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Bracket Racers:   Racing 101,  Racing 102,  Racing 103

Bracket Racing Basics    by Chip Mitchell    T/D, Top E.T.#1320

Class 101 :The Team    

      Hi All, and welcome to my forum on the sport we love.  Actually, this sport is an addiction that infects many of us in many ways. Some of us are hooked on the thrill of the launch and thunderous top end speeds. Others of us are precision mechanics and machinists out to ply our craft in a public forum.  Meanwhile, some like myself get hooked on the competition and find our old athletic competitive nature has a home in a sport that does allow for us to compete long after our athletic abilities are no longer competitive on a field of play.                                                                                                                                

    Like in sports, bracket racing has many teams that compete.  These teams however are not a bunch of people on each others side playing side by side. The teams that meet consist of one machine and one person versus another in a straight line for 1320 feet. Each part of the team is totally dependent on the other for victory. That said, first and foremost is the absolute necessity of having a mechanically sound and consistent race car. You can never become a good driver or develop your driving skills if the race car can not perform the same way within a margin of a few hundredths. Yes,...hundredths..so unless you are an ace mechanic,  well versed in physics, and have some idea of mechanical engineering then pick a car to race that everybody else is winning with. Chances are they are onto something.    

    Once we pick a consistent and reliable race car, built with reliable tried and true parts that will not fail in the late rounds we get to examine the other half of our team, the nut between the wheel and drivers seat....yes you the driver. Vehicle adjustments once the combination is sorted out are minimal or at least they should be. Lord knows it is soooo hard to take the hot rodder out of the bracket racer mentality. Other than tire pressure, topping off of fluids, and checking gauges the mechanical run prep is minimal. HOWEVER, the driver has to adjust and make decisions that change from run to run. Now most of these changing conditions are in response to his or her opponent and their dial in but other variables need accounting. A driver has to find a certain mindset prior to doing the burnout. You see the driver MUST be just as mechanically consistent in the driving of the vehicle each and every run or the dial in will never consistently match the actual E.T. What do I mean by that? Easy, the driver has to have a checklist in his mind prior to the burnout. First is the last check of the all important gauges to make sure all pressures and temps are at a level consistent with the prior runs. The burnout needs to be performed for the same amount of time as the previous runs and the staging procedure MUST be the same on every run. The actual pre-stage to staging procedure is critical in that if you can not develop a patient habit for this procedure and put your car in the 2nd beam the same way every time you will never be able to consistently leave with the same reaction time or set your delay box ..if you run one.

    So the lesson here in Bracket Racing 101 is to pick a consistent combination for a race car and develop consistent habits approaching your racing especially as those habits relate to the burnout and staging. In my next class I will discuss more in depth details on approaching a race as well as what needs to be done during a race if you expect to win consistently.

Bracket Racing Basics    by Chip Mitchell    T/D, Top E.T.#1320

 Class 102 :The Driver

     In my initial discussion I gave you my humble opinion and overview to the fine art of bracket racing. Most of the message in Bracket 101 may have seemed like common sense to most readers and enlightenment to a few.  Meanwhile, in this article I will provide some added insight and tools for your consideration.

    This article is all about the driver and getting you to the point of staging the vehicle.  I am assuming the mechanical part of your program has been made bulletproof to run on the number every time given the changing weather conditions.....but that is a topic for another article.  So if you run Top E.T. and chose an alky powered, big cube big block Chevy dragster that is sprung then you get an 'A' on the Bracket 101 article quiz. You get an 'A' if you No Box racers chose a light weight door car with rear tires as big as any dragster combined with any Chevy V8.These cars are the types that win most of the bracket races, big and small, across the country.

    Race day I like to consider things like caffeine intake and food consumption in general. Coffee can wind you up and reduce starting line consistency so I am on a 1-cup diet on race day. Moderate food intake is a good rule as overeating will slow you down and under eating can cause your hands to shake and make focusing on the staging bulbs more difficult. It's true; I starved myself one day down at Atco where we had double entered the car with just one driver on a 96-degree day. We had won both entries into the 3 rd round and being busy I had skipped lunch. Well I could barely keep my hand steady on the trans brake button for both 3rd round races and lost with lousy .530 reaction times. My crew chief Hitman Bob Sullivan has been feeding me hamburgers at every race since after the 2nd round so that never happens again. My point is, nutritional intake matters when you are trying to be consistent in focusing on the tree. My last point on dealing with food is always bring yourself to the line free of any bladder or bowel concerns. The pressure will cause increased stress and alter focus.

