What better way to spend the 4th of July than burning rubber? Anyway, I'm gonna try Street Eliminator bracket racing for the first time. Last time I ran my car it ran consistant 13.7s and ran a best of 13.5. So I'm not worried about consistancy. I'm more worried about hitting the tree good. I'm gonna try going as soon as the third yellow lights up. Also the last time I ran, it was just a T&T day, and I wasn't really trying for the tree, but my best light was a .150 or .650 on the old style. So I think I could do decent.

Anyone have any pointers?

Also, is anyone gonna be at Byron, IL on the 4th?

 

Since you already have consistancy, keep doing what you're doing. After your time trial runs and you start the first round, completely ignore your opponent. You don't care what he does or how much faster/slower he is. Look over at his car or the score board to see what the dial in is to determine if you leave first or not just so you can adjust yourself for the tree. After that, race your own race. Watch your own tree. Before you turn on the prestage light, make sure your dial in on the scoreboard is correct.

Bring some shoe polish and some window cleaner.

 

Thanks. I'll hafta pick up some shoe polish. My consistancy is provided I don't spin like all hell. I'll be running on some pretty crappy tires. I got them to hook for my best time, so hopefully I can do it again.

 

Helmet, shoepolish, window cleaner, paper towels, tire gauge. That is the minimum.

I have been doing this a few years...

It takes practice and consistency to do well. I enjoy it greatly. Try and line up with other new guys if you can. I love it when someone new lines up next to me.

Last week a first timer made it all the way to the semi finals.

 

Thanks Ted. Hopefully I'll be one of those first timers that do exceptionally well.

 

The first race I went to, I won the event. I took out the previous year's champion in the final round and didn't know who he was at the time. I finished in third place in my class by the end of the season and won Rookie of the Year. That was back in 1997. Like many, I've been hooked ever since.

 

My first year I had four runner up finishes at my local 1/8 track and was simply beside myself that I had not been able to win an event.

The last race within driving distance that season was at a 1/4 mile track in New Hampshire and I had never raced the 1/4 mile. It was a Camaro Day race that had been rained out earlier in the season and rescheduled. I did win that race and that inspired me for my second season in 1999. Over the winter I made many small changes to the car to make it more consistent and worked on myself mentally to give myself confidence for the 1999 season.

In 1999 I went to 14 final rounds of 22 points races and won ten of them, with the six speed... It was the best season I have had to date.

I learned that a perfect dial is as good as a perfect light. If I could dial the car right on and could sometimes give up a little bit on the tree (avoid a red light). Plus having a car that is one of the quicker cars helps because the visibility is better and the faster car generally controls the race. Plus if there is a redlight, the first redlight loses, so I had that advantage as well.

A good driver can make up for a lot. Learning to drive means not only cutting a good light but knowinging how to drive the top end. It takes lots of practice and even when you have as much experience as I do mistakes still happen. As a general rule, over the course of a season, avoiding mistakes translates into round wins. I would rather be a couple of hundredths off on the dial, or have a .540 light, than have a redeye or a breakout. So fare this has generally worked for me although there are time I will change my style so that the other drivers never really know what I am going to do. You always have to be ready to suprise someone with something new.

A good understanding of weather and how it affects your car is also extremely helpful. Also, understanding tire pressure, both front and back helps. It is always easier to change the car than to change the driver as the driver needs to be able to do the same thing every time in order to go rounds and be consistent.

To start, just keep things simple. Ask questions. Be willing to help other people and share knowledge, and information will ultimately come to you.

 

When I am getting ready to do my burnout, I pick something on my opponents car as a refference point (mirror or decal, etc.). If that refference is ahead of me at the line, I dump. If I am ahead of that refference, I keep my gas peddle planted to the floor and use my brakes to keep me only slightly ahead. The most important thing to do, is to dial what you think the car can run. Don't try to be too slick. And remember that a red light normally loses, so be cool.

Good Luck,

Daren

 

You are all being very helpful. I'm confident I can be consistant, I've just never practiced getting a good light.

 

Even with lots of practice you have days and streaks where everyone else seems to be cutting .503 lights and hitting their dials... Just try it, keep trying it, have fun, and sooner or later you will do well.

 

Well, the results are in, I NEED more practice. LOTS more practice.
On my timed run:
R/T: .284 (sleepy )
60': 2.27 (I launched it soft all day in fear of spinning)
1/8: 9.33@78
1/4: 14.28 @ 99 (hot day, car was not running like usual which was expected.

The guy I ran against in the timed run, .075 on the tree. That's just a small idea of the competition on this day in Street Eliminator.

First round:
Car # W353______________D571(me)
dial: 13.70______________14.20
r/t: .019(drilled the tree)__.277(less sleepy )
60: 1.90________________2.17
1/8: 8.6@80_____________9.2@77
1/4: 13.78@83___________14.22@98


As you can see, there was some heavy competition for me yesterday. There were about 10 other guys hitting the tree just as hard as the guy I ran. I liked the fact that I got real close to my dial in though. As you can see, he jammed on the brakes at the end too, if he hadn't he would've broke out, and then I woulda been happy. I was afraid to launch it hard in fear of spinning like all hell. I need to get some drag radials so I can stomp it at the line. More importantly, I need more practice. I had fun still and it was a learning experience which I expected the first few times bracket racing would be. I am determined to get better at it though.

 

Yup. Sounds like he dialed high plus caught you waaaay early. He also knew enoguh to get out of it although it sounds to me like he gave up too much stripe for my liking. I don't like to have more than a few feet on my opponent when I cross the line.

You had fun. Good. There is a fair amount of effort expended in predicting what a car will run within .01 on any given pass plus the art form of cutting a decent light and doing it 5-9 times in a row.

Keep going back.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LS1_03
[B]Well, the results are in, I NEED more practice. LOTS more practice.


Don't we all. Welcome to the addiction.

 

Definitely. I'm going to go back on a T&T day so I can get more than 2 runs in. I like how this is challenging. It seems so easy on paper, but when you go and do the real thing, it's hard. Definitely easy to underestimate it.

 

And I'm the first to admit that watching bracket racing is boring however get behind the wheel and try it and you'll see it's not as easy as it looks. Even when I'm at the track I don't watch the racing unless there's a specific car or class I want to see go down the track. Usually the only racing I see is the 2 cars in front of me going down the track while I sit in the water box.

I think I did much better when I didn't know what I was doing. Over the years when I learned more about all the physics and mechanics of racing, I've gone less rounds but at least I know why I didn't win the round