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Bracket Racing Explained
ET racers have a very wide range of opportunities in building their
cars, as there are few regulations regarding engine specs, etc. Most of
the rules are safety related. The cars are split up into classes, most
of the tracks here in Arkansas have them split something like this.
Super Pro-Generally the fastest class and also allows electronics
(2-steps, 3-steps, trans brakes, delay boxes etc.). Pro-No/E- No
electronics as previously mentioned allowed in this class.
Street-Generally streetable cars. Jr. Dragster-For younger racers,
depending on the track this could consist of Jr Dragsters to Go-Karts.
Junior Dragsters are generally 1/2 scale dragsters powered by 5
horsepower Briggs & Stratton motors for kids up to 15 years old.
All right, here's the real basic principles of bracket racing. At a
race, you are given several time trials, which are used just as
practice, and to see what times your car runs. In eliminations, which
are single elimination tournament style, it's you against one other
racer. You select a time that you think your car will run. That's called
your dial-in. When two cars compete, they subtract the dial-ins,
and the slower car gets that much of a head start. The theory is that if
both drivers get identical reaction times, and both run what they
predicted, they will meet right at the finish line... a tie. In
practicality, this never happens. Reaction times will differ, and the
car may run quicker or slower than predicted.
Reaction times are a huge part of winning (or losing!) races. They
are also perhaps the most difficult part of drag racing, although it
seems deceptively simple.
Now you say, "Why don't I just dial-in at 18 seconds, and I'll get a
big head start and win?" There's the trick. If you run quicker than your
dial, you lose! This is called a breakout. Basically, this means
that you want to guess exactly what the car will run. If you guess far
quicker than what the car can run, you won't be able to run fast enough,
and your opponent can easily beat you to the finish. If you guess far
slower, a practice called sandbagging, it is very likely that you
will break out and lose.
There are many complex situations that arise from these handicapping
rules. What happens if both cars break out? In this case, the car that
runs out the least wins. How can someone win if they didn't cross the
finish line first? If the other car breaks out more than you do, or he
runs out and you don't, you win, no matter how much he beat you to the
line by. Because of the possibility of breaking out, there are actually
many instances where you will hit the brakes to win! |
The staging beams are located at the starting line