index or match. In the Pro ranks of NHRA, some of the classes are Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock. These classes Match Race. Some of the classes in the Sportsman Classes are Super Stock and Stock Eliminator, and they Index race.

The Package

Because the “Package” is the total of the Reaction Time (RT) + the Elapsed Time (ET), it is possible for both drivers to not breakout, yet the best ET not win because the other driver’s RT was that much better. Basically it is the lowest Package without a foul that wins.

A “First or Worse” foul gives the win to the other driver. If the driver leaves too soon, he has red light fouled. If both were to red light, then the first to red light is the usually the loser. Breaking out is also a foul. If both were break out, the first is usually the loser. Then comes the Worse! Hitting the wall, crossing the center line, or getting caught cheating is worse, and that trumps the first with regards to fouls.

Non-electronics vs. Electronics

You will often see races where they break it down into Electronics, and Non-Electronics vehicles. There is a lot of racing electronic devices that can be used for a vehicle to achieve their declared ET. Trans-brakes (although some events allow them for non-Electronics vehicles), data loggers, computers, digital ignitions, multi-step boxes, throttle stops, driveshaft speed monitors,… Since these devices are a major competitive advantage, and Non-Electronics vehicles are not allowed to use them, there is usually a separate class for each if the event doesn’t have a more defined Class Racing event.

Foot Brake vs. Trans Brake

Foot brake racers launch their start by holding the car at the line with their left foot on the brake, while the right foot is on the accelerator keeping the RPMs at the optimal for the best launch. A transbrake transmission has a special valve body, which has a solenoid that will put the transmission in 1st gear and reverse at the same time when the shifter is in 1st and the solenoid is engaged. The driver stages the car, and pushes a button (some put on the shifter, others have on the steering column, or hold in the hand and the throw to the floor after the car launches) to engage the transbrake. He can then give full throttle and a rev limiter will keep the engine at the exact RPMs the car is set to launch. When the driver releases the button, reverse is disengaged and the vehicle launches. The advantages are a better reaction time and a more consistent launch from a higher and more consistent RPM than from foot braking; and releasing the button vs. letting off the brake and flooring the gas at the same time. Some events and classes consider a Trans-brake to be electronics, and some don’t. It is one of the more common cheats seen in non-electronic racing that doesn’t allow it.

Organized Racing in a Series

There are many organizations with a multi-race “Champion Points” series. National series like NHRA, NMCA, NMRA; regional Series like Victory, and the Classics; and local race track series. They’re a lot of fun to run in. If you intend to run in a series, or even just a race or two in the series, here are a few things to help you be prepared.

First you will most likely be required to buy a membership, and get an assigned number – which you will most likely need to post on four sides of the vehicle in at least 3″ letters. You will most likely need to also have the organization’s banner on the car, along with the Class Sponsor’s sticker on the car. When you arrive to the track you will go to the Driver’s trailer, with any crew, to establish credentials. There they check your membership, ensure you paid to enter the race, and have you and crew sign waivers. They give you and the crew authorization to be in the staging areas, a tech card, and a contingency sheet.

You fill out the tech card, fill out the contingency sheet for the stickers you legitimately run on the car; and take those, the car, your safety gear, and racing license to the tech area. There they’ll inspect your car for class rules and safety, the stickers for the sponsors you claim, your license (if required), and your safety gear. If all passes, they give you a qualifying slip.

Generally you will get one two three Time Trials to dial your car in.

Then there is Qualifying. You will generally get 1-4 Qualifying passes. These passes are used to determine the Eliminations ladder of who races who, or in the case of only a limited number allowed in the class – if you even get to compete in eliminations. Ladders are built two different ways – Ro Ladder or Sportsman ladder. Pro Ladder is the most fair with the best running the worse, the second best against the second worse and so on. This is the ladder most often used for Match Racing. The Sportsman Ladder is designed for more parity. You split the qualifying order in half to where the best of the first half runs the best of second, second best against second best, and so on. So in a 16 car field the Pro Ladder matches 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, 4-13,… In Sportsman it would be 1-9, 2-10, 3-11, 4-12…