Drag 101: Your First Run Down the Strip
Everybody has a first time down the eighth or quarter mile. It’s a bit of a nervous experience if you’ve never done it before. Fortunately it’s not as harrowing and usually not that expensive. Everyone will help make sure you have a good time but here are some pointers to your first run.
1. Have Fun – You’re not racing for points, you’re not even there for bragging rights. You’re there to learn and see what your car can do from a standing start to the end of the strip.
2. Don’t worry about cutting a perfect tree – It’s not going to happen. However, do work on it. Most street cars on street tires can afford to launch just after the second light to just before the last light before the green.
3. Don’t do a burnout in the burnout box with street tires – In fact, go around the water and do a light hop to clean off the debris. If you’re on slicks, you shouldn’t really be. Get used to the car first then graduate up to drag radial tires.
4. Take loose stuff out – Just like in autocross, you do want to remove anything that could potentially fly around if the worst were to happen. So, take out floor mats, tissue boxes, iPads/iPods, anything not bolted in.
5. Take a helmet – You won’t be required to have it, but it won’t hurt to wear it as it will protect your head.
6. Set tire pressures – Start with what you run on the street normally, 30 to 40 psi, and air them down until you see your times stabilize. Use a simple tire pressure gauge that you can keep in your glove box and, again, don’t leave it outside of the glove box while you drive.
7. Staging – You’re not a pro car so you won’t use the pro tree, there are a couple of sets of beams and you’ll want to pull up to the first set. Let the car roll up until you see the pre-stage light turn on. Then just creep until the staged light turns on, but no more. If you do happen to roll through pre-stage, don’t back up and just do a “deep stage”. Learn for next time.
8. Find other people that are driving a car like yours – Ask questions and get to know them. Not only will you make some new friends, but they can help you with car setup from what they know.
9. If you happen to run adjustable dampening shocks, run the rears for maximum squat – So, make them soft on compression (down travel), if you can. If you have adjustable rear spring perches, set them up to raise the rear height to maximize squat as well. Just like tires, set both up a little at a time until you see your times even out.
10. Don’t brag – It’s your first time at a proper track, so don’t be the idiot that brags about his “street racing skills.” It doesn’t matter at a proper track and that’s where you should be doing your racing anyhow. Plus, you’ll look like an even bigger idiot when that Honda Civic beats you because you screwed up at the tree.