Track tips, anyone???
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 5
From:
Track tips, anyone???
This Saturday night will be the first time I actually race at the drag strip instead of the street. Does anyone have any tips? I'm kinda nervous about take off and running the light.
2004 Mustang GT
Screaming Yellow
5-speed, stock, flowmasters
2004 Mustang GT
Screaming Yellow
5-speed, stock, flowmasters
4th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,133
From:
RE: Track tips, anyone???
Umm
1.Dont Crash
2.Make sure you dont crash because you'll be stuck with a wrecked car and no insurance to cover it.
3.Rule #1 is the most important except for #3.
4.If you think your going to lose the car then just let off the gas, dont try to drive your way out of it.
I've seen so many people think when they get lose they can just press the gas harder and then they end up hitting the wall.
The most important rule of them all....(except #1 and #3)
5. Have fun and be safe........and post up your slip
1.Dont Crash
2.Make sure you dont crash because you'll be stuck with a wrecked car and no insurance to cover it.
3.Rule #1 is the most important except for #3.
4.If you think your going to lose the car then just let off the gas, dont try to drive your way out of it.
I've seen so many people think when they get lose they can just press the gas harder and then they end up hitting the wall.
The most important rule of them all....(except #1 and #3)
5. Have fun and be safe........and post up your slip
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 213
From:
RE: Track tips, anyone???
Don't wait until the light is actually green before you launch. I take off when the last amber comes on. By the time you break the beam the light is green. That stuff is for a good reaction time.
Watch your tach carefully and not so much the car beside you. When I raced my camaro I was so excited I hit the rev limiter on almost every shift. Not good for engine longevity. I was racing my buddy and paying to much attention to his car.
I launched my car at 1500rpm. With street tires anything more and I spin. Anyless less It will bog. All cars are different, you'll have to experiment with that.
Don't let off the gas until you know you are definetly past the finish line. I see some people letting off right when they get there or even before.
Good luck!
Watch your tach carefully and not so much the car beside you. When I raced my camaro I was so excited I hit the rev limiter on almost every shift. Not good for engine longevity. I was racing my buddy and paying to much attention to his car.
I launched my car at 1500rpm. With street tires anything more and I spin. Anyless less It will bog. All cars are different, you'll have to experiment with that.
Don't let off the gas until you know you are definetly past the finish line. I see some people letting off right when they get there or even before.
Good luck!
1st Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 113
From:
RE: Track tips, anyone???
DRAG RACING BASICS: PIT GATE TO FINISH LINE!
by: Jeff Tyler
1) Contact your local track, and ask if they have a "street night", or "test and tune". For complete beginners, it is best to avoid bracket racing events, or any points race. On street night, almost everyone running is just as new to this as you are! The track officials know this, and are ready to help. It is also a much more relaxed atmosphere.
2) If possible, call a few buddies, and go to watch the first time. Check out the "lay of the land". Ask the racers in the pits how everything works. Remember, everyone there is a car nut just like you, AND EVERYONE THERE WAS A "FIRST-TIMER" ONCE THEMSELVES! Everytime I go, I get asked questions by new guys! Just make sure you pay the extra couple of bucks to get in on the "pit side", as it won't do you much good to sit on the spectator side, which is usually deserted on street nights.
3) When you decide you are ready to give it a try, goto the pit gate, you will need to inform them that you intend to race. They will charge you for car & driver, plus extra for any spectator friends you brought. At the Motorplex in Ennis, they charged $18 for my wife and I (I raced, she watched) last season. You will be given a tech card.
4) Go find a pit space. Only take up one space, as the night goes on, it can get very busy. Unload any loose items in your car (I would suggest you leave what you can at home). Fill out the tech card and sign it. Usually, they also have a space on the BACK that you must sign, so look there also. Ask some of the cars parked near you whether they know if tech inspection is open, and where it is located (usually at the back, or beginning of the staging lanes). Its a good time to make new friends, and enjoy looking at all the great cars!
