Drag racing

Drag racing is a form of auto racing in which cars or motorcycles attempt to complete a fairly short, straight and level course in the shortest amount of time, starting from a dead stop. Drag racing originated in the United States and is still the most popular there. The most common distance is one quarter of a mile (402 m), although one-eighth of a mile (201 m) tracks are also popular. The dragstrip extends well beyond the finish line to allow cars to slow down and return to the pit area.

Racing organization

Most (although not all) drag racing involves two cars racing each other to the end of the measured distance. The elapsed time from the light turning green to the car's front end passing through the 'traps' at the other end of the track determines the winner; this time is composed of the car's actual elapsed time, plus the driver's reaction time. In practice, in the more competitive classes it is necessary for the driver to 'jump the gun' by a faction of a second, starting the car during the split-second interval between when the yellow light goes out and the green light goes on. However, if the car crosses the electric eye in front of it before the green light comes on, the driver has 'red-lighted' and is disqualified. (If both cars 'red-light', then only the first car to cross is disqualified.) A driver who gets a substantial lead over the other car taking off at the start is said to have a 'hole shot'. The driver's reaction time and the car's top speed are also recorded, in addition to the elapsed time, but neither plays a direct role in determining the winner. The car that crosses the finish line first wins the race. A car with a good hole shot can actually blow the engine partly down the strip and coast to the end of the track at a (relatively) lower top speed than the competitor, and still win with a lower elapsed time.

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In the common Eliminator racing format, the losing car and driver are removed from the contest, while the winner goes on to race other winners, until only one is left. There are some instances where there are 3 cars remaining, and in this case one car, either chosen at random or the car with the fastest elapsed time thus far, gets a "bye run" where his or her car goes down the track by itself (in order to at least partially eliminate the advantage that would otherwise come from the engine having one less run on it), and then awaits the winner of the other two for the title. However, in most Eliminator formats, the bye runs take place only in the first round. Drivers are about equally divided between making a nice easy pass on the bye run so as not to stress the car unduly, or making a real effort for the benefit of the spectators.

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The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) oversees the majority of drag racing events in North America. The next largest organization, the International Hot Rod Association, (IHRA), is about one-third the size of NHRA. Nearly all drag strips will select one or the other of these sanctioning bodies to be associated with. The NHRA is more popular with large, 1/4 mile nationally-recognized tracks, while the IHRA is a favorite of smaller 1/8th mile local tracks. One reason for this (among others) is the IHRA is less restrictive in its rules and less expensive to be associated with.

Related Topics:
National Hot Rod Association - North America - International Hot Rod Association - IHRA

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There are literally hundreds of different classes in drag racing, each with different requirements and restrictions on things such as weight, engine size, body style, modifications, and many others. The NHRA and IHRA share some of these classes, but many are solely used by one sanctioning body or the other. The NHRA boasts over 200 classes, while the IHRA has fewer. There is even a class for aspiring youngsters - Junior Dragster.

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In 1997, the FIA began sanctioning drag racing in Europe with a fully established European Drag Racing Championship, in cooperation with the NHRA with rules established from the NHRA. The major European drag strips include Santa Pod Raceway in Podington, England and the Hockenheimring in Germany.

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However, there are only 5 "professional" classes (4 NHRA, 4 IHRA), which are:

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• Top Fuel The rail dragsters, the fastest class. (NHRA and IHRA both). There is also a Top Alcohol Dragster.
• Funny Car Nearly as fast as the rails, resemble actual cars. In the early nineties, IHRA got rid of the Top Fuel Funny Car category, making Top Alcohol Funny Cars the only funny car class in the IHRA. (NHRA and IHRA both)
• Pro Modified Some engine restrictions, very high power. Cars can run superchargers or nitrous oxide. Cars running blowers are limited to 527 cubic inches (8.6 L) while cars with nitrous oxide can run up to 740 cubic inches (12.1 L).
• Pro Stock Must maintain stock appearance. NHRA cars can run no more than 500 cubic inches (8.2 L) while IHRA cars can run a maximum of 820 cubic inches (13.1 L) ("Mountain Motors"). (NHRA and IHRA both)
• Pro Stock Bikes Heavily modified motorcycles. (NHRA only)

In addition to the above professional classes, these are some other popular classes:

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• Top Alcohol Dragster
• Top Alcohol Funny Car
• Super Comp
• Super Gas
• Super Street
• Pro Stock Motorcycles (IHRA, same as NHRA class only non-professional)
• Super Stock
• Stock
• Sport Compact (Smaller cars, with smaller engines)

A complete listing of all classes can be found on the respective NHRA and IHRA official websites (see external links).

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To allow different cars to compete against each other, some competitions are raced on a handicap basis, with faster cars delayed on the start line enough to theoretically even things up with the slower car. This may be based on rule differences between the cars in stock, super stock, and modified classes, or on a competitor chosen "dial-in time" in bracket racing.

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A "dial-in" is a time the driver estimates it will take his or her car to cross the finish line, and is generally displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the "christmas tree" starting lights accordingly. The slower car will then get a head start equal to the difference in the two dial-ins, so that if both cars perform perfectly, they would cross the finish line dead even. If either car goes faster than its dial-in (called running out or breaking out), it is disqualified regardless of who has the lowest elapsed time; if both cars break out, the one who breaks out by the smallest amount wins. This eliminates any advantage from putting a slower time on the windshield to get a head start. The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver and car rather than on raw speed, in that victory goes to the car and driver which can precisely predict their elapsed time, whether it is fast or slow. This in turn makes victory much less dependent on large infusions of money, and more dependent on mechanical and driving skill. Therefore, bracket racing (using the aforementioned handicapping system) is popular with casual weekend racers. Many of these recreational racers will drive their vehicles to the track, race them, and then simply drive them home. Most tracks do not host national events every week, and on the interim weekends host local casual and weekend racers. Organizationally, however, the tracks are run according to the rules of either the NHRA or the IHRA (for the most part). Even street vehicles must pass a safety inspection prior to being allowed to race.

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There is even an organization called the National Electric Drag Racing Association, (NEDRA), which races electric vehicles against high performance gasoline-powered vehicles such as Dodge Vipers or classic muscle cars in 1/4 and 1/8 mile races.

Related Topics:
National Electric Drag Racing Association - NEDRA - Electric vehicle - Dodge Vipers - Muscle car

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