Knobbers guide to drag racing
Discussion
http://www.santapod.co.uk/dr_basics.php has a good introduction with http://www.santapod.co.uk/dr_classes.php summarising the classes. For the lowdown on European Drag Racing check http://www.eurodragster.com/
My advice? Get along to a meeting and don't be afraid to ask questions either at the track or on here.
My advice? Get along to a meeting and don't be afraid to ask questions either at the track or on here.
Wrote this a while back...
I wrote this to post on another forum I frequent, but thought it might be worth posting over here, I've purposely not posted it in the drag racing section in an effort to show this to a wider selection of people...
The drag racing post!
Hmmm, how do I start this, you already probably know the facts that regularly get posted about Top Fuel cars, the 120 Gallon a minute fuel pumps, the 5 G’s on launch, the 0-100 in 0.9 seconds etc etc, but what about the world of drag racing in the lower ranks?
In European drag racing there are quite a few classes (for both car and bike), these are split into two main types, Bracket Racing (in which racers predict how fast they are going to run the ¼ mile and must run as close to this as they can, without going faster) or Heads Up racing (a balls out dash for the finish line). Within Bracket Racing there are free index classes and fixed index classes (free where you select your own “Dial In” and Fixed where all racers aim for the same ET (elapsed time))
- Sportsman ET : Entry level Car Bracket Racing with a free index (no quicker than 12.00 seconds) Most street cars can race in this bracket with little or no modifications, typically rear-wheel drive cars with automatic gearboxes are the favourite, but it has been known for the championships to be won with FWD and Manual (in fact this was done by our driver!)
- Pro ET : Car Bracket Racing with a free index (11.99 – 9.00), here we move into some more serious drag racing machinery, typically none of these cars are street legal, almost all (if not all) are RWD (This is the class we race in, and it’s a bloody hard class! At one event this year none of the 32 qualifiers were more than 0.03 away from their dial in”)
- Super Pro ET : Car Bracket Racing with a free index (8.99 and quicker) again, very few of these cars are street legal, typically these are supercharged, exotic fuel burning monsters.
- Super Street : Car Bracket Racing with a fixed index (10.99) All cars racing to the same index. In this class, unlike the free index classes, throttle stops and delay boxes are allowed. These are devices that are pre-programmed and alter the cars performance during the run, the delay box will delay the cars reaction on the start line (allowing the driver to race off the “Top Bulb”), a throttle stop controls the amount of throttle opening available to the driver, again, this is something that is pre-determined on a timer system, the timer engaging once the car leaves the line.
- Super Gas : Car Bracket Racing with a fixed index (9.90) The same as Super Street, only quicker!
- Super Comp : as with Super Gas, but with an 8.90 Index
Other than Competition Eliminator ( a fiendishly complicated bracket class) that’s about it for bracket racers, other than Junior Dragster of course. Now we move onto the “Heads-Up” Classes.
- Street Eliminator : A very interesting class, heads up drag racing with street legal cars. All cars must carry a valid tax disk, MOT and insurance, at each drag racing event, they are required to go on a 20-30 mile cruise, take on pump fuel and carry out several hot starts to prove their street legality. The current fastest car in the UK is Red Victor 2 (owned by Andy Frost) which recently featured on 5th Gear. This street legal Vauxhall Victor has run a 7.8 second ¼ mile!
- Pro Stock : Petrol-burning doorslammers with very tight sets of rules governing appearance and specifications. Cars closely resemble production models, but are capable of hitting 6-second passes on the track! Incredible engineering and amazing racing.
- Pro Modified - 200mph petrol (or methanol)- burning 'fastest cars with doors!" showing the first signs of similarity to a street car using bodies from a Ford Probe or a Vauxhall Calibra for example. The rules also allow pick-up bodies.
And then you’re into the bigger, quicker, more expensive stuff like Top Methanol Dragster/Funnycar and Top Fuel Dragster/Funnycar…
So … what happens on the drag strip? I’m sure you’ve all seen a drag race at one time or another, but have you had a chance to have a proper look at the Christmas tree whilst you were trying to concentrate on the 7000Hp monsters sat either side of it? Did the jerk towards the start line make sense? Here we go….
With the engine fired up and checked over the first thing to do is make sure that the tyres are clean and up to temperature, so you do a burnout.. Easy to do in some cars, not so easy in others.
For bodied cars, it’s quite an easy job, they run front brakes and are able to use line lock to lock the front brakes on enabling them to burnout on the spot (and look pretty impressive too!).. Dragster style cars take a little bit more practice, without front brakes they can’t be held on the spot so it’s a case of foot on the brake to hold the car, bring the revs up then roll off the brakes and on with the throttle, get the rears spinning and dial in any corrective lock.
After doing that, the team will check over the car to make sure all is OK, then prime the chute (one of my jobs), this simply involves pulling out a pin (good practice at this point is to show it to the driver so that he/she knows they are good to go)..
