Got frustrated/nostalgic trying to explain bracket racing to my wife

went to the drags this weekend and it was the first time Sally ever asked me to explain bracket racing, we've been to the drags many times and she remembers heads-up,run what ya brung, I'll bet you a dollar the red car wins, racing..after I explained it to her, we were both kind of bummed for the good ol days racing. Like a compliment to a racer these days is "Hey you were real consistant" today..was bracket racing introduced because it became harder to evenly match cars? or was it just PC so as not to hurt anyones feelings?...

 

Bracket racing was introduced to keep costs down and participation up. Bracket racing makes it MORE fun to bet $1 a race because both are evenly matched.

Explaining it is simple: "These cars are handicapped to make it more even. If either car goes faster than the number on it's window, it loses." That's all she needs to know.

I'm too cheap to run a "cl*** legal" car. BR is fun & cheap.

 

I don't know about PC. It was a way or at least the idea was to make it possible for the low buck guys to run with the high buck guys. Now its back to big dollars and control boxes etc for the most part.

I never got interested in it myself. I'm a builder not a driver so short of the computer doing it for me it ain't happenin'. Consistency isn't my biggest ***et.

The down side to that for you is that if we hook up and I win its not because I finessed you its because you lost period.

 

Bracket racing was invented as a way to keep costs down, participation up and was initially done to combine cl***es and simplify tech inspection. Have you ever looked at a NHRA rulebook or the back of a National Dragster at the alphabet soup list of all of the cl***es? You could literally have 150 cars show up for a race and no 2 cars would be in the same cl***.
I love heads up racing and would do it if money were no object. There is still heads up racing around at some tracks and Sanctioning bodies. Remember when the whole 10 inch tire cl*** got started? Rarely did a car break into the 9s, now there are cars with 10 inch slicks running in the sixes, things got out of control in a hurry. Some of the tracks around here have their Big Dog/Little pooch compe***ion. Pretty much a run what you brung and hope you brung enough. They dont run these cars every weekend and the feilds rarely have 16 cars. Yet it is still a hell of a show.
Bracket racing on the other hand has big feilds week in week out. Anyone can bracket race if their car can p*** the safety inspection which depending on the car and it potential speed can be very simple to quite elaborate. I personally have road raced, circle track raced on dirt and asphalt, and off road raced winning in all disiplines. Far and away Bracket racing is the hardest kind of racing I have ever done, at one point racing for 4 years without winning a single round. Over the years I did get better and have made it as far as the finals in a large event, but still have never won the whole shebang. Racing is racing, it takes preparation, skill and luck.
I do understand about trying to explain bracket racing to someone, I had to explain it to my wife who comes from a road racing background. "yes dear, I got to the finish line first, but I got there too soon so I lost", "yes dear I ran closer to my number than he did, but I lost because he had a better reation time"
My father put it better. "Are you nuts? We spent all this money to make the car haul ***, and now we have to spend even more money to slow it down? We put an automatic transmission so we can be more consistant, and then we spend more money to make the automatic shift manually only, and even more money to make the shifter shift automatically? This makes no sense to me."
After spending countless nights at circle tracks tearing down to prove that I was legal after I won, I sure do like Bracket racing. No teardowns.

 

Call me crazy but I thought drags were about who gets to the end fastest, wins. I think it should be about whoever has the best package wins (fastest reaction times, fastest car, best driving skills, most luck). Don't dumb it down for everyone.

 

well, it USED to be whoever is the fastest, wins...but now it's whoever has a gazillion dollars to have a 1900hp car with all the best parts, wins...I see the desire to run bracket racing...while it may not be as fun to some people, it's still racing...

 

Bracket racing isn't all that bad. But then again, I'm too young to have ever raced heads up. I think it makes people a lot better drivers as well. You have to tune a car just as much to bracket race as heads up racing requires. You really have to learn to be a good judge of time and distance in bracket racing, not to mention good on the lights. Bracket racing to a point is just about like racing yourself.

Geez... after writing that I've pretty much decided heads up would be a lot more fun!

 

Bracket racing was conceived for two reasons. One, most strips couldn't come up with enough cl*** legal cars to put on a full show by the late'60s. The other was that racing dissimilar cars handicapped by ETs would make for a fun motorsport that anyone could participate in. All was well and good, though watching 2 19 second cars go at it is boring as hell, until the purpose built cars with delay boxes,the rest of the electronic gadgets, allowing buy-backs and such became the rule.. As far as I'm concerned, beating another car (or cars) is exciting, being 'consistent' isn't racing.

