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Dragstrip - Race Your Car
How to Race Your Car
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditSome people like it fast. This article reveals the secrets to racing your car on a track.
Steps
- Find a race track. Racing your car on public roads is dangerous and illegal. You will also have a lot more fun on a track that is made for speed and safety. Search on the Internet (see "External Links" below) or look in a phone book.
- Get schooled. Call the race track and ask when they will be hosting a "Driver's Education" event or when it will be open for the public. You should not race your car until participating in a Driver's Education event. If the track knows of none, search on the Internet for "motorsports clubs" in your area. If you have a car with a racing heritage like Audi, Porsche, BMW, Yugo, Daewoo etc., search for that club (i.e., Porsche Club of America). When you go to any track, if there is classroom time, avail yourself of the wisdom which will be imparted. Many racers began their careers participating in autocross events. Contact the local NASA (National Auto Sport Association) or do an online search.
- Perform a safety check. On the day of your first Driver's Education event, check all of the mechanics of your car including oil (which should be topped off), tire pressure (a few PSI higher than normal-ask the instructor or another participant), tire tread, steering fluid, brake fluid and brakes. If you are not experienced in doing a safety check on your car, take it to a mechanic and tell the mechanic you plan on racing the car. When you get to the track, check the tire pressure and oil again. Look under "Things You'll Need" (below) for a list of items to bring to the track.
- Learn the rules. Every event has different rules. One common rule is a prohibition on passing, among the most dangerous of racing moments. Find out the rules from the event organizer.
- See the track. Feel the track. Be the track. On the track, go around twice at a normal rate of speed to get the lay of the land; if possible, get out and walk the track paying special attention to the turns. Commit the track to memory by drawing it on paper, noting turn-in and track-out points. Do a drive-through with a instructor if at all possible. Don't be scared of the track (AKA: An "O'Gorman"), but give it the proper caution and respect.
- Track to curb. When you first go on track at speed, follow an experienced driver. Every turn is approached with a minds-eye view of entry & exit and understanding of apexes. The prime apex point is the point in the center of the turn which will produce the fastest exit speed. Depending on track conditions(debris)and traffic you may need to use an early or late apex. You want to maintain as shallow an arc from your entry (turn-in point) to the exit (track-out)point. You should always maximize the amount of road surface used.
- Learn how to Brake. Rather than braking incrementally when going into a curve, it is best to be going as fast as you are prepared to and to then brake fast. This does not mean slamming on your brakes to the point where you could go into a spin (a common mistake) but it does mean knowing when to brake at the last possible moment. Braking can be practiced daily on interstate off-ramps, etc. Braking is usually done to impending lock-up. With ABS, you simply stand on the brakes. Braking can slow the car to the speed necessary to successfully negotiate a turn as well as settle the car at turn-in or when used in combination with steering and acceleration can cause the car to begin to rotate in order to carry more speed into a corner. A teacher familiar with the track can tell you exactly when you should start braking and turning and even where your car should be positioned going into turns.
- Alternate of braking. Or you can start drifting if you know how to and take a steady and compressive turn and go out of it without losing much speed.
- How to be Passed. If you are driving under "No Pass" rules, this usually means that passing is still allowed if consent is given. Ask first. If this is the case, ask for the signal to show your consent. You should not be doing a lot of passing (or any passing) as a novice but you should be getting passed often. When you see a driver approaching rapidly, the driver may well be looking for your signal. It is important to be courteous by giving this signal whenever it is safe to do so. This signal is usually an arm point out straight to the left if you wish the driver to pass to your left or, if to the right, your arm out the window and bent over the roof pointing to your right. Give the signal clearly with your arm fully extended. Immediately upon giving the signal, make sure your car behaves as if it is ready to allow passage on the side you indicated. Do not point right and then track right. Stay in your line of travel. Only give a passing signal on straightaways.
- Learn and be mindful of the flags. While most tracks attach the same meaning to each flag, there is some local variation. Use this paragraph as a guide but be sure to check with the event organizer. The following will usually apply:
- A solid green flag means that the warm-up lap has ended and that passing may commence (when passing is allowed and then only according to rules of consent).
