Indy Auto Parts

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

 Class 102 :The Driver

     In my initial discussion I gave you my humble opinion and overview to the fine art of bracket racing. Most of the message in Bracket 101 may have seemed like common sense to most readers and enlightenment to a few.  Meanwhile, in this article I will provide some added insight and tools for your consideration.

    This article is all about the driver and getting you to the point of staging the vehicle.  I am assuming the mechanical part of your program has been made bulletproof to run on the number every time given the changing weather conditions.....but that is a topic for another article.  So if you run Top E.T. and chose an alky powered, big cube big block Chevy dragster that is sprung then you get an 'A' on the Bracket 101 article quiz. You get an 'A' if you No Box racers chose a light weight door car with rear tires as big as any dragster combined with any Chevy V8.These cars are the types that win most of the bracket races, big and small, across the country.

    Race day I like to consider things like caffeine intake and food consumption in general. Coffee can wind you up and reduce starting line consistency so I am on a 1-cup diet on race day. Moderate food intake is a good rule as overeating will slow you down and under eating can cause your hands to shake and make focusing on the staging bulbs more difficult. It's true; I starved myself one day down at Atco where we had double entered the car with just one driver on a 96-degree day. We had won both entries into the 3 rd round and being busy I had skipped lunch. Well I could barely keep my hand steady on the trans brake button for both 3rd round races and lost with lousy .530 reaction times. My crew chief Hitman Bob Sullivan has been feeding me hamburgers at every race since after the 2nd round so that never happens again. My point is, nutritional intake matters when you are trying to be consistent in focusing on the tree. My last point on dealing with food is always bring yourself to the line free of any bladder or bowel concerns. The pressure will cause increased stress and alter focus.

    Prepping and warming the car up is for another article and is important if you want any clarity on dial in. However, once completed let at least 10 cars go to the lanes prior to your going once called. This will give the track some temp by cars similar to your own. Consequently, you can review how the track is reacting with their cars and if wind may be a factor. On warm days keep the restrictive safety equipment off until it is time to strap in for the run. Keep the helmet off until you are four or five cars back. Your blood pressure is going to increase by simply putting the helmet on but your body temp is going to rise quickly as well.  On a hot day if you get overheated you will have slower reaction times and there is a good chance Murphy’s Law will strike and a sweat bead will hit you in the eye as you attempt to stage. Stay cool...especially via helmet off till you are only 4 or five cars back from running.

    Okay all you old timers are saying what about the dial in and counting cars.  In No Box I agree with the age-old tradition of finding your opponent long before you have to race as you must have the dial in on the car before crossing upper or lower staging depending on the track. Proper warm up and final inspections go without saying especially tire pressure as a hot sunny day will raise pressure and cold nights will reduce pressures. In Top E.T. where delay setting is based on whether or not you leave first I personally have my dial in on my car and the delay set prior to crossing over into staging. However, my opponent’s dial in I have learned to double check at the line and become comfortable with not staging until my box matches the tree settings. When I race alone this is a common function to my final staging. Learn to become comfortable with making alterations to your delay box anywhere in the staging process prior to lighting the second bulb. Trust me, too many racers are very rigid on this issue and are in a panic if they did not get their opponents dial in prior to strapping in.....this is not good. These are the same people whining after the race that the track did or did not do their job and they want a rerun. Guess what, you stage you own the numbers on the board right or wrong so get in the correct habit of checking.

    Wow all this typing and we have not even got to the burnout box. Alas the drag racers ritual ...THE BURNOUT.  More racers valve springs, transmissions, and tires get destroyed at this point in a race than anywhere else. What racers have trouble remembering is the coefficient of friction or traction of the tires to the track does not increase with increased time and higher RPM. I race with some seasoned veterans who make a hard burnout their cry to battle. Some of these racers have been very successful too. However, the burnout rarely needs a lot of RPM but may need a greater amount of time depending on track temp. Rolling burnouts, like the dragsters do, need to be backed off on when the tires rattle as the gear sets in our transmissions dislike that.....a lot. Door cars need to stay in the throttle on the line lock in high until the motor starts to get pulled down or the tires start to grab. In general 5500-6000 RPM should get the burnout started and finished within seconds...how many seconds is up to the track condition and temp.

    The tires are heated the same as the last 6 races and now it is time for the most important part of the race .....staging the car. Staging is the most important step towards consistency in terms of reaction time and delay settings. Approach to the 1st stage beam should be done very slowly with your vehicle at idle and only your left foot on the brake. Prior to turning on that first bulb review the dial in numbers and adjust your box or protest with the track now if you do not like something. Take a deep breath and slowly move into the first bulb. How deep you hit that bulb determines how far you need to bump the brake to get into the second bulb. If you hit it too deep you could light the 2nd bulb "hard" or too quick and thus be way too deep. One the 1st bulb is on hold the brake hard and take a deep breath and find the bulb you are going to leave on, especially if you are in a crossover situation. Slowly bump the car forward with brake pressure release. Lock the brake or set the trans brake as soon as the 2nd bulb lights at all.  If the 2nd bulb flickers before you turn it on fully you are doing your job well. Using the same brake pedal pressure (NoBox) or thumb pressure on the transbrake button (Box) as the last 6 races, find the bulb you are leaving on and weld your eyes to that bulb. Nothing can let your eyes leave that focal point...if your eyes move from the focal point at all you are guaranteed 2 or three hundredths of a second penalty in your reaction times...sometimes more. That .510 comes up .540 and you lose....most of the time. You release the button at the very instant the light you are leaving on comes on and hit the throttle at the appropriate time depending on the style racing you are doing. Now the race is on and in my next article I will give you more ideas on bracket racing as the race unfolds. Trust me your work at the line is not done nor do you just hold on and run it down the track.  Later ,Chip