5) When tech inspection opens (usually 10-15 minutes after the gate opens) go to the tech area. If you are taking your street car, and it is not a death trap, you will pass tech. Some obvious things you need: seatbelts, safe tires (no cord showing), radiator coolant overflow catch canister (the factory one is fine), no blatant fluid leaks pouring out, etc! Also, shorts and tank tops are not allowed! YOU MUST WEAR LONG PANTS WHILE ON THE TRACK! All the officials look for this, so don't try to sneak it by them. This is about it for a street car. If your car runs faster than 11.99, then the entire game changes. However, if your running that well, I'll bet you've been to the track at least a time or two....The tech inspector will write your cars number on the window where it is visible by the timing tower. If staging lanes are not open, then return to your pit.
6) The track announcer will come over the PA system, and say that the staging lanes are open. Listen carefully, as some of the larger tracks have many lanes (The Motorplex has 10), and they may have cars of differant speeds report to differant lanes. On Friday street nights at Ennis, they just say lanes are open, and everyone just forms two lines. When they have a TON of cars, they split up the lanes by estimated ET of the car. Take your best guess, as this is not crucial. For your first run, I would suggest you get in line with the 15 second cars if you honestly have NO IDEA, as that is a good middle ground. The staging lanes go slowly, then quickly, so STAY WITH YOUR CAR. DO NOT RUN YOUR AIR CONDITIONER! The condensation on the system will drip down onto the track. BELIEVE ME, they look for this, and if they see something dripping, then will pull you off the starting line. When they check the liquid on the ground, and see it is plain water, they will chew your butt, and send you to the back of the staging lane.
7) At the end of the staging lanes, there SHOULD be a track official. Watch carefully, and when it is time, he will point at you, and then point where he wants you to go. His job is to pair up cars to race, then put them into correct lanes. The idea is to keep you from racing a 9 second alcohol Camaro. By the way, most tracks make a strong effort to keep near stock street cars from running sub-10 second race cars, and will usually hold a street car, and let the race car make a solo run. Unfortunatly, they don't always do this...If you find yourself lined up next to a John Force replica funny car, feel free (I advise beginners to do this!)to just sit there for a moment when the light goes green. Let the race car roar away from the starting line, then a moment later, you can go. Who cares that you got a lousy "reaction time"? Your ET slip will be UNEFFECTED! The timers don't start until you leave the starting line! This way, if the race car breaks an axle on a 7,000 rpm launch, and vears into your lane, you wont be there! I saw a sub-10 second car with an incorrectly set up rear suspention vear so hard at launch that he almost took out the starting line tree....
8) Just before you enter the water box, there should be another track official. He will make sure that your seat belt is on, all windows are rolled up, and will hold you until it is time for you to do your burnout. Do not enter the waterbox until instructed. If it is near sundown, turn on your parking lights. This is a required RULE at all tracks. This is how the officials can see where you are on the track, so they don't send another pair of cars while you are broke down at the other end, ON THE TRACK!
9) Since this is for beginners, I will assume you are on street tires. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH THE WATERBOX! Your treaded tires will just pick up water in the treads, and when you do your burnout, it will sling water all over inside the wheel well. You will then track the water all the way down the track, and water will be dripping down onto your rear tires, making them VERY slick! If you do this, you make the track dangerous for everyone, and you may be asked to leave if you do it again. The water is for slicks, not treaded tires. DRIVE AROUND THE WATERBOX, then get your car centered in the lane. Back up slightly if needed. For street tires, I 'personally' do not think that a burnout does much at all. Street compounds are hard, and high performance tires are specifically designed to not heat up. Heat causes high speed tire failure, that is why you paid big bucks for "Z" speed rated tires. Now your trying to heat them up??? If I run my street tires, I do a quick, short burnout to clean the tires off.
