Indy Auto Parts

Bracket Racing Basics    by Chip Mitchell    T/D, Top E.T.#1320

Class 101 :The Team    

      Hi All, and welcome to my forum on the sport we love.  Actually, this sport is an addiction that infects many of us in many ways. Some of us are hooked on the thrill of the launch and thunderous top end speeds. Others of us are precision mechanics and machinists out to ply our craft in a public forum.  Meanwhile, some like myself get hooked on the competition and find our old athletic competitive nature has a home in a sport that does allow for us to compete long after our athletic abilities are no longer competitive on a field of play.                                                                                                                                

    Like in sports, bracket racing has many teams that compete.  These teams however are not a bunch of people on each others side playing side by side. The teams that meet consist of one machine and one person versus another in a straight line for 1320 feet. Each part of the team is totally dependent on the other for victory. That said, first and foremost is the absolute necessity of having a mechanically sound and consistent race car. You can never become a good driver or develop your driving skills if the race car can not perform the same way within a margin of a few hundredths. Yes,...hundredths..so unless you are an ace mechanic,  well versed in physics, and have some idea of mechanical engineering then pick a car to race that everybody else is winning with. Chances are they are onto something.    

    Once we pick a consistent and reliable race car, built with reliable tried and true parts that will not fail in the late rounds we get to examine the other half of our team, the nut between the wheel and drivers seat....yes you the driver. Vehicle adjustments once the combination is sorted out are minimal or at least they should be. Lord knows it is soooo hard to take the hot rodder out of the bracket racer mentality. Other than tire pressure, topping off of fluids, and checking gauges the mechanical run prep is minimal. HOWEVER, the driver has to adjust and make decisions that change from run to run. Now most of these changing conditions are in response to his or her opponent and their dial in but other variables need accounting. A driver has to find a certain mindset prior to doing the burnout. You see the driver MUST be just as mechanically consistent in the driving of the vehicle each and every run or the dial in will never consistently match the actual E.T. What do I mean by that? Easy, the driver has to have a checklist in his mind prior to the burnout. First is the last check of the all important gauges to make sure all pressures and temps are at a level consistent with the prior runs. The burnout needs to be performed for the same amount of time as the previous runs and the staging procedure MUST be the same on every run. The actual pre-stage to staging procedure is critical in that if you can not develop a patient habit for this procedure and put your car in the 2nd beam the same way every time you will never be able to consistently leave with the same reaction time or set your delay box ..if you run one.

    So the lesson here in Bracket Racing 101 is to pick a consistent combination for a race car and develop consistent habits approaching your racing especially as those habits relate to the burnout and staging. In my next class I will discuss more in depth details on approaching a race as well as what needs to be done during a race if you expect to win consistently.