Attn. DRAG RACERS: When was your first time and do you still do it?

as a teenager in early 60s, took my old man's Falcon ranchero to Dover Dragstrip in NY. Ran stocker class against a VW and a Corvair. Still have the track program with my name in the class winner list. Funny, I can't remember what I had for supper last night but I sure remember that day. I grew up in little town of Rhinebeck, NY and coming home with that trophy was instant status with my peers.

 

Good info and makes perfect sense. I have always tried to stage shallow, but mainly to stop me from red lighting.

 

What's to laugh. I have a friend a man about my daughter's age that I have raced with on and off for almost 20 years now. His first pass was when he was 17, raced the local strip in the yearly High school drags. Car of choice his mom's 4 banger automatic Monza. He brought home the trophy that day and has been one sick SOB ever since.

Well this has turned out to be a pretty good thread. No tit for tat, good discussion and no one really seems too ashamed to admit that they are not and will not ever be Don Garlits.

You done good (for a change) greg.

 

My best 60ft was a 1.53, I'm going to try that shallow staging and see what happens. I do have a short tire but going taller makes for header interference. Well maybe I'll try it the normal way first, since I just changed gears and hopefully the convertor before the season.
Now to go order that practice tree.......

 

My first pass was early-mid 80's, my last pass was about a .099 60' low 4.30 @ 165ish in the 1/8th, T/S116P - protree, don't recall reaction, .0-something or other

 

You guys talking about 60 foot times my 67 charger had its best 60 foot time when it spun the tires on launch go figure. I have never figured out where I was with this car. It has run a best of a 13.05 at 105 it has a 383 with a speed pro hydralic cam and have never put the car on the scales so I dont know how heavy it is.

 

When I stage (I'm an off topic drag racer that just goes along for a ride, the car does everything for me including making me a sandwich) I go as shallow as possible. I literally flicker the bottom bulb. That way the reaction time, 60 ft and et are always the same. The delay box is set up for that kind of staging, anything deeper than that and it'll go red. You will achieve your quickest ets and 60' staging this way. Add taller tires and your reaction will slow, et will pick up. Stagger your front wheels and your et will pick up, reaction will slow.

Do you run with the gasser gang? Who makes their rules, I have a question for them.


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When I was a foot brake racer I'd do all sorts of things to slow my reaction. I'd lower tire pressure to almost nothing, stage super shallow, etc


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Thats more like what I try to maintain. I strive for a consistant .030/.035 package. On the whole deep/shallow thing, nothing really to add, everyone has it right. And yes Swade, staging as shallow as you can will pick the et up. But unless your robby robot, or running a box, your reaction time is gonna suck. Bracket racing, roll it in, cutting a number, stage as shallow as you can.

Years ago, we were out at the track on a saturday, and this young kid with a viper coupe parked next to us. He needed to borrow a helmet, and one of the guys I was with lent him one. The guy was actually a really nice polite humble young guy, which kinda caught me off-guard. You naturally expect a guy in his 20s with a $70,000 car to be an arrogant little prick. So hes out there running low 13's, and obviously completely clueless as to the "tricks of the trade", just casually rolling into the beams, spinning the tires for 100', shifting like James Taylor in Two Lane Blacktop, ect. He was such a nice kid, I kinda took him under my wing. First I told him to stage the car shallow, and he started going twelves. Next I told him to just ride the clutch a little till he was out past the tree. Bingo two passes later hes going 12.30s. Finally,I told him "If you REALLY wanna cut a number, I'll help you, but if you break your toy, its on you, Are you game?" He said yes, so I slid the seat back a bit, told him when he was shifting to load up on the stick, hold his right foot on the floor and kick the clutch a glancing shot with his heel, and jerk the stick back as hard as he could. His final pass of the day was an 11.77 at 117 and change, shoulda seen the grin on his face when he got out of the car. I felt like a proud pappa. I can hardly wait till my daughter turns sixteen...

 

First pass was in '73. 16 years old in 68 Roadrunner. Short shifted and ran a high 15. By the end of the day about 14.40. Nowadays about mid 9s but make less than 20 laps a year. When my head is right I can cut a light. My head is not always right.

 

About 1979 (in the SS396). Only drag my Buell anymore.

 

I do run with the Gasser Racing Series http://www.gasserracingseries.com/grs-home (not the Gasser Gang, which is a car club)

My procedure is like this, roll till top bulb lit, bring rpms up to 2500 and ease off brake pedal little at a time until 2nd bulb is on. Lights come down let off brake and mash gas...lol

 

How old (young) are you and in what year did you make your first pass down a dragstrip?

I'm 36, first pass was in late 1993.

What was the first car or bike you ran?

My o.t. 1986 GT mustang - still own it!

Do you still race?

Yes, but not as often as I'd like.

If so, what's your reaction time?

Used to cut consistent .510's to low .520's back in the mustang (read as .010's to .020's by today's standards.) . Most recently cut a .014 after being out of it for almost a decade. I did this in my '66 C10 panel truck.

What transmission (stick, automatic, type)?

All manuals until the recent truck - it's an auto 3 speed.

Do you use any launch device (tranny brake, 2 step, etc.)

Nope, never have. Foot brake only.

 

1979 at age 18 in a 58 Chevy 348 four speed 34 years latter running a 72 Vega nostalgia funny car i always told mom i would never grow up

 

i am 46 yrs old,my first time down the track was in 1986,my first car is a 70 chevelle,also my current car,and i still race,mt reaction times are in the low 400's[i run heads up on a pro tree],i use a turbo 400-with a trans brake,and 2-step.