And on to the start line we go..
Pre-Stage, if you’ve watched the US drag racing on five US you’ll have heard this phrase, pre-stage is a line about 6-8 inches away from the start line, photoelectric cells sense when the car has moved into this and illuminate the top of the two sets of stage bulbs.
Roll forwards a little and into stage, when both cars are here the chief starter will click the button to run the tree. Which class you race in affects how the tree reacts.
Sportsman classes run with a sportsman tree, this sequentially lights three amber lights then a green light at 0.4 second intervals. Bracket racers with free index will have a staggered start based on the difference in time between the two dial ins, for example an 11 second racer will leave the line 1 second before a 10 second racer, if they both got it right and pulled the same reaction times they will arrive at the finish line at the same time!
Pro classes run with the Pro Tree, all ambers light together the green illuminates 0.4 seconds later, again, if you see the green, you’ve gone too late!
Bang, you’ve nailed the throttle and off you go, shift light blinks and you change gear (this happens either once, or a number of times dependant on the configuration of the car. We run with a two speed box, so this only happens once), check the gauges to make sure everything is where it should be and if you’re chasing down your opponent, keep an eye on him!
Through the top end, hit the chutes or squeeze on the brakes, dependent on how fast you went through, and look for the win light!
Drive/Tow back to the pits and have a look at the timing ticket, then prepare to do it all over again!
I realise now that this is quite a lengthy read, but hopefully it’s given you an insight into what drag racing is all about, what variety there is (just in the car based classes), and has maybe got your interest up a little (maybe even enough to come to the track next year)..
Some videos for you…
Slow Mo Drag Racing
1000 fps NHRA footage, it’s impressive..
On Board footage from our dragster at Shakespear County Raceway
Andy Frost’s Red Victor running a 7.8
Awesome compilation video, crashes, pedal fests you name it
Right.. I’m going to stop typing now…
If you want me to answer any questions.. Ask away!
slinky
I wrote this to post on another forum I frequent, but thought it might be worth posting over here, I've purposely not posted it in the drag racing section in an effort to show this to a wider selection of people...
The drag racing post!
Hmmm, how do I start this, you already probably know the facts that regularly get posted about Top Fuel cars, the 120 Gallon a minute fuel pumps, the 5 G’s on launch, the 0-100 in 0.9 seconds etc etc, but what about the world of drag racing in the lower ranks?
In European drag racing there are quite a few classes (for both car and bike), these are split into two main types, Bracket Racing (in which racers predict how fast they are going to run the ¼ mile and must run as close to this as they can, without going faster) or Heads Up racing (a balls out dash for the finish line). Within Bracket Racing there are free index classes and fixed index classes (free where you select your own “Dial In” and Fixed where all racers aim for the same ET (elapsed time))
- Sportsman ET : Entry level Car Bracket Racing with a free index (no quicker than 12.00 seconds) Most street cars can race in this bracket with little or no modifications, typically rear-wheel drive cars with automatic gearboxes are the favourite, but it has been known for the championships to be won with FWD and Manual (in fact this was done by our driver!)
- Pro ET : Car Bracket Racing with a free index (11.99 – 9.00), here we move into some more serious drag racing machinery, typically none of these cars are street legal, almost all (if not all) are RWD (This is the class we race in, and it’s a bloody hard class! At one event this year none of the 32 qualifiers were more than 0.03 away from their dial in”)
- Super Pro ET : Car Bracket Racing with a free index (8.99 and quicker) again, very few of these cars are street legal, typically these are supercharged, exotic fuel burning monsters.
- Super Street : Car Bracket Racing with a fixed index (10.99) All cars racing to the same index. In this class, unlike the free index classes, throttle stops and delay boxes are allowed. These are devices that are pre-programmed and alter the cars performance during the run, the delay box will delay the cars reaction on the start line (allowing the driver to race off the “Top Bulb”), a throttle stop controls the amount of throttle opening available to the driver, again, this is something that is pre-determined on a timer system, the timer engaging once the car leaves the line.
- Super Gas : Car Bracket Racing with a fixed index (9.90) The same as Super Street, only quicker!
- Super Comp : as with Super Gas, but with an 8.90 Index
Other than Competition Eliminator ( a fiendishly complicated bracket class) that’s about it for bracket racers, other than Junior Dragster of course. Now we move onto the “Heads-Up” Classes.
- Street Eliminator : A very interesting class, heads up drag racing with street legal cars. All cars must carry a valid tax disk, MOT and insurance, at each drag racing event, they are required to go on a 20-30 mile cruise, take on pump fuel and carry out several hot starts to prove their street legality. The current fastest car in the UK is Red Victor 2 (owned by Andy Frost) which recently featured on 5th Gear. This street legal Vauxhall Victor has run a 7.8 second ¼ mile!