    Prepping and warming the car up is for another article and is important if you want any clarity on dial in. However, once completed let at least 10 cars go to the lanes prior to your going once called. This will give the track some temp by cars similar to your own. Consequently, you can review how the track is reacting with their cars and if wind may be a factor. On warm days keep the restrictive safety equipment off until it is time to strap in for the run. Keep the helmet off until you are four or five cars back. Your blood pressure is going to increase by simply putting the helmet on but your body temp is going to rise quickly as well.  On a hot day if you get overheated you will have slower reaction times and there is a good chance Murphy’s Law will strike and a sweat bead will hit you in the eye as you attempt to stage. Stay cool...especially via helmet off till you are only 4 or five cars back from running.

    Okay all you old timers are saying what about the dial in and counting cars.  In No Box I agree with the age-old tradition of finding your opponent long before you have to race as you must have the dial in on the car before crossing upper or lower staging depending on the track. Proper warm up and final inspections go without saying especially tire pressure as a hot sunny day will raise pressure and cold nights will reduce pressures. In Top E.T. where delay setting is based on whether or not you leave first I personally have my dial in on my car and the delay set prior to crossing over into staging. However, my opponent’s dial in I have learned to double check at the line and become comfortable with not staging until my box matches the tree settings. When I race alone this is a common function to my final staging. Learn to become comfortable with making alterations to your delay box anywhere in the staging process prior to lighting the second bulb. Trust me, too many racers are very rigid on this issue and are in a panic if they did not get their opponents dial in prior to strapping in.....this is not good. These are the same people whining after the race that the track did or did not do their job and they want a rerun. Guess what, you stage you own the numbers on the board right or wrong so get in the correct habit of checking.

    Wow all this typing and we have not even got to the burnout box. Alas the drag racers ritual ...THE BURNOUT.  More racers valve springs, transmissions, and tires get destroyed at this point in a race than anywhere else. What racers have trouble remembering is the coefficient of friction or traction of the tires to the track does not increase with increased time and higher RPM. I race with some seasoned veterans who make a hard burnout their cry to battle. Some of these racers have been very successful too. However, the burnout rarely needs a lot of RPM but may need a greater amount of time depending on track temp. Rolling burnouts, like the dragsters do, need to be backed off on when the tires rattle as the gear sets in our transmissions dislike that.....a lot. Door cars need to stay in the throttle on the line lock in high until the motor starts to get pulled down or the tires start to grab. In general 5500-6000 RPM should get the burnout started and finished within seconds...how many seconds is up to the track condition and temp.

    The tires are heated the same as the last 6 races and now it is time for the most important part of the race .....staging the car. Staging is the most important step towards consistency in terms of reaction time and delay settings. Approach to the 1st stage beam should be done very slowly with your vehicle at idle and only your left foot on the brake. Prior to turning on that first bulb review the dial in numbers and adjust your box or protest with the track now if you do not like something. Take a deep breath and slowly move into the first bulb. How deep you hit that bulb determines how far you need to bump the brake to get into the second bulb. If you hit it too deep you could light the 2nd bulb "hard" or too quick and thus be way too deep. One the 1st bulb is on hold the brake hard and take a deep breath and find the bulb you are going to leave on, especially if you are in a crossover situation. Slowly bump the car forward with brake pressure release. Lock the brake or set the trans brake as soon as the 2nd bulb lights at all.  If the 2nd bulb flickers before you turn it on fully you are doing your job well. Using the same brake pedal pressure (NoBox) or thumb pressure on the transbrake button (Box) as the last 6 races, find the bulb you are leaving on and weld your eyes to that bulb. Nothing can let your eyes leave that focal point...if your eyes move from the focal point at all you are guaranteed 2 or three hundredths of a second penalty in your reaction times...sometimes more. That .510 comes up .540 and you lose....most of the time. You release the button at the very instant the light you are leaving on comes on and hit the throttle at the appropriate time depending on the style racing you are doing. Now the race is on and in my next article I will give you more ideas on bracket racing as the race unfolds. Trust me your work at the line is not done nor do you just hold on and run it down the track.  Later ,Chip

Bracket Racing Basics    by Chip Mitchell    T/D, Top E.T. #1320

Class 103 : Driving The 1320

    Dialing in a bracket car is the most important decision a racer makes before strapping into the race car.  Once you cross upper or lower staging you are bound by your prediction.  The decision also affects how you drive the quarter mile.  Many factors go into this decision such as weather, wind, track temperature, etc.  However, these factors and their dial in value will be discussed in another article. 

