Drag Racers inside

This is kind or a rant but when you guys race how serious are you? Me the radio is off or I block it out and the only thing I think about is wining and not getting killed, I am looking down the track or the deserted street and when I am running I am 100% aware of my suroundings and what I and the other car are doing. But I see SOOO many people (mostly females) that when they race the are screaming and talking to each other and stupid crap like that. Is it just me or is that the crap that gets people killed?

Concentration all the way. Whether at the track or on the street, I'll turn my radio off and just focus on what my car is doing and my surroundings. I can't imagine racing AND trying to concentrate on something else at the same time.

I do not race on the street. My car is not street legal. There is no radio in my car. It is not legal to have a passenger in my car when racing. I focus on what I am doing. I watch for where my opponent is to determine if I need to lift or not.

;)

I do not race on the street. My car is not street legal. There is no radio in my car. It is not legal to have a passenger in my car when racing. I focus on what I am doing. I watch for where my opponent is to determine if I need to lift or not.

;)


You mean you don't scream and giggle, and try to fix your hair? :p

You mean you don't scream and giggle, and try to fix your hair? :p
Well, in all honesty, if my win light comes on I may let out a bit of a squeek and giggle while slowing down. After hitting the return road and taking my helmet off, I do tend to try a little "fixing" of the helmet head. So, maybe I do scream and giggle and fix my hair when racing... :think: :D

;)

When I used to race my car at the dragstrip, I was extremely focused. AC was off, radio was off, hair was up and out of my way, rings were off my fingers so I could grab the shifter better, and I wore the same shoes I drove the car in nearly every day so I could feel the pedals more precisely. No talking, no cellphones, no passengers.

I paid attention to nothing but the sounds of my engine, my opponent, the lights and the track. I never even knew my ET until they handed me the slip at the track shack.

So no, there was no giggling or hair-tossing until the race was over and I exited the vehicle. :)

I do notice some guys keep their radio on... I like to listen to the engine so I can hear it rev up and keep an "eye" on it. :cool:

When racing there should be only one thing on your mind at a time. Hit the light, keep it in the groove, hit your shift points.

About six cars from the line I close my eyes for 30 seconds. I then press my eyes with my hands to make certain they are clear and not itchy. I check my belts, steering wheel position,seat position, any controls that are in use or not in use to verify their position.

When I turn the car on I make sure to have a minimum of two minutes running time before I burn out so the computer is fully consistent.

I note my competitor, whether ornot he is dialing slower or quicker than me. I note his dial in case I am aware of what the car normally runs and do a quick "weather" calculation to determine the odds of a sandbag. I also look across from a parallel vantage point to determine my position in relation to the strip so I know where I usually want to be.

Brief turn of the tires in the water box to wet the slicks. Pull ahead and stop. When directed I set the line loc and burn out, as the tires start to grab I roll ahead toward the line while gradually reducing the throttle until they hook. This provides a feel for the launch so I can adjust my rpms if necessary to reduce the chance of spin.

I then pre-stage. I always courtesy stage. Ithen set the rpms, and inch into the stage beam so I am at the same launch point each time.

At the launch I try and feel the amount of hook with my butt-o-meter. The 1-2 shift comes fast and I focus on hitting 6200 rpms exactly. I then immediately crank the radio to the track station in case the announcer screws up and mentions someting about reaction times. I glance at the win lights in case of my opponent red lighting. I then go back and focus n the third gear shift at 6500. Immediately before shifting I try and determine my opponents position to time my shift either early, right on, or a little late depending on whether or not I think one of us is too fast or too slow.

Immediately after the third gear shift I look for my opponent to determine my finish line strategy. Do I want to take the strip? Can I take the stripe? Are we too quick? Am I too slow? I make no decisions until after the 1000 foot mark about finish line strategy.

Yea, I'm focused.

I may move this to the drag racing forum later but it seems to be getting a good response for now...

Butt-o-meter... :lol:

... I then immediately crank the radio to the track station in case the announcer screws up and mentions someting about reaction times...
Rick does this too when whatever he is racing has a radio.

;)

I only race test and tune so I fully concentrate on my run and don't even worry about reaction time or who I am racing. Hell, alot of the time I don't even remember or know who I just raced. I always get horrible reaction times because if I'm going to make a pass, it has to be perfect. I will sit there until I find my desired launch rpm and then I'll take off. The radio is off, along with everything else. Most of the time I'm looking at the tach, with quick glances up to make sure I'm staying in the groove. My reaction time is normally in the .900-1.500 range :lol:

Not to be an ass, but how can you make a "perfect" run with a .9x reaction time?

Not to be an ass, but how can you make a "perfect" run with a .9x reaction time?

I think he was making fun of himself. ;)

Besides, most people don't bracket race and don't give a flying crap about RTs.

Mike

racing doesnt change my radio, if its on it stays on, if its off its off. but all that concentration stuff, thats how i always drive, racing or not.

For the few minutes it takes from the staging lanes to the light, I have my radio on, because I have a song I listen to every time. I turn it off before I get to the burnoout area, because thats when i do a last second check out gages, belt, and helmet straps, not to mention a quick God be with us prayer/cross. Once the light goes green, There is nothing else I'm thinking or caring about besides the way the car feels, the gages, and accelerator/traction issues.

Nothing's worse than when you forget to turn your damn cell phone off and it rings when you're about to launch, breaking your concentration, ruining your launch, and losing you the race...:mad::death:

[/rant]

Radio off. Lights on if it's dark, as per track regulations. Concentration completely on the race.

I happened to line up next to a 80's rwd corolla this last weekend on a time trial and it was louder than some of the open header v8's and he double staged and proceded to rev it to his 6k 2 step before i was hardly out of the burn out box...try to concentrate on the light with that ahole next to ya, btw i did beat him on the tree :)

Most of my track time is test n' tune or "match races" and there is often $$$ on the line. You can be damn sure I am focused. Oh, BTW I hate bracket racing. Balls to the wall and pedal to the metal for me! But cutting a good light is essential, I always try to do that as the practice is invaluable for when it really counts.

Rich

About six cars from the line I close my eyes for 30 seconds. I then press my eyes with my hands to make certain they are clear and not itchy. I check my belts, steering wheel position,seat position, any controls that are in use or not in use to verify their position.....

....I make no decisions until after the 1000 foot mark about finish line strategy.

Yea, I'm focused.

Ted , this was scary. Pretty much the way I do it. I wipe my eyes with a paper towel before putting on the helmet. I stop after the burnout, downshift into neutral, rev once , click into 1st, check that the dial in is correct. I'll use the butometer to decide the 1-2 shift point either right at 6500 or a little higher if the 60' didn't feel good. 2-3 shift is always right at 6500. Radio is always cranked up on the tracks station. Staying focused is the key.

I help myself stay focused and undistracted (I'm usually racing open header types) so I have the immigrant song playing on my radio, helps keep my attention on what I'm doing and on the lights.

1. The radio is long gone in my car.
2. If it wasn't, you couldn't hear it anyway.
3. The car traps at 131+ with only a 10.72 et so basically it's trying to kill me untill about the 1/8th mile.

I'd say I stay pretty focused.

i start humming for some reason and my vision get blurry but the tree is crystal clear. I guess tunnel vision if you call it anything.

3. The car traps at 131+ with only a 10.72 et so basically it's trying to kill me untill about the 1/8th mile.

LOL, looks like you need some suspension and tire work.