Other than big shows with the Pros....dragsters, funnies or Pro Stox, and nostalgia meets , drag racing is not a spectator sport anymore. The back gate admissions cover the fixed expenses, purse and hopefully the promotor pockets a few bucks. I don't hate drag racing, and hope all of you participants have fun. Just wish it could go back to the exciting sport that it was in the '60s....

Jan...wishin' MoKan wasn't 900+ miles from Niles

 

Bracket racing is exciting for the drivers, boring for the fans.

 

You are not crazy, the kind of drag racing you are talking about is called "heads up" and there is still that type of drag racing happening. There is also another type of drag racing going on and it is referred to as "bracket" racing.
The thing to keep in mind is that although "heads up" is drag racing in its purest form, it gets out of hand quickly and prices all but the richest out of compe***ion. When that happens the car count dwindles as does the paying spectator making it almost impossible for the track owner to make a profit.
Bracket racing is something that almost everyone who has a car can participate in, which means large car counts and that translates into a possible profit for the track owner. Lets face it folks, if the track operator cant make a profit he will sell the land so another strip center or apartment complex can be built.
I guess the best way to put this is that drag racing is where the car that gets to the finish line first wins. Bracket racing happens on a drag strip using your car and your driving skills to complete your mathmatical equation better than you compe***ion did.

That is my feeble attempt to rationalize the existance of bracket racing, Pay no attention to me, there are way too many legal do***ents and medical professionals that say I am nuts.

I will get off my soap box now.

 

now that you have explained it, tell me why anyone would want to watch it. when i go to the drags and the brackets come out thats when everybody goes and rents more beer.

riverrat

 

A friend runs 12.00 index cl***. This is how I understand it: kinda cool, sorta a best of both worlds deal. Everyone trying to run as close to 12.00, as possible ( so, they are TRYING to go fast!) with relatively evenly matched cars. ( because, after all, if your car can go much faster than that, then you belong in the next index cl***, so, you have a bunch of guy's with pretty evenly matched cars, running 'em hard, trying to go twelve-O's on the money. with this close a field, I takes a lot of the tricks out of it, I would guess everyone is ***uming that the other car is running about on, so; You probably have to run them out the back door, hoping you get that 12.00, but don't run under. So, you have a real race, kinda, in an even playing field, but...Mr. Mega-$$$'s can't come in with a 6 second car, either, and kick everyone's *** week after week, until no one cares anymore. You also can't win your Mini-van week after week, either...( unless of course, it goes low twelves!) I don't know all the info on it, but, I am intrigued by it. It seems like a good idea...but, so did Super gas, in the beginning, too, I guess...

 

Where are you going that is not already 90 percent Brackets, anyway?
The problem is: heads up: cool, get there first, win...a RACE! but...the same few guy's will always win...boring to watch after a while.
Brackets: not a race. not in the real sense of the
word, but...variety in the cars, and anyone can
play...thus, anyone can win. but, it is more of a
compe***ion, than a race.
Does anyone have more info on index cl***es...I will have to pick my buddies brain a bit more on this.

???

 

I guess I will just keep going on street nights, Grudge Racing Hondas, paying to race, and getting no payout, with the other poor, slow guy's, like me!

 

If you take heads up racing to it's illogical extreme, anyone that shows up with a top fueler would probably win at most regular Sunday meets.

My good friend runs NHRA A/ND comp cl***, and he spent $70,000 last year on a motor. No exaggeration. I haven't spent that in my whole operation over 20 years.

The real fun is in Nostalgia drags, bracket style. No boxes, no bull.

Yes, more fun to do than to watch; but aren't most things?

 

That my friend is the statement of the year!

 

That is a mouthful! Your right, too, about the Nostalgia drags...I go, I love 'em, they run brackets, but: No electronics...I don't really care who wins...
I just love watching the Equipment do its thing!
but, then...I don't care if I win, when I am running either...its just fun to be on the louder side of the fence...

 

Break out racing ****s!

I can see the reason for bracket racing, it's just boring to me. Run a true dial in handicap and go all out.


jerry

 

Look, the guy in the other lane really has nothing to do with you, and the p*** you are about to make. If you are CONSISTENT enough, and run YOUR race, that's all that matters. Watch the lights, and run your car flat the hell out! You got nothing to worry about but spending the winnings.

I've bracket raced, cl*** raced, and ran heads up. Cl*** racing is a thing of the past. You spend 50K to build a car that will yield a cl*** win of about 1k, IF that event is even running stock or super stock. If you are lucky enough to win a national event, you may make 7-10k, IF you have the receipts for all the contingency stickers on your car.

You certainly DO NOT get into drag racing with the intent of getting rich.