10) Do not pull up to the tree! Every beginner does this. The staging beams are actually about 15 feet or so BEFORE the tree! Hopefully, you took my advise and watched the other cars run first, and looked to get an idea where everyone else was pulling up to. If you cant figure it out, don't worry, the starter knows it is "street night", and will help you. When he realizes you can't find the staging beams, watch him. He will walk up next to your car, and motion to you to either pull up, or back. Again, don't get embarrassed, or upset. The starter has to do that probably 20-30 times a night. SLOWLY pull forward until you see the very top, small yellow light come on. You are now "PRE-STAGED". It is considered a racers courtesy to wait for the other car to prestage, before staging. Then gently roll forward a few more inches, and the other small yellow light right under the top one will come on. You are now "STAGED". Do not roll forward too far, or the "PRESTAGED" light will go out, and you may be required to pull back, to relight that light. That is called "deep staging", and is usually not allowed on street nights. There -should- be a blue light turned on, on the tree, which notifies all racers that "deep staging" is not allowed. If you do accidently pull forward too far, and deep stage, DO NOT PULL BACK UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY THE STARTER. He may just start the tree anyway, and you would be sitting there in reverse! Now, watch that very bottom, large yellow light!
11) The starter will activate the tree,
by: Jeff Tyler
1) Contact your local track, and ask if they have a "street night", or "test and tune". For complete beginners, it is best to avoid bracket racing events, or any points race. On street night, almost everyone running is just as new to this as you are! The track officials know this, and are ready to help. It is also a much more relaxed atmosphere.
2) If possible, call a few buddies, and go to watch the first time. Check out the "lay of the land". Ask the racers in the pits how everything works. Remember, everyone there is a car nut just like you, AND EVERYONE THERE WAS A "FIRST-TIMER" ONCE THEMSELVES! Everytime I go, I get asked questions by new guys! Just make sure you pay the extra couple of bucks to get in on the "pit side", as it won't do you much good to sit on the spectator side, which is usually deserted on street nights.
3) When you decide you are ready to give it a try, goto the pit gate, you will need to inform them that you intend to race. They will charge you for car & driver, plus extra for any spectator friends you brought. At the Motorplex in Ennis, they charged $18 for my wife and I (I raced, she watched) last season. You will be given a tech card.
4) Go find a pit space. Only take up one space, as the night goes on, it can get very busy. Unload any loose items in your car (I would suggest you leave what you can at home). Fill out the tech card and sign it. Usually, they also have a space on the BACK that you must sign, so look there also. Ask some of the cars parked near you whether they know if tech inspection is open, and where it is located (usually at the back, or beginning of the staging lanes). Its a good time to make new friends, and enjoy looking at all the great cars!
5) When tech inspection opens (usually 10-15 minutes after the gate opens) go to the tech area. If you are taking your street car, and it is not a death trap, you will pass tech. Some obvious things you need: seatbelts, safe tires (no cord showing), radiator coolant overflow catch canister (the factory one is fine), no blatant fluid leaks pouring out, etc! Also, shorts and tank tops are not allowed! YOU MUST WEAR LONG PANTS WHILE ON THE TRACK! All the officials look for this, so don't try to sneak it by them. This is about it for a street car. If your car runs faster than 11.99, then the entire game changes. However, if your running that well, I'll bet you've been to the track at least a time or two....The tech inspector will write your cars number on the window where it is visible by the timing tower. If staging lanes are not open, then return to your pit.
6) The track announcer will come over the PA system, and say that the staging lanes are open. Listen carefully, as some of the larger tracks have many lanes (The Motorplex has 10), and they may have cars of differant speeds report to differant lanes. On Friday street nights at Ennis, they just say lanes are open, and everyone just forms two lines. When they have a TON of cars, they split up the lanes by estimated ET of the car. Take your best guess, as this is not crucial. For your first run, I would suggest you get in line with the 15 second cars if you honestly have NO IDEA, as that is a good middle ground. The staging lanes go slowly, then quickly, so STAY WITH YOUR CAR. DO NOT RUN YOUR AIR CONDITIONER! The condensation on the system will drip down onto the track. BELIEVE ME, they look for this, and if they see something dripping, then will pull you off the starting line. When they check the liquid on the ground, and see it is plain water, they will chew your butt, and send you to the back of the staging lane.
