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Drag Car Racing - Ever Thought of Trying It?
Do you find yourself
obsessively watching car racing on TV or driving to
the local racetrack? Do you love tinkering with cars
out in the garage, getting oil on your hands? Does the
sound of a super-charged engine get your blood pumping?
Well, maybe you’re the kind of
person who would love to get into the hobby sport of
Drag Racing. Here’s some insight.
Drag car racer, Lorne Walters, worked
on his drag car for over two years, making it one of
the fastest cars on the strip. He even competes against
cars that have a higher rated horsepower than his 1984
drag racing street car that he picked up for next-to-nothing.
He collected inexpensive, used parts for it for over
a year, until he finally bolted it all together and
cranked the ignition.
Since then, he has put a couple of seasons
of driving and fine-tuning under his belt. He explained
that it is not major changes that produce big leaps
in performance but many little changes over time that
makes the difference between winning and losing a race.
Removing the muffler increased his engine’s
horsepower. Removing over three hundred pounds of non-essentials
made the car lighter. Removing the belt-driven fan and
replacing it with a battery-powered fan reduced the
load on the engine. Changing from street tires to tires
that get sticky when you lay rubber and heat them up
increased his car’s traction. All of these changes
increased his car’s speed.
When you’re counting your racing
time in tenths of a second, every little change brings
you closer to winning.
One of Lorne’s motto's to live
by is, “You can’t learn it if you don’t
do it.” If you want to become a better and more
successful Drag Race driver, you can’t just read
about it or watch it, you must do it! The more you do
it, and apply what you learn from the experience, the
better you become.
Before he ever thought of driving his
own car though, Lorne joined a pit crew for a stock
car driver, which allowed him to network with other
enthusiasts and also get into the thick of it. Once
he got bitten by the race car fever, getting behind
the wheel became a driving obsession.
Consistency is also one of the major
keys to winning. In Drag Racing, it isn’t always
the fastest car that wins, but also the one who stays
consistent in doing the little things right. Good race
timing scores must be repeated often.
Lorne also learned quickly that when
you’re on the strip, ready to go, you don’t
hang around waiting to be “told” to go. Waiting
for the tree of lights to reach green-for-go cost him
1.2 seconds. Which meant that his competitor, who exploded
his engine’s horsepower into forward motion just
prior to green, left the gate just as the tree hit green
and was way out ahead of him. There is always a lag
time before the car will actually burst forward.
When Lorne started out with his own
car, tagging along with a successful racer who knew
the circuit and all the ropes placed him car lengths
beyond his competition. He also gained much of his knowledge
by asking lots of questions, searching the Internet
for free information, and by hands-on experience.
Drag Racing is no longer a hobby to
Lorne, it’s a passion – a passion that pushes
him from race to race throughout the season.
Maybe this could be your passion, and
like Lorne, you may get some or even your entire car
sponsored by local businesses.
Not sure if you would like it? Some
drivers are allowed to take passengers during certain
parts of the day. Why not get to know one and go for
a trial spin?
Happy super-charging!
1howto.com
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