- A blue flag with a diagonal yellow stripe means that you need to allow the car behind you to pass. This is usually only shown when you have already failed to do the right thing without request. At the next passing zone, give the signal and hold your line.
- A stationary yellow means that there is some type of danger ahead. Slow down and use caution.
- A waving yellow means that there is a disabled car on the track. Slow down and prepare to go off your line to avoid the car.
- A flag with alternating yellow and red vertical stripes means that there is debris on the track (e.g., an oil slick). Slow down and watch for debris on the road.
- A black flag means that there is something wrong with your car. If the black flag is shown at all flag stations, it means that all cars are being called back to the pit, usually because there has been a crash or there is something else obstructing the track. Safely slow your vehicle, indicate to the flagger that you have seen the flag and pull into the pits for instruction from the trackmaster.
- A red flag means you must stop your car immediately. Brake slowly and be aware that another car may be behind you. Come to a stop, preferably off to the side. Stay still and stay in your car. There may be emergency vehicles entering the track. Wait for instruction.
- A black flag with a yellow meatball means that the run group is about to end. Proceed through the checkered flag and slow to a cool-down lap.
- Chill out. The last run is called a "cool-down" lap because you are cooling down the brakes, which, by now, may be hot enough to melt rubber. Go slow and try not to use your brakes at all. Wave at all the corner workers. Use all of your fingers.
- Steer correctly. When you are driving, position your hands at 3:00 and 9:00. (Ex-military: use 2100 and 0300) This will give you the best response time and best posture at high speeds.
- Keep your windows down. Keep both front windows down. This is necessary so you can signal a pass and arguably safer in crashes where the glass breaking would otherwise cause injury. Also keep your radio off. You want to hear the noises your car is communicating to you, not your icy stunna tunes (y0).
- Driving fast takes a lots of practice. You will be shocked at how difficult itis. Early in your development you will be assigned an instructor at each Driver's Education event. As you improve and the different organizations get to know you, you will be allowed to drive without on instructor.
- It is an expensive pursuit. You will be shocked at how fast you go thru brake pads, rotors and tires. And the additional strain on your car will have you replacing other unexpected items.
- If you are smart and luck you will recognize early that you've become addicted and you will get your daily driver off of the track and buy a dedicated track car. If you are especially clever you will buy a dedicated track car that will easily join an popular and relatively inexpensive race class.
- After 40-80 track days, you may begin think about racing. Each racing organization has a Competition School that is necessary to get your Novice License.
Tips
- Flags are a very important part of tracking your car because you cannot hear other people shouting while you are tooling around at 120 mph (190 km/h). Understand the flags as they are the sign-language of a race track.
- Bring extra oil and coolant with you. Check your oil after each run.
- Bring at least one spare. Tires can go quickly on a track.
- Watch from the stands so you can see where more experienced drivers begin their turns and start braking.
- Driver's Education events are critical and should be done prior to tracking your car. Most chapters of the Porsche Club of America allow other models of cars to participate.
- If you get into it, there are infinite modifications that can be done to make your car better and safer on the track; among the most important are better safety restraint harnesses, tires, brakes, fire extinguisher assemblies and roll bars.
- Check with the track or event organizer about anything you must bring or wear.
- Your car will not respond well to more than one drastic input at a time (throttle, brakes or steering). Your tires only have so much traction, so make sure that any strong inputs you need to do are separated. Brake or feather the throttle, turn in and accelerate. If done correctly, you will be at the outside edge of the track. Turning hard while braking or accelerating hard if done incorrectly can reduce traction, and possibly result in loss of control. Wet roads or cold tires (on your first lap) will require more caution.
- Smoking your tires before the race will warm up the tires giving you more traction.
- Spoilers will increase down force and result in more traction only in high performance cars.
- Learn how to drift. Drifting in the corners can allow you to corner at speed and keep you going.
- Remove Unnecesary Devices and objects from your car. You're not going to need the 800 Watt Amp and quad Subwoofer Box. And no your not going to need your back seats. Having Subwoofers and junk slide around your trunk changes your CG (center of gravity) and can change your cornering when you least expect it. Also, losing the weight makes you faster and you'll perform better.
- Spoilers are unnessesary in vehicles going speeds under 200kph.
