Helpful Tips for Beginners:
Go find a pit space. Only take up one space, as the event
goes on, it can get very busy. Unload any loose items in your car (I would
suggest you leave what you can at home). Fill out the tech card and sign it.
There may also be a space on the back of the card that you must sign, so look
there also. Tech is on your way from the Happy Valley entrance to the pits. You
will see it on your right. Its a good time to make new friends, and enjoy
looking at all the great cars!
When tech inspection opens (usually 10-15 minutes after the gate opens) go to
the tech area. If you are taking your street car, and it is not a death trap,
you will pass tech. Some obvious things you need: seatbelts, safe tires (no cord
showing), all lug nuts, radiator coolant overflow catch canister (the factory
one is fine), no blatant fluid leaks pouring out, etc! Your battery must be
firmly attached to the body of the car (doesn't move when it is pushed on).
Also, shorts and tank tops are not allowed! You MUST were long pants while
racing! All the officials look for this, so don't try to sneak it by them. This
is about it for a street car. If your car runs faster than 13.99, you will need
a DOT approved helmet. If you run faster than 11.99, then the entire game
changes. However, if your running that well, I'll bet you've been to the track
at least a time or two....The tech inspector will write your cars number on the
window where it is visible by the timing tower. If staging lanes are not open,
then return to your pit.
The track announcer will come over the PA system, and say that the staging lanes
are open. Listen carefully, as some of the larger tracks have many lanes (Speedworld
has 9), they should call lanes specifically for the Palo Verde Hot Rod
group. The staging lanes go slowly, then quickly, so stay with your car! Also,
do NOT run your air conditioner. The condensation on the system will drip down
onto the track. This will lead the track operator to believe that there is
something wrong with your vehicle. BELIEVE ME, they look for this, and if they
see something dripping, then will pull you off the starting line. When they
check the liquid on the ground, and see it is plain water, they will chew your
butt, and send you to the back of the staging lane.
At the end of the staging lanes, there will be a track official. Watch
carefully, and when it is time, he will point at you, and then point where he
wants you to go. His job is to pair up cars to race, then put them into correct
lanes, and also make sure that your seat belt is on, all windows are rolled up.
If it is near sundown, turn on your parking lights. Having at least one working
tail-light is a required rule at all tracks. This is how the officials can see
where you are on the track. This is so they don't send another pair of cars down
the track while you are broke down at the other end. By the way, most tracks
make a effort to keep near stock street cars from running sub-10 second race
cars. The faster cars will be in the Pro Street and Gambler classes.
Since this is for beginners, I will assume you are on street tires.
DO NOT drive through the
waterbox! Your treaded tires will just pick up water in the treads, and when you
do your burnout, it will sling water all over inside the wheel well. You will
then track the water all the way down the track, and water will be dripping down
onto your rear tires, making them very slick! If you do this, you make the track
dangerous for everyone, and you may be asked to leave if you do it again. The
water is for slicks, not treaded tires. Drive around the waterbox, then get your
car centered in the lane. Back up slightly if needed. There will be another
track official to guide you. For street tires, a long burnout is not necessary.
Street compounds are hard, and high performance tires are specifically designed
to not heat up. Clean off your tires and warm them up with a quick, short
burnout.
Do not pull up to the tree (the pole with the lights on it)! Every beginner does
this. The staging beams are actually about 40 feet or so before the tree!
Hopefully, you took my advise and watched the other cars run first, and looked
to get an idea where everyone else was pulling up to. If you cant figure it out,
don't worry, the starter knows it is "street night", and will help you. When he
realizes you cant find the staging beams, watch him. He will walk up next to
your car, and motion to you to either pull up, or back. Again, don't get
embarrassed, or upset. The starter has to do that several times a night. Slowly
pull forward until you see the very top, small yellow light come on. You are now
"Pre-Staged". It is considered a racers courtesy to wait for the other car to
pre-stage, before staging. Then gently roll forward a few more inches, and the
other small yellow light right under the top one will come on. You are now
"Staged". Do not roll forward too far, or the "Pre-Staged" light will go out,
and you may be required to pull back, to re-light that light. That is called
"deep staging", and is usually not recommended unless you are driving your
Mother's Yugo. If you do accidentally pull forward too far, and deep stage, do
NOT pull back until instructed to do so by the starter. He may just start the
tree anyway, and you would be sitting there in reverse! Now, watch the bottom,
large yellow light (Not the green or you will be caught sleepin'!)!