    Basically there are two ways to dial your bracket car, "tight" or "soft".  From a pure safety stand-point most racers would agree that dialing a car tight is the safest way to bracket race.  Dialing a car "tight" is putting the exact E.T. you feel the vehicle will run during the race.  The positive side to running your car this way includes less brake and throttle work decisions which means less chassis loading and unloading.

    Another positive of being able to trust a tight dial in is your feeling secure in taking the finish line under full power.  When dialing "tight" your finish line decision to take the stripe only changes if you see your opponent too far ahead or behind you.  With any kind of distance like this between you and the stripe or your opponent you need to decide to take action at least by the mph cone if you wish to affect E.T.  In general, when competitors are close in reaction time, the driver who dials tight has less time and distance to make his finish line decisions.

    There are two major downside factors to dialing tight.  If you miss the tree and your opponent doesn't you lose assuming you both run close.  Secondly, if your car loses E.T. for whatever reason and your opponent does not you lose if he is dead on unless you have nitrous to make up ET.

    The second way to dial your car is "soft".  This strategy is to dial in the car slower than you actually think it will run.  The more you "slow" your dial in down the more time you give yourself to decide how to run the race.  Dialing "soft" means you are dialing an E.T. you know you will lose with if  you run the car under full power the whole quarter mile.  With this style of dial in you know you must slow the car by the amount you dialed soft prior to the finish.  Otherwise, you breakout and lose.

    This second approach to dialing your car is frowned upon by some purists of the bracket racing wars.  Called sandbagging in the early days of bracket racing, many, including myself, have found as the evolution of this sports competitiveness grew this dialing technique was necessary in order to win more races.  Whether you dial soft due to track conditions or as finish line strategy, "holding" hundredths has become an everyday tool in most successful bracket racers program.  In fact at big dollar events where you see well known professional bracket racers it is their standard practice to hold .05 or more on a good track!  With this much performance "advantage" they are able to focus on a good light first and then catching their opponent early and holding a 6 inch to 12 inch wheel advantage to the finish line.  These pros assume their reaction time to be .015 or better and decide if they are going to take the finish line usually by where they catch you in the quarter mile.  These guys know what it takes to slow their car by .05 or more and will dump you at the stripe if they think they have not shaved enough.  Hoping of course you are on a breakout pass.  If they think they shaved plenty of E.T. then they will stay welded to your spindle and take the stripe.  When two pro's meet for a race there is usually a lot of brake dust flying around at the finish line as they know each is holding time and the race is a high speed side by side game of chicken to the stripe.  My advice to a regional or local bracket racer who is in a race with a touring pro is to focus on yourself, your light, and dial tight with maybe one hundredth in your pocket.

    As you learn how to hold E.T. consistently via braking and throttle burping you will become confident on what action will reduce E.T. and by how much.  For me, burping reduces more E.T. quicker than braking.  Braking is easier on the drive train however.

    Driving the finish line is of course important as a good reaction time.  Meanwhile a good reaction time makes your finish line driving easier.  How well you drive the finish line is reflected on your time slip as margin and who crossed the finish line first.  Whether your strategy is to take the stripe or not you need to practice keeping the margin between .0000 and .0150.  This kind of number is only possible keeping your opponent close by in the lights.  In staging it is important to determine where you need to be in relation to your opponent in order to be ahead at the finish.  For example, when I race most door cars I know to line my dragsters drivers cage to their rear quarter panel at some spot to be ahead at the finish. 

    If you are the one being chased you need to invest in good mirrors so you can make decisions early in the run.  Chasing is always better in bracket racing as it gives your opponent the first chance to red light and the race is always in front of you.

    Regardless of strategy, when your lane win light comes on you know you probably made all the right decisions to win that race.  Sometimes your opponent helps you win.  Generally it is the driver who makes the least amount of bad calls in his tune up or driving that comes up with the win light.  Practice makes perfect whether you dial tight or soft.  If you race the style your most comfortable and consistent with you will win more races.