- Don't be a ricer.
Warnings
- Obviously, there is significant danger in racing a car. Driving at high rates of speed on a race track takes different skills than everyday driving on public roads. People have died and been seriously injured when racing cars and you should treat this as a serious sport with an education that must take place prior to going fast or even setting foot in the pit.
- Make sure your equipment is up to current standards. For example, helmet standards change from time to time.
- Be advised that insurance is unlikely to cover you if you crash your car while tracking it. Some drivers tow their wrecked cars out of the track and then call the insurance company. This is insurance fraud and it is easy to get caught.
- Some car warranties will be voided or altered if they find out you tracked your car. Some new cars are said to have a computer chip that can report track-like conditions. These spy chips can then report back to the service department.
Things You'll Need
- A car to race
- A "Snell" approved helmet which meets or exceeds the standards of the event in which you will be participating.
- Numbers for your car. Go to a sign shop and get magnetic ones or use masking tape. Even if you use magnetic numbers, you may wish to tape down the leading edge of the magnet to avoid it being lifted up by wind speed.
- A valid driver's license.
- Shoes must be smooth-soled and must completely enclose the foot.
- Wear a long-sleeved cotton shirt and jeans.
- It is best, but not required, to wear a racing neck collar available at automotive sporting stores.
- Bring water and food unless you are certain it will be readily available in the pit.
- Tire pressure gauge
- Extra motor oil (synthetic is best) and engine coolant.
Sources and Citations
- Racing and advanced driving techniques
- For Snell helmet standards, see http://www.smf.org/stds.html.
- Excellent information is available at the official web site of the Porsche Club of America. You can even see listings of future events in your area.
- Check out online motorsports stores such as http://www.saferacer.com/ & http://www.racingdirect.com.
- Make sure your helmet meets the standards put in place by your organization (such as Snell SA2005, Snell M2005, ect)
- The following site lists over 1850 tracks throughout the United States: http://chasinracin.com/track-locator/
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Race Your Car. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
How to Race Your Car at the Dragstrip
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditMany people like to take their everyday car to their local drag strip and make a few passes down the track. Some build dedicated track-only, non-street legal cars, and still others modify their street-legal cars to be a cross between a race car and a street car. These cars are most often referred to as street/strip cars. This article is mainly for those that have never raced before, and outlines the basics of drag racing your car, whether it's your daily driver or a street/strip car. Dedicated racecars usually have special equipment installed, such as delay boxes, trans brakes, and dry-sump oil systems, and will not be covered here.
Steps
- If you are new at this, it's best to go on a day or night when the track is hosting a "street-legal drags" type of event, where all street-legal cars are welcome regardless of engine size, tire type, etc.
- Ask your local dragstrip if they hold events to race your street-legal car just for fun. Ask about the admission price, any additional charges (tech card, parking, etc.) and also if they give out time-slips after races. They often do, but, during some events your time will be displayed on the board only, with no time-slip. In this case, have a friend stand near the track to record your time and speed after each run if you really want to know it. If you've never been to a dragstrip before, ask if they have a website providing a layout of their facility to familiarize yourself with the individual areas of the track. If not, ask for a map once you arrive.
- Get your car ready to race. Inspect, change, or top off all oils and fluids. Check your brakes, steering, and suspension for wear and repair if needed. If you have a nitrous system, have your bottle filled. Though, most tracks sell nitrous and fuel, but expect to pay more. Put the tires you will race with on your car (or bring your race-only tires seperately) with the proper air pressure. Don't top-off your fuel tank, as it makes your car heavier than necessary. Ideally, you want to race a street car with a 1/4 tank or less, depending on the vehicle and tank size. Do not run out of fuel completely. Once you feel your vehicle is ready to begin racing, drive to the track.
- Once at the track, pay, park and signup. Usually, they'll provide paperwork to sign and an armband or something to indicate that you're authorized to race. Go back to your car and move to the staging lanes if racing has begun.
