I'm thinking of taking the GTO to the track this season...

I always wanted to take my old Z28, but I never knew what to expect, plus I was afraid I'd embarass myself and miss a shift or something.

SO, anyway, can you guys give me kindof a run down of what to expect... what I need to bring with me... what you do once you are there...etc?

It's always something I've wanted to do, but just never took the leap, mainly because I was clueless as to the procedures.

 

Bring a helmet, make sure you are not leaking any fluids, if you are on street tires don't do a very big burn out-just enough to clean off the tires. Once you get there you will have to have the car inspected, but since it is new(don't know if it is modded or not???) you shouldn't have any problems.
When at the line leave once the last yellow light flashes and keep the car straight.

Good luck!

 

Talk to some of the track officials and the people if ya have a question. Also, it may be a good idea to watch some runs to see how everything goes down. Somethings to know: wear long pants (they're beginning to enforce this more strickly now); if you are on street tires, drive around the waterbox; if your track has 2 turnoff lanes, don't worry if you miss the first one, there's always the 2nd one; if ya get sideways, be smart and let off the gas. It's better to waste a run than crashing into the wall (i've seen this happen many times before). Good luck and have fun. That's what it's all about

 

I wrote a short primer on drag racing which you can read at www.kennedysdynotune.com Go to menu bar at the left and click on "Tech Tips" at the bottom. Follow the link to "Drag Racer Primer and Track Etiquette"

Rich

 

Helmet, shoe polish, tire gauge, windex, and paper towels are all that are "needed".

Do some reading here: http://www.staginglight.com/resources/index.html

Basically you show up, pay the entry fee, and get teched by an inspector who will look for basic stuff like lug nuts, battery hold downs, seatbelts, helmet, and reverse lockout. Some tracks will just ask if you have a helmet and let you go, others make you open the hood. It varies from track to track and sometimes from day to day.

If it is a test and tune night for street cars, plan on the traction not being very good. If it is a points race/bracket race the traction will probably be great, however you will probably get only a couple of passes and then race in eliminations.

Let the track officials (tech inspector) know it is your first time. Ask some basic stuff like where to pit, wher the bathrooms are, and when do you get to race because each track does it different. SOme tracks have a lane for your class, others may make an announcement on the PA, others may raise a flag at the tech shack, others may want to to line up at a particular time...

I have gone up at the wrong time before (didn't want to miss my run) and the tech guys looked at me like I was stupid but when I tell them I am new to the track they usually get very helpful and lose any attitude.

Just have a good time. Meet people. Ask questions. Watch people staging, burning out and launching. Watch where the return road comes out.

 

Thanks for all the input, guys! I appreciate it.

 

pay (of course)

go right in to tech. inform them this is your first time. they treated me alil bit nicer when i admitted i had no clue but was trying to learn. if you can go around the water box and back into it, great, if not, don't sweat it. just throw it in 1st and do a rolling burnout as your just trying to clean off the tires. don't go flying up to stage, take your time.... but don't take a TON of time (i get pissed when ppl do that as i sit there sweating my ***** off). when you get the first light on the tree up.. just creep up a tad bit more and the second light will pop up. after about what feel like 20 seconds, the lights will run down the tree. have it at about 3,000 rpm and kinda slip the clutch a TINY bit before letting out so the tires don't go up in smoke. go on the last light right before the green. ease outta the hole, shift slowly the first time, only go to where you feel safe. my first run at the track i ran a 9.7 in the 1/8th mile (1/8th mile track) then felt good so i ran an 8.6 the following run. this first run is where you decide if you like it or not also. some don't want to run again after that and never go back to the track... personally, i took 5 more passes .

when slowing down after you see the light blink (usually theres a light at the end of the 1/4 mile telling who one), throw it in the next gear up to let it run down and start braking. if you and the person next to you are close to each other, the person in the closest lane to the turn off gets to go in. i've been cut off before and you really don't have brakes when they are hot from slowing you down from 110-112mph (thats what i ran) and you don't know what to do, but you prolly have full sized GTO tires and good brakes... i have big'n'lils

after you turn the corner, you get to see your time slip!!! pull in easy, you don't wanna run him over. think of it as a toll booth and be sure to say "thank you". if he/she wasn't there, we wouldn't be able to do what we do!

drive nice and easy, giving your car time to cool down as you drive back to the pits. think of it as you running a 200 meter dash... you hafta walk around a lil bit before you take a seat.

congrats, you just had your first track experiance.. ready to go again?

mike

 

dont stall at the starting line