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My first full year as a bracket racer was an educational one. We worked all spring trying to get the bugs out of the car.
I thought I had learned patients last year, boy was I wrong! In the end though, all the changes we made over the last winter were well worth it.We accomplished all our goals in 01' with the
exception of the MPH mark, and that's fine! I have a new focus on what part of the actual race is the most fun... It's the first 60 feet! I don't care what MPH the car runs, I just want to
experience quick 60 foots, and be consistent. So with that, below is a list of items I learned this year, and knowledge that will be used when we setup the car for next year.
A - 60 foot times
Gains in 60 foot times typically double in E.T. at the other end of the track. We consistently ran mid to upper 1.5 sec. 60 foots all year. At the last race, we decided
to try to improve the 60 foots. So we clamped the leaf springs. We improved the 60 foots by a solid .05 sec (five-hundreths). I'd even be tempted to say .10 sec (a tenth), but we only had
one day of results to compare against the rest of the year. Now a bad 60 foot was a 1.50, and average was somewhere in the upper 1.4's. Anyhow, that turned into at least a tenth, perhaps as much as 3
tenths at the other end of the track! The fact is - our previous best E.T. was 10.56, and now our new best was 10.39. Wheels up and everything! Click here to see a picture.B - Reaction time
What is the secret of consistent reaction times? I struggled the first part of the year with my reactions
times. Anything in the .5 area was a gift from the drag gods. It was like throwing darts. Typically mine were in the mid to upper .6's, that's terrible with a trans brake and is not going
to get you far in the no gadget money classes. I got lots of input from fellow racers, but I just couldn't find my rhythm. That is until we were at the Dyno, and I asked Bob - owner of Applied
Dyno, located in Eagan, MN. He told me to react to the last light, and setup the car to me. I went back to the track and decided to react to the last yellow light and not anticipate it, and
BAM! A .530 light! I tried it again, BAM! A .513 light! Since then, anything in the .6's means I was sleeping. Thanks Bob. C - Repetition is critical
I repeat, repetition
is critical! Did I mention repetition is important? I learned this one all on my own. I recall one round in particular, and I lost because of it. I went to the staging lanes without
my air gauge. I had to borrow one, and it didn't work. I checked the driver's side rear tire, and trusting the gauge - started letting air out. The gauge dial didn't move! Now the
line started moving, so I had to guess on the other tire. The car left hard right - and I lost the round by .005. I learned that getting a a repeatable system in place is important.
Everything from engine temp to the burnout factor into consistency. Also, I found that what ever it takes - get yourself relaxed before you hit the burnout box. I believe relaxation turns into a
better reaction time. D - Race your own race
I've been this told by numerous drag racers. It's an obvious neccessity when you think about it. What I found is that experience is the
only thing that that makes applying this knowledge on the track easier. I my class, 9 times out of 10 I am the faster car, therfore the other car goes first. I got used to that. Then, I
lined up with a faster car, and I had to go first. My first thought was I had to push the light because I was slower. Instantly, I was racing the other guy and not my own race. Well, I
slept at the light and lost because of it. That was good for me in the end, because the next weekend the same thing happened, and I won. Experience is invaluable! Back to AP Bits |
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