 

Bracket racing can be a little entertaining just because the fastest guy doesn't always win. A few years ago I went to fun ford weekend where they bracket race all weekend, I think there is some pro-5.0 and such also. A guy racing what I believe was a rented Contour ran the most consistent time, in the 20s, and came out on top for the weekend.

 

Kinda sums it up, my point eggs ackley.....

 

I'm sure I'll piss off a lot of people, but here goes - bracket racing ****S.

Sorry for those that nationally campaign a bracket car. But watching your delay box half-throttle it the first 400ft is f!#$ing boring. I really, REALLY don't understand the draw.

As for making an event that will draw a lot of people to spectate and participate, start limiting other expenses.

How about a 9" tire cl***?

An 87 octane cl***?

A claimer-motor cl***?

No matter what, the guy with deepest pockets usually ends up being the winner. At least this way, there is room for ingenuity and creativity and skill to level the field.

 

I've seen this at National events at Ennis and Baytown. At that level, at least, it is ridiculous. The 7.90, 8.90, and 9.90 cl*** cars are all capable of running way faster. They launch hard, wheels up, and then cruise for about half track. I'm not sure if it's electronics, or if they are looking at each other, but at about the 1/8th the car kicks in and they run hard from there. It's really freakin' stupid to watch.

 

Try explaining to your 10 year old son when he asks "daddy why do they go then slow down then go again" I have no problem with bracket racing, just get rid of the throttle stops, trans brakes, 2 step rev limiters etc.

 

I ran super gas alot until I went through the financial disaster that is called divorce. At the time, my car on a good day would only 9.80. When I did have to use the throttle stop I backed the throttle off so little that unless I was on a single run you couldnt tell the difference. When I finally got to the point that I was winning rounds I had my compe***ors twll me that i was almost impossible to run against because they couldt tell what my car was going to do. I had one guy that I beat tell me " I kept waiting for your stop to hit so I would know how much to lift so I wouldnt break out". My response was "I didnt have the throttle stop even hooked up, much less turned on". Btw on that run I went 9.905. Most super cl*** racers go overboard when it comes to horsepower and end up with a car that they dont know how to drive when the car in the other lane isnt very fast. You dont have to have all of the latest electronics to win in the super catagories. I have been beaten off the line by more than one person with a near perfect reation time that didnt even own a delay box. I still remember when Ben Raymond won the NHRA national championship, he didnt own a throttle stop. My point is that while electronics can make an average driver look good, it is still hard to beat a good driver in a well prepared car.
I have said it before drag racing and bracket racing are 2 different sports, the one thing they have in common is the track.

 

They have that kind of bracket racing, it is usually called no electronics or foot brake

 

Cool enough, but who in their right mind wants to watch a car run in the 20s? It's the same deal as watching a guy hit his brakes at the end of the quarter so as not to "break out" of his time.

Everything stated in this post sum up the reasons I prefer circle tracking. No one gets rich there either, trust me, I've lived in perpetual poverty.. But the premise is to make your car faster, handle better and actually beat a field of 15-20 other cars.

Jan

 

they tried that with the 10" tire cl***, have you seen that insanity lately? $200,000 cars running over 200 mph with essentially stock front clips and brakes, no thanks.

87 octane gas might work if you could come up with a fool proof way to police the fuel and additives.

Claimer motors dont always work as intended, I ran IMCA, UMP, and Outlaw modifieds for a few years, it didnt seem to matter how much the claim was racers would spent 7 to 10 times the amout of the claim on an engine. It did seem to help a little when UMP went to and exchange rule with the claim. It went something like, if you claim an engine you have to pay the claim amount and give your engine in exchange. What always seemed to happen was there would be gentleman's agreement that nobody would claim, engine costs would skyrocket until someone (usually a new guy or out of towner)claimed, and usually something "extrordinary" would happen to the guy that made the claim later that night. Most of the people running under any type of claim rule dont understand that for the claim rule to be effective claims have to be made often.

 

Well, here's how I approach it:
I'm hooked on the rush and the satisfaction of using the track as a dyno. But I'm just not a compe***ive person. So I dial-in something and sometimes luck through a few rounds, but mostly I'm there for time trials. Any elimination rounds I can run are just bonus p***es to me. Over the years, I've gone as far as the semis, once - won $50. So anyway, it's all about expectations, I guess - I expect to have fun and learn some things about my car, but I don't expect to win. In fact, my buddies and I always use the first round for grudge matches, so as far as we're concerened, this IS heads up racing!

 

Out here we call that 'No Box'... no transbrake, no delay box, no two step, nothing but your foot!