Dockboy
Comps BFF
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2006
- Messages
- 3,341
I have pondered and discussed the following thoughts regarding the current state, or appearance of diesel drag racing for a while. So I thought I would throw out my observations and see what people’s feelings are on the subject. My comments are not directed at any one person specifically but rather a general overall observation.
At our organized “diesel only” races or any organized drag race for that matter, there is one thing that it seems most of our newer diesel racers fail to show up with. That is an understanding of exactly what real "drag racing" is all about. Also, how important proper racing edict is. Unfortunately I think this all stems from an internet diesel forum driven misconception of the exact purpose of the racing. This failure tends to reflect negatively on tracks and other racers in general.
This is Drag RACING...NOT... Drag RECORD-ING!!!:rules:
While it is great to build or have a fast truck that can set whatever the constant changing “record” of the month is so it can be posted on the internet for the endless “way to go”, “Congrats”, etc. responses, it is far from making the truck and/or the driver a “drag racer”. In fact, being able to post a “record” has little if anything to do with how far you can go or how well you will do in an organized race.
Drag racing for the most part is all about what happens from the water box to the 60’ block. Yet most of the diesel truck racers I observe at events are lacking the experience and practice in this small section of the track. That is because people rarely, if ever, practice this part of racing. They are more concerned with what will happen 1320’ down the track and setting a “record”. This is what I want to discuss … PRACTICE!!!
Sometimes this is easier to explain if I correlate it to Golf…
Over 80% of the strokes in golf occur within 100 yrds. of the green. About 75% of that 80 are putts. Yet nearly every weekend golfer will go to the driving range and pound 100’s of drivers then make 2 or 3 putts on the practice green before playing. At the end of the round, they wonder why they can’t break 100. :doh:
Same thing happens in drag racing…People go to T&T’s and try to run “record” passes every time, and never practice what is really important to being a successful racer.
PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE
1st… Know and learn the proper edict and procedures for the track where you are racing. How to pull in the staging lanes. When to pull up to the box. Which way to drive around the water box if needed. What type of tree will be used? Etc. If you don’t know, ask an official. These small things go a long way in what kind of respect the track officials and other racers will show towards you.
2nd… Use a T&T session to do nothing but practicing staging!! In other words, only concentrate on pulling in the box, burn out procedure (if you do one), preparing any settings, switches, etc. for the launch before staging, preboosting into the beams and fully staging at the proper boost levels for your particular setup. Don’t worry about the other lane (besides using proper edict), reaction time, or what you will run in the ¼. Use this practice to get a smooth efficient staging routine down that also produces your best 60’s. Nothing irritates the track and your competitor more than someone taking forever to boost and stage!! Also, save the truck!! No need to run it out past 330’ or 660’! All you are concentrating on is staging… That is it!!
3rd… Once you can produce a consistent staging procedure, next thing is to work on your reaction time. Know what tree you are on! Pro .400 or .500, Sportsman .400 or .500 etc. If there is a particular tree you want to practice on, put it on the window. The track will change the tree for you. R/T is one of the most important things in winning races!! Again, you are only working on R/T so save the truck. No need to run it out. Figure out how deep or shallow to stage for your particular setup and roll out. Work on cutting consistent .0XX R/T’s.
4th… Put it all together!! After a lot of constant and persistent practice, you should be able to produce a consistent type of run. Besides the fact that you will look like an experienced racer rather than a redneck hillbilly trying to race a diesel truck!!
5th… Enter other races besides “diesel only” events. Watch and learn from the gasser racers regardless of what you think of them, most know what they are doing.
I guess what I am getting at is if we want diesel drag racing to grow and be respected… us actually doing the racing need to know what we are doing and act accordingly!!
Then again, if all you are worried about is posting a time for kudos on the internet…stick to T&T’s and leave the racing to racers
oke:
At our organized “diesel only” races or any organized drag race for that matter, there is one thing that it seems most of our newer diesel racers fail to show up with. That is an understanding of exactly what real "drag racing" is all about. Also, how important proper racing edict is. Unfortunately I think this all stems from an internet diesel forum driven misconception of the exact purpose of the racing. This failure tends to reflect negatively on tracks and other racers in general.
This is Drag RACING...NOT... Drag RECORD-ING!!!:rules:
While it is great to build or have a fast truck that can set whatever the constant changing “record” of the month is so it can be posted on the internet for the endless “way to go”, “Congrats”, etc. responses, it is far from making the truck and/or the driver a “drag racer”. In fact, being able to post a “record” has little if anything to do with how far you can go or how well you will do in an organized race.
Drag racing for the most part is all about what happens from the water box to the 60’ block. Yet most of the diesel truck racers I observe at events are lacking the experience and practice in this small section of the track. That is because people rarely, if ever, practice this part of racing. They are more concerned with what will happen 1320’ down the track and setting a “record”. This is what I want to discuss … PRACTICE!!!
Sometimes this is easier to explain if I correlate it to Golf…
Over 80% of the strokes in golf occur within 100 yrds. of the green. About 75% of that 80 are putts. Yet nearly every weekend golfer will go to the driving range and pound 100’s of drivers then make 2 or 3 putts on the practice green before playing. At the end of the round, they wonder why they can’t break 100. :doh:
Same thing happens in drag racing…People go to T&T’s and try to run “record” passes every time, and never practice what is really important to being a successful racer.
PRACTICE…PRACTICE…PRACTICE
1st… Know and learn the proper edict and procedures for the track where you are racing. How to pull in the staging lanes. When to pull up to the box. Which way to drive around the water box if needed. What type of tree will be used? Etc. If you don’t know, ask an official. These small things go a long way in what kind of respect the track officials and other racers will show towards you.
2nd… Use a T&T session to do nothing but practicing staging!! In other words, only concentrate on pulling in the box, burn out procedure (if you do one), preparing any settings, switches, etc. for the launch before staging, preboosting into the beams and fully staging at the proper boost levels for your particular setup. Don’t worry about the other lane (besides using proper edict), reaction time, or what you will run in the ¼. Use this practice to get a smooth efficient staging routine down that also produces your best 60’s. Nothing irritates the track and your competitor more than someone taking forever to boost and stage!! Also, save the truck!! No need to run it out past 330’ or 660’! All you are concentrating on is staging… That is it!!
3rd… Once you can produce a consistent staging procedure, next thing is to work on your reaction time. Know what tree you are on! Pro .400 or .500, Sportsman .400 or .500 etc. If there is a particular tree you want to practice on, put it on the window. The track will change the tree for you. R/T is one of the most important things in winning races!! Again, you are only working on R/T so save the truck. No need to run it out. Figure out how deep or shallow to stage for your particular setup and roll out. Work on cutting consistent .0XX R/T’s.
4th… Put it all together!! After a lot of constant and persistent practice, you should be able to produce a consistent type of run. Besides the fact that you will look like an experienced racer rather than a redneck hillbilly trying to race a diesel truck!!
5th… Enter other races besides “diesel only” events. Watch and learn from the gasser racers regardless of what you think of them, most know what they are doing.
I guess what I am getting at is if we want diesel drag racing to grow and be respected… us actually doing the racing need to know what we are doing and act accordingly!!
Then again, if all you are worried about is posting a time for kudos on the internet…stick to T&T’s and leave the racing to racers
oke:
