Almost every weekend throughout the spring, summer and part of fall, you can find me out at a magical place that gives people freedom and an adrenaline rush. I am talking about the drag strip.
Not many people know what drag racing entails except for driving in a straight line. Well, I am here to give everyone a tutorial in one of my greatest passions which is in fact... drag racing. Obviously, you must have a vehicle to go down the track. Here is a list of cars that are acceptable to go down the drag strip.
Top Fuel Dragster creating roughly 10,000 horsepower. Each pass will cost between $10,000 to $15,000. 3.6 seconds at 330 mph in 1,000 feet.
Top Fuel Funny car creating roughly 7,000 horsepower. Each pass will cost between $10,000 to $15,000. 3.7 seconds at 330 mph in 1,000 feet.
Pro Stock car creating roughly 1,500 horsepower. Much more cost effective as they do not have to rebuild motor after every pass. 6.5 seconds at 210 mph in a quarter mile.
Or... you can do what I do what I have done for the past four years.
This is my first race car. My 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It is completely stock, it is the car that I have driven to high school and college for four years, and it is also the car that my grandma drove for years. It takes me 18.15 seconds to get down a quarter mile track.
In all reality, any vehicle can be used. New, old, heavily modified, stock, car, or truck it doesn't matter.
So you have your car and now you are ready to race. The first step to start drag racing once you get to the drag strip and go through tech (making sure that your car, truck, or motorcycle is safe to take down the track) is to do a burnout.
The burnout serves several purposes for a racer. It raises the temperature of the tire to help the car get better traction. It also lays down a thin layer of rubber which also helps the driver get the power from the motor to the ground. To do a burn out you will put your foot firmly on the brake then put your foot on the gas and let her go!
After the burnout, the driver will pull up and stage at the "Christmas Tree". In the picture below you will see a set of lights. Each set of lights has a different meaning.
1.Pre-Stage
This is the first set of lights that you will turn on. There is a beam of light at you will inch forward and eventually break. Once this beam is broken, this first light will turn on.
2. Stage
After you have broken the first beams, you will slowly start to inch forward and turn on the second set of lights. These lights mean that you are staged and ready to go down the track. You will stop here and wait for the next set of lights.
3. Amber lights
The next three lights come down in two different ways. The first is called a Pro Tree. This is when all three lights flash on at the same time then turns green. These lights will stay lit for four hundredths (.400) of a second then the green light will come on. The second way is called a Handicapped tree. This tree is set up for racing to make 2 extremely different cars end up crossing the finish line at the same time. With this tree, each one of the three bulbs come on their own and each light comes on for five hundredths (.500) of a second at a time.
4. The Green Light
GO!!!!! When this light comes on you floor it down the track!! Go fast and don't turn. Actually, a little tip, you want to floor it as soon as you see the last light come on. This will give you the best reaction time.
5. Red Light
If this red light comes on, sadly you have lost the race because you left too early. Do not worry this happens to everyone at some point, even professional racers go red from time to time.
After you have left, you will drive for a quarter of a mile and eventually cross the finish line and the go through the shut down, and then come back on the return road and get ready to head back for another pass.
Drag racing is kind of a thing that can cost you a lot of money or very little money. One thing that I have learned from being at the track is that you are never alone at the track. If any one person has any problem with their car, you can walk up to almost any trailer and they will have spare parts, tools, or even a meal that they will share. Drag racing is a family ordeal and as soon as you drive through the gates of the track you join a family that lives all across the nation and even around the world.
