Drag Racing Virgin? Here's the how to...
Drag racing is unique among motorsport in that it is very easy to get into competitive racing.
Here is your step by step guide (mainly tailored for WA people):
*Whoop Ass Wednesdays*
These are the best way to see if you like drag racing. You can race any car (so long as it meets fairly minimal safety standards), and you certainly see all sorts down there! Giving it a go is the main thing, don't worry about being too slow, 19 or 20 second cars are actually quite common, it's all about having fun.
First of all you need a motorbike or car helmet, long sleeves both top and bottom and closed in shoes.
Then go to the Motorplex, enter at the competitor gate (its the first one), and then follow the signs to scrutineering (or just head for the big shed). There scrutineers will check your brakes, tyres, seatbelts and look for leaks. They will give you a number, then point you to sign in where you get a band showing you have signed all the right indemnities. After that, head to the staging lanes. They lead up to the track itself, and you will have been allocated a lane number. Just count from the left to find your lane.
Racing will start from a random lane and then proceed towards the right, so if you see cars racing from the lane to your left it is probably time to get ready! It can be very embarrassing if you are not in your car and your lane starts to move, you will also have a lot of unhappy people beside you so the best thing to do is to stay in the general vicinity of the staging lanes if you are racing, or if you want to watch, keep an eye out for cars racing that were in the lanes to your left so you know when to head back.
Racing itself is the fun bit! You will be directed through the chains at the front and into a lane on the track. Follow track staff instructions and they will guide you into the burnout pad. You don't have to do a burnout and with street tyres a big burnout won't give you faster times. Most competitors chasing quicker times will just spin the tyres out of the water rather than sitting on the brake, fogging in the start line, though it does look cool!
After the burnout move towards the start line, the starter is the last track staff member there and he will tell you to stage your car.
Staging can be difficult for first timers. The trick is to look at the walls of the track and see where the start beams shine through, there is a big gap there at the bottom. Then slowly approach the beams. Most people racing for the first time come in way too fast and totally miss. Just creep up and eventually the lights on the top of the Christmas tree (starting lights) will shine. The top ones show you are in pre-stage, meaning you only have a few inches more to move. When you have two sets of lights on you are in stage and ready to go. If you have trouble the starter will help you stage.
Then it is time to rev up and get ready to go! The yellow lights come down one at a time, four tenths of a second apart, and then the green. We'll cover getting good reaction times and launch technique at another stage but your best bet is to go when you see the last yellow. By the time you and your vehicle react, the green will be on, and a good reaction time (the time between the green comng on and your vehicle moving) can see you waste quicker cars.
Then just accelerate as fast as possible! Easy huh, you would think so! When you pass the big read out boards you will notice lines on the track signifying the end of the strip and it is time to get off the throttle and ease on to the brake. There is plenty of room to slow down, but don't be a hero and stay on the accelerator way past the finish line, racers have ended up in the sand at the end of the braking area before. When you get to the end just turn left, making sure to give your opponent plenty of room, and cruise back up the return road. Although the adrenaline may be pumping, here is the place not go fast. About 40-50kmh is an accepting return road speed. Remember it is a two way road, there have been some close calls!
Slow down when you get to the tunnel, as there will be a track staffer here handing out your time card. It gives you all the information about your run, even weather details.
Then just return to the back of the staging lanes and get ready to go again!
*Fast Fridays*
The next step up from the Wednesdays, Fast Fridays involve eliminations racing. Racers get two or three qualifiers and then it is eliminations time! Unlike Wednesday nights there is not much opportunity to wander off, the staging lanes are the place to be, especially after your second qualifier as the staff will come around to take "dial ins". When you see staff writing numbers on windows in your lane, it is best to get to your car.
A dial in is a handicap for a race. We'll cover it in more detail later. Basically you should dial in at what you think your car will run. Oh and dialling in with a 15.00 when your car runs 14.00 will not work, because if you go under it you lose (unless your opponent goes under it by more). The best bet is to dial in close to your best time for the night, unless you really stuffed your runs up. If I had run a 13.90 and a 13.94 for instance I would probably go a 13.87 to leave a bit of room to run it flat out down the track.
Remember the Christmas tree will be staggered depending on the dial in of your opponent.
Before you stage a vital tip every drag racer should know is to check your dial in on the read out boards, it will show up just before you are told to go into stage. If it is wrong, get the starters attention to get it changed. Beep your horn, flash your lights, do whatever you have to do.
In the ideal race both cars, no matter how much quicker one is than the other, should cross the line at the same time. There are a lot of finish line games however, we will discuss this later!
*National Opens*
Run nine times a year, these are the big ones. Super Street is for cars running between 11.00 and 12.99 and Super Sedan caters for those running 10.99 or quicker. They also run a dial in system like the Fast Fridays. Once you have cut your teeth there, this is where you want to step up to. Big crowds, lots of racers, and very competitive...
So that will do us for now.
Remember don't stress about your car being slow, or not knowing how to race. Plenty of people will help you out if you ask, and it's fun once you know how.