7) At the end of the staging lanes, there SHOULD be a track official. Watch carefully, and when it is time, he will point at you, and then point where he wants you to go. His job is to pair up cars to race, then put them into correct lanes. The idea is to keep you from racing a 9 second alcohol Camaro. By the way, most tracks make a strong effort to keep near stock street cars from running sub-10 second race cars, and will usually hold a street car, and let the race car make a solo run. Unfortunatly, they don't always do this...If you find yourself lined up next to a John Force replica funny car, feel free (I advise beginners to do this!)to just sit there for a moment when the light goes green. Let the race car roar away from the starting line, then a moment later, you can go. Who cares that you got a lousy "reaction time"? Your ET slip will be UNEFFECTED! The timers don't start until you leave the starting line! This way, if the race car breaks an axle on a 7,000 rpm launch, and vears into your lane, you wont be there! I saw a sub-10 second car with an incorrectly set up rear suspention vear so hard at launch that he almost took out the starting line tree....
8) Just before you enter the water box, there should be another track official. He will make sure that your seat belt is on, all windows are rolled up, and will hold you until it is time for you to do your burnout. Do not enter the waterbox until instructed. If it is near sundown, turn on your parking lights. This is a required RULE at all tracks. This is how the officials can see where you are on the track, so they don't send another pair of cars while you are broke down at the other end, ON THE TRACK!
9) Since this is for beginners, I will assume you are on street tires. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH THE WATERBOX! Your treaded tires will just pick up water in the treads, and when you do your burnout, it will sling water all over inside the wheel well. You will then track the water all the way down the track, and water will be dripping down onto your rear tires, making them VERY slick! If you do this, you make the track dangerous for everyone, and you may be asked to leave if you do it again. The water is for slicks, not treaded tires. DRIVE AROUND THE WATERBOX, then get your car centered in the lane. Back up slightly if needed. For street tires, I 'personally' do not think that a burnout does much at all. Street compounds are hard, and high performance tires are specifically designed to not heat up. Heat causes high speed tire failure, that is why you paid big bucks for "Z" speed rated tires. Now your trying to heat them up??? If I run my street tires, I do a quick, short burnout to clean the tires off.
10) Do not pull up to the tree! Every beginner does this. The staging beams are actually about 15 feet or so BEFORE the tree! Hopefully, you took my advise and watched the other cars run first, and looked to get an idea where everyone else was pulling up to. If you cant figure it out, don't worry, the starter knows it is "street night", and will help you. When he realizes you can't find the staging beams, watch him. He will walk up next to your car, and motion to you to either pull up, or back. Again, don't get embarrassed, or upset. The starter has to do that probably 20-30 times a night. SLOWLY pull forward until you see the very top, small yellow light come on. You are now "PRE-STAGED". It is considered a racers courtesy to wait for the other car to prestage, before staging. Then gently roll forward a few more inches, and the other small yellow light right under the top one will come on. You are now "STAGED". Do not roll forward too far, or the "PRESTAGED" light will go out, and you may be required to pull back, to relight that light. That is called "deep staging", and is usually not allowed on street nights. There -should- be a blue light turned on, on the tree, which notifies all racers that "deep staging" is not allowed. If you do accidently pull forward too far, and deep stage, DO NOT PULL BACK UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY THE STARTER. He may just start the tree anyway, and you would be sitting there in reverse! Now, watch that very bottom, large yellow light!
11) The starter will activate the tree,
6th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 14,917
RE: Track tips, anyone???
Wow, a guy asks these questions and gets no responses, but a girl gets everything!!!
Anyways, Pip said just let off the gas, that is the single most wrong thing you can do. Ease out of the gas if you get sideways and start getting nervous.
Anyways, Pip said just let off the gas, that is the single most wrong thing you can do. Ease out of the gas if you get sideways and start getting nervous.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
mungodrums
S550 2015-2023 Mustang
10
Sep 28, 2015 10:54 PM
autoedit
General Tech
0
Sep 27, 2015 06:37 PM
mungodrums
Suspension
0
Sep 24, 2015 10:12 PM