- If you've never raced before, examine the layout you obtained and see where the staging lanes are. These are located at the beginning of the dragstrip, and clearly marked with painted lane stripes and numbers. Ask a track attendant for help if you can't find them. Follow all directions from track attendants carefully to avoid a collision, and remember top speed is 10 MPH in this area at most tracks. A track attendant will come alongside your car to ensure you've registered, and you may or may not get a number on your car window. Now, mentally prepare to go racing, and make sure your car is set up to do so also. You may wait a while in the lanes, so while it's OK to get out and chat with other racers, stay near your vehicle so you can move it forward at any time. Ask other racers questions, as with few exceptions, they'll be willing to provide advice.
- Near the end of the staging lanes, watch other cars from your lane and see where they pull up to. Some will drive through the "water box" (wet area for doing burnouts), others will drive around it. If you have street tires, it's best to drive around it and proceed onto the dragstrip. With slicks, drive into it and wait for the signal to do your burnout. In either case, don't do anything until a crewman signals you that it's OK to proceed. Generally, one person will signal you to pull out of the staging lane onto the track, where another will wave you forward. Slowly drive around or into the water box, and continue to follow hand signals. If doing a burnout, wait for a crewmember's signal.
- Now, pull up to the starting line and watch the "Christmas Tree" (display of lights at the beginning of the track, between the two lanes.) Each lane has it's own set of lights in order from top to bottom: 2 small bulbs at the very top of the tree (Pre-Stage), 2 identical small ones under that (Stage), 3 large amber bulbs, a green bulb, and a red bulb. Roll you car forward slowly until the first set of bulbs are lit (Pre-stage), this indicates your front tire are approximately seven inches from the starting line. Continue to creep forward until the second set of small bulbs are lit (Staged), then stop.
- Depending on the tree, either all three amber bulbs will light at once followed 0.4 seconds later by the green (this is called a Pro-Tree), or the three amber bulbs will flash consecutively 0.5 seconds apart followed by the green coming on 0.5 seconds after the last amber (this is called a Sportsman or Full tree.) When you see the green light, GO! Keep racing until you reach the finish line, at which point you should begin to slow down and decide which turn-off you are going to take. If you have smoked your competitor, make sure you have his/her vehicle in sight before you turn off...you don't want to hit him while turning because he was in your blind spot!
- If the track is giving out timeslips, there will be a shack on the return road where you can stop and your time will be given to you on a slip of paper. If it doesn't make any sense to you, ask another racer to explain it, but basically it shows your reaction time (R/T), time until your car reached the 1/8 mile mark, your speed at that point, time until you car reached the 1/4 mile mark, and again your speed at that point.
- You can go around to the staging lanes and race again, or park for a while and get some food/drink or watch others race.
Tips
- Some events (those that are set up to replicate street racing) have a Christmas Tree that resembles a traffic light like you would find on the street, instead of the traditional Tree. If you encounter this type, treat it like any other traffic light. GO on green!
- Practice "launching" your car (getting it moving from a dead stop quickly), in a safe, legal place. It does take practice, and other racers who drive the same or similar vehicles can be a great source of information.
- Instead of waiting for the green light to come on, try leaving on the last amber light. By the time your car starts moving, the green light will have come on.
- If you get a red light on the Christmas Tree, it means you left the starting line before the green light came on!
- Try different setups with your car, like changing the tire pressures, running more or less fuel, different launch techniques, etc.
Warnings
- This IS a dangerous sport! Although many precautions have been made by the track to prevent serious injury, you can still be hurt by yourself or by others. Be careful, and if your car is not able to handle racing because of faulty brakes, fuel, oil, coolant, or other leaks, bad tires, etc., then DO NOT RACE IT. You run an increased risk of injury to yourself and others.
- Consider some safety equipment like an approved helmet, fire extinguisher, and protective clothing.
- It's bad if you leak any type of liquids onto the track. This includes water dripping from your A/C, so be sure to switch it off well before you get out of the staging lanes.
Things You'll Need
- A car or truck that is capable of handling the increased stresses of racing.
- Extra oil and coolant, some rags, and a flashlight.
- Money for your track event and drinks/food.
- Driver's license
- A friend (optional, but most "for fun" events allow you to bring one rider along for the race. Even if they can't race with you, they still provide good company.)
- Camera or video recorder (optional)
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Race Your Car at the Dragstrip. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
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