The starter will activate the tree, and the yellow lights will come on, one at a
time .5 seconds apart. When the last yellow light comes on, GO! By the time you
react, then your car reacts, the green light will be on. Trust me. If you red
light, it is no big deal. Afterward, check your reaction time, and adjust. At
Speedworld, a .000 is a perfect light on a standard tree. This is different from
other tracks where a perfect light is a .500.(The pros use a tree where all the
yellows come on at once, then green.).
If you only take one piece of advice from me, please let it be this: Do NOT try
to set a national record on your first time out. If this is your first time at
the track, PLEASE make at least one pass where you are only running at 80%. This
will give you a chance to see what the track feels like, what your car feels
like, where the finish line is exactly, where the turn off is exactly. Your
senses get overwhelmed when trying something like this the first time. A mistake
you would have caught easily any other time can cause you to wreck your car.
I've seen excellent drivers wreck great cars from a simple mistake that would
have never caught them otherwise. It can happen to you too. This is the most fun
you can have with your clothes on, but it is serious stuff too. Treat it that
way. Stay in your lane at all costs.
Make sure you know exactly where the finish line is! Most new racers brake way
too early...the speed trap beams are located 66' BEFORE the finish line beams.
Make sure you are not mistaking the speed trap for the finish line!
READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY!!!
Before you run, know where the turn off roads are located.
Speedworld has 2 turn offs, with one of them located at the very end of the run
out area. The turn offs go to the left side of the track and the car in the LEFT
lane has the Right Of Way. NEVER, EVER turn in front of another car, crossing
their lane!!!! If you are running against a REAL slow car, I will drive all the
way to the last turn off, as my only other option would be to sit in my lane and
wait for them to finally arrive. I don't like sitting in the middle of my lane
on a race track. On another track, several years ago, a street car was running a
low 10 second car. The fast car had problems at the starting line, and the
street car won. However, the quick car was now on the way. The street car turned
in front of the 10 second car which had just cleared the traps at 128mph. A
STUPID mistake that can get you and someone else killed! I also saw a kid in a
Honda actually miss the first turn off, make a U Turn on the track, and come
back to it. I flagged him down on the return road, and let him know that there
was another turn off at the end of the track. The officials were also waiting
for him at the end of the return road....
After you turn off, look for the timing shack, where you can pick up your time
slips. It is located on the left side of the return road, across from the Tech
entrance. When they hand you your time slip, DO NOT READ IT YET! Wait until you
are back to your pit to do that, for right now, you need to get out of the way!
Continue back up the return road (the posted speed limit is 10 mph in the pits).
If you want the seasoned people to look down on you, then go roaring around in
the pit area. That is also a sure fire way to get asked to leave.
CONGRATULATIONS! You just made your first pass down a drag strip! I assure you
that you will be hooked after just one time! There is nothing like it…
Hopefully you will continue and run the bracket race. If you're new at this just ask one of the experience racers in our lanes. They will help you pick your "dial-in" and get it on your window using shoe polish. If you make three runs and they are 14.10, 14.08 and 14.05 seconds, you'd probably pick a 14.0 for your dial in. Now when eliminations begin, you may be paired up against a car dialing in a 13.0 seconds. You would get a 1 second head start. Theoretically you will both cross the finish line at exactly the same time. But one driver will cut a better light, one might spin the tires a little and this will change things. The goal is to get to the finish line before the other guy without going faster than your dial in. If you run faster than your dial in, you "break out" and the other guy gets the win! Sounds kind of confusing, but after a a few time trials you'll get the hang of it. Many years ago, I took a friend to the track and she races for the first time. She went all the way to the finals before losing! It's a blast!