Who said drag racing was boring?

NOHOME said:

Only form of drag racing I like is  Grudge racing " My car is faster than your car so shut-up or put-up"  Anything else is just test and tune or bracket racing. Bracket racing is about as relevant to mankind as the Monty Python Silly walk contests.

 

I like building drag cars and I assure you that during a 9 second or faster pass, you wont have time t o get bored. That takes about 13 seconds.

Fixing the car in the pits so you can do another pass is another fun way to spend the day.

I doubt the guy in the purple car was bored.

Bracket racing is kind of weird, but it is a really good way to keep drag racing from becoming just another arms race where the guy with the most money wins, which is the big problem with heads up "grudge racing". 

I'm not a fan of the use of delay boxes and air shifters, though. I feel like that's almost cheating. Where we used to race I know that was restricted to certain classes, I don't know if that's still the case.

In reply to gearheadmb :

I did a lot of bracket racing and I hated delay box/ electronics cars almost as much as I hated 15 second POS cars with open headers.  Holding a 9 second car back to run 12s and letting the computer do everything is stupid, IMHO, but that's what a lot of the higher bracket classes are like.

I had a daily driven, manual trans Mustang that ran 12's, and had lots of fun running the street tire brackets.

gearheadmb said:

NOHOME said:

Only form of drag racing I like is  Grudge racing " My car is faster than your car so shut-up or put-up"  Anything else is just test and tune or bracket racing. Bracket racing is about as relevant to mankind as the Monty Python Silly walk contests.

 

I like building drag cars and I assure you that during a 9 second or faster pass, you wont have time t o get bored. That takes about 13 seconds.

Fixing the car in the pits so you can do another pass is another fun way to spend the day.

I doubt the guy in the purple car was bored.

Bracket racing is kind of weird, but it is a really good way to keep drag racing from becoming just another arms race where the guy with the most money wins, which is the big problem with heads up "grudge racing". 

I'm not a fan of the use of delay boxes and air shifters, though. I feel like that's almost cheating. Where we used to race I know that was restricted to certain classes, I don't know if that's still the case.

Yeah, I get the point of bracket racing, and I have seen some really funny matchups in bracket racing, but I'd still rather watch heads-up. And, yes, once you get into throttle stops, and delay boxes, and air shifters, that's where it really falls apart.

Ranger50 said:

People who say drag racing is boring are E36 M3ty drivers who think they can't do any better based off just a few passes. JMO.

Nope, I'd bet most of us are the same people who find turning left for 4 hours boring as well. I don't think anyone said drag racers are crummy drivers or can't drive............Eddie Hill is well known for bringing his Exocet to Hallett and other tracks across the country. 

It's ok for people to not like the things other people like. 

In reply to z31maniac :

My meaning was that they don't want to learn or explore the possibility of going faster without trying things. They put it in a gear, shift where they believe it will be fastest, shift like a grandma, and then generally cruise control it to the end. When that's all done, they bitch that drag racing sucks.

I think autocross sucks, mostly arcane rules and the DA's that think they are gods because of them. Still doesn't keep me away from going back to try it again. I'd rather be drag racing tho....

Rodan said:

Holding a 9 second car back to run 12s and letting the computer do everything is stupid, IMHO, but that's what a lot of the higher bracket classes are like.

The first and only time I went bracket racing I was driving my wife's 2.4-swapped ATX Neon at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. It was a low-16, high-15-second car.

I made it to the quarter finals because all the experienced guys in fast cars lined up next to me kept redlighting because they couldn't stand watching me run a third of the way down the track before their side of the tree dropped.

Duke said:

The first and only time I went bracket racing I was driving my wife's 2.4-swapped ATX Neon at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. It was a low-16, high-15-second car.

I made it to the quarter finals because all the experienced guys in fast cars lined up next to me kept redlighting because they couldn't stand watching me run a third of the way down the track before their side of the tree dropped.

 

On test/tune nights, I ran my bike in the street tire bracket (home strip ran street bikes with cars in the street tire class).  I was usually dialed at 9.9x, and the bike went 150mph on the big end.  It was not unusual to line up against 14-15 second cars... I liked it, because they would be at half track by the time I got the light and they'd often let off since they couldn't see me coming.  At the line, I'd go by with a 60mph delta and get the win light! 

Gratuitous drag racing pic:

Duke said:

Rodan said:

Holding a 9 second car back to run 12s and letting the computer do everything is stupid, IMHO, but that's what a lot of the higher bracket classes are like.

The first and only time I went bracket racing I was driving my wife's 2.4-swapped ATX Neon at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. It was a low-16, high-15-second car.

I made it to the quarter finals because all the experienced guys in fast cars lined up next to me kept redlighting because they couldn't stand watching me run a third of the way down the track before their side of the tree dropped.

 

Reminds me of when I went bracket racing with a friend in our DDs. I got ousted first round in my '99 Cavalier by a Lincoln Mark VII. My friend had never drag raced before, let alone bracket-raced, and was running a stock automatic Mazda3 and came in second for the night (first went to a stock Isuzu I-290). All the guys in the hardcore drag cars went out in about the first round because they were spotting them half the track and then would either get nervous and redlight or would be trying so hard to catch them that they would run it out the back door and break out.

Ranger50 said:

In reply to z31maniac :

My meaning was that they don't want to learn or explore the possibility of going faster without trying things. They put it in a gear, shift where they believe it will be fastest, shift like a grandma, and then generally cruise control it to the end. When that's all done, they bitch that drag racing sucks.

I think autocross sucks, mostly arcane rules and the DA's that think they are gods because of them. Still doesn't keep me away from going back to try it again. I'd rather be drag racing tho....

Gotcha. 

I haven't autocrossed yet, with Hallett close by the $$$-to-run time nevery made much sense for me. But I plan on doing so once I get back into a fun car. Although, I guess there is no reason I couldn't just take the Mazda 3 out there.

I love drag racing but it's certainly more exciting the faster you go. Running 15.80s in a marquis was rather boring compared to mid 13 in a car that ran high 12s on slicks (79 Capri)  on street tires because I couldn't afford slicks at the time. I even made one nitrous pass on 225/60r14 cooper cobras. It actually ran a high 13 because I let out a lot. 
 

the guys who stay in and drive thru a lot of the wheel spin are fun too watch but I didn't want to smash my car 

Drag racing is boring if your front and rear wheel speeds are the same.

I'm really enjoying H-pattern stick shift heads up classes. Drag racing is great fun, but like all racing it depends on the club/track/class.