- Pro Stock : Petrol-burning doorslammers with very tight sets of rules governing appearance and specifications. Cars closely resemble production models, but are capable of hitting 6-second passes on the track! Incredible engineering and amazing racing.
- Pro Modified - 200mph petrol (or methanol)- burning 'fastest cars with doors!" showing the first signs of similarity to a street car using bodies from a Ford Probe or a Vauxhall Calibra for example. The rules also allow pick-up bodies.
And then you’re into the bigger, quicker, more expensive stuff like Top Methanol Dragster/Funnycar and Top Fuel Dragster/Funnycar…
So … what happens on the drag strip? I’m sure you’ve all seen a drag race at one time or another, but have you had a chance to have a proper look at the Christmas tree whilst you were trying to concentrate on the 7000Hp monsters sat either side of it? Did the jerk towards the start line make sense? Here we go….
With the engine fired up and checked over the first thing to do is make sure that the tyres are clean and up to temperature, so you do a burnout.. Easy to do in some cars, not so easy in others.
For bodied cars, it’s quite an easy job, they run front brakes and are able to use line lock to lock the front brakes on enabling them to burnout on the spot (and look pretty impressive too!).. Dragster style cars take a little bit more practice, without front brakes they can’t be held on the spot so it’s a case of foot on the brake to hold the car, bring the revs up then roll off the brakes and on with the throttle, get the rears spinning and dial in any corrective lock.
After doing that, the team will check over the car to make sure all is OK, then prime the chute (one of my jobs), this simply involves pulling out a pin (good practice at this point is to show it to the driver so that he/she knows they are good to go)..
And on to the start line we go..
Pre-Stage, if you’ve watched the US drag racing on five US you’ll have heard this phrase, pre-stage is a line about 6-8 inches away from the start line, photoelectric cells sense when the car has moved into this and illuminate the top of the two sets of stage bulbs.
Roll forwards a little and into stage, when both cars are here the chief starter will click the button to run the tree. Which class you race in affects how the tree reacts.
Sportsman classes run with a sportsman tree, this sequentially lights three amber lights then a green light at 0.4 second intervals. Bracket racers with free index will have a staggered start based on the difference in time between the two dial ins, for example an 11 second racer will leave the line 1 second before a 10 second racer, if they both got it right and pulled the same reaction times they will arrive at the finish line at the same time!
Pro classes run with the Pro Tree, all ambers light together the green illuminates 0.4 seconds later, again, if you see the green, you’ve gone too late!
Bang, you’ve nailed the throttle and off you go, shift light blinks and you change gear (this happens either once, or a number of times dependant on the configuration of the car. We run with a two speed box, so this only happens once), check the gauges to make sure everything is where it should be and if you’re chasing down your opponent, keep an eye on him!
Through the top end, hit the chutes or squeeze on the brakes, dependent on how fast you went through, and look for the win light!
Drive/Tow back to the pits and have a look at the timing ticket, then prepare to do it all over again!
I realise now that this is quite a lengthy read, but hopefully it’s given you an insight into what drag racing is all about, what variety there is (just in the car based classes), and has maybe got your interest up a little (maybe even enough to come to the track next year)..
Some videos for you…
Slow Mo Drag Racing
1000 fps NHRA footage, it’s impressive..
On Board footage from our dragster at Shakespear County Raceway
Andy Frost’s Red Victor running a 7.8
Awesome compilation video, crashes, pedal fests you name it
Right.. I’m going to stop typing now…
If you want me to answer any questions.. Ask away!
slinky
Edited by Slinky on Thursday 24th July 18:22
Tet said:
Slinky said:
Super Street [...] the delay box will delay the cars reaction on the start line (allowing the driver to race off the “Top Bulb”)
Of course, since the super classes run on a pro tree, there is no concept of a top bulb, and delay boxes don't help...Slinky said:
Actually, that's a point, what would the index be for standard TT Supra in Comp Elim?
In theory, the current European comp eliminator indices can be found on the European Comp Association web site. However, they ran John Bradshaw on an 8.26s index in DT/A at the main event, where the current index is listed as being 9.25s on the web site (which claims to be up to date as of a couple of weeks ago). I've no idea where the 8.26s figure came from.Slinky said:
Actually, that's a point, what would the index be for standard TT Supra in Comp Elim?
well it couldn't be that standard, would still need to meet all required safety specs as per the 'altered' section of the rule book (doorslammers are counted under the altered banner in comp eliminator) etc, but standard engine size, car weighing 3000lbs or so (at a guess) would probably be in DT/A which is 9.25 indexIn addition to the excellent advice, I implore you to join one of the sanctioning bodies. SPRC or APIRA or PDRC will do. They will send you a rule book, and everything you need to know will be found within...
http://www.eurodragster.com/sprc/
http://www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk/
http://york-raceway.co.uk/pdrc.html
http://www.eurodragster.com/sprc/
http://www.shakespearecountyraceway.co.uk/
http://york-raceway.co.uk/pdrc.html
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