IHI

iTrader: (1)

I'm trying to get a feel of reasons that if you dont attend regular bracket racing events-why not?

What would it take to get folks in the stands to watch?

What would it take to get more guys out there on the track on race day?

Opinons on costs weather it be entries fee or what they should be to make it appeal to you/buddies to either participate or watch.

If you dont understand how bracket racing works-truely understand-would it help it track ever offered a "learn to brk race session" on certain days at a very small fee to help cover cost of running the track, or thinking a "class" given on a normal T&T since you already entered but get a learning course as a perk.

Just give me honest feedback/opinions for why/why you dont race or what you think it'd take to intrest more people.

thanks for looking and look forward to responses
Josh

AlkyIROC

As a bracket racer, even I admit watching 12 second and slower cars going down the track is boring. However getting behind the wheel of even a 15 second car is completely different.

I blame spectator attendence on TV. All the public is exposed to is the pro catagories. They get to watch top fuel, funny car and prostock but never get to see the sportsman classes. When all they're exposed to is heads up, very fast cars, they have no interest in slow bracket cars.

On our Friday night street legal night, we've had over 200 cars show up but if we're lucky, maybe 5 of them will show up for bracket racing. Many of these cars are just kids wanting to see how fast their cars are or a grudge match race. They have no interest in bracket competiion which to me seems baffling. They know their 16 - 20 second car isn't fast and won't win a heads up race but don't realize that in a bracket race, speed means nothing. Everyone has an equal chance of winning.

When I first bought my truck, I went to the street legal nights at the end of the year. Bracket racing was already over for the season. After going down the track and having fun, I couldn't wait until spring to get into the bracket classes. When I won the first race of the season taking out the previous year's season champ (didn't know I did that until after the race) I was hooked. That was about 9 years ago.

unklechuckles19

I've never accutally been to one, but once the season starts up here at Island, I'm going to try and make it down there. I'd like to see what its all about, and a kid I know from school races down there every saturday in his 75 Z28. If I enjoy it, and think could afford it, I might go down after I get some track time in and see would I could do.

Chuck

SSC

I did for a few years. Breaking $$$$ parts and wating in ever increasing long lines made me give it up. Here at least, there never seems to be a shortage of people in the stands come race day.

Air_Adam

There was no '75 Z28

unklechuckles19

Oh, that was the way he explained it to me, I'm not a second gen genious lol. I'm not sure which body style it is then, but I do know it has a pretty stout 350 in it. Sorry for the mix up

84firebird383

I was thinking the same thing.No '75 or '76 z28's.Its proboably a '74 or '77,or may a '75 camaro that was made into a z28 clone.

unklechuckles19

Not sure exactly, but when I see him I'll find out, and be able to set my self straight. Lol thanks for the correction guys.

92MaroRS

My main reason for not going are lack of money/time. if i had a way to beable to go every weekend and not be broke, id go. but when i can only go once or twice a year, i dont see the point in trying to compete for points.

that and i have no chance of competeing in even the lowest class.

its no fun when you pay to enter and get beat in the first round.

That and i havn't exactly been pleased with CFR. ill have to make a trip to Earlville this summer though.

KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

Thank you for posting something like this, I have been pondering the same thing myself....I am a bracket racer, I have been to some super small 1/8 mile tracks that had at least a couple hundred people in the stands, and then i go to CDR and there are only like 50 people who are there to just watch, ( that are not involved with at least one of the cars. I think that I am going to run points at CDR this year though. See Ya in April!!!!!

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Cory, they've changed classes around this year and made a class exactly for drivers and cars like yours, my car could enter with different rear tires, but I'd also have to slow the car waaay down and for the guys that race there, doing all that is not worth it and now you'll truely have a rookie class to learn the ropes. lower entry at only $20 (same price as test and tune now but only this way you'll get 100% traction since track is prepped often as opposed to non points events) so if you brought your own food/pop it'd be a pretty cheap weekend and once you get a few races under your belt and fully grasp the concept of how to play the game, win lights will appear more often....gotta crawl before you can walk and at least with this new class your not going broke trying...I bet you and most guys spent $20 a week on worse things

92MaroRS

Didn't know about this class, you might just see me there more often! anymore info on this class?

1320_Guy

iTrader: (3)

When me and my friends go, we usuraly go on test and tune night simply because the lines are shorter and we can get more runs. I personly like test and tune because i am a fan of heads up racing. That is also why i like street racing, but i am not stupid about it eather. I wont race in trafic or populated areas because you never know when some kid will walk into the road (I was hit by a car when i was in 3rd grade because i was stupid) or a car will pull out infront of you.

I will probly bracket race some more when my car is done because i want to make some money, hell got to get some of it back some how lol.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Posted on a local racing forum: check the True Street class rules/entry/payout as I think this would be your best bet. Kinda dumb to race trophey, costs $5 more than true street and you win zero cash LOL!!

Top & Mod Combo
Winner - $2000
Runner - Up $1000
Semis - $400
Fifth round winner - $200
Fourth round winner - $125
Third round winner - $75
Second round winner - $50

Footbrake 11.50-14.99 - Tachometers - Playback and shift light permitted. Printing tachometers prohibited. Dual line-loc - Wiring must consist of a continuous wire from the power source to the switch and a single continuous wire from the switch to the line-loc(s) solenoid(s). Shifter - Mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical shifters permitted AS LONG AS THE SHIFT FUNCTION IS DRIVER ACTIVATED. Rev limiter – No Two-step permitted (Foot Brake Only). High side rev limiter permitted.
$40 Entry/Buyback $25
$150 Win
Forth round winner - $75
Third round winner - $40
Second round winner - $25
(If over 25 entries pay out will be $500 to the winner)

True Street 12.00 and slower 1/4 mile, 7.50and slower 1/8 mile (No Buttons) All entries must be closed bodied cars, with functional street equipment. Delay boxes, two-steps and open exhaust prohibited. DOT stamped and highway use approved STREET TIRES only (All 4). All tires must have minimum 1/8” depth of tread pattern, “cheater slicks” conforming to the tread depth rule are allowed in 2006. Rim and tire size changes are acceptable, but tires may not protrude more than 1 inch outside of fender wells. Entries must have working head, and taillights. (MUFFLERS), suitable for highway use, are required (No Inserts). All vehicles must be self-starting. Battery relocation is acceptable, but must have cut-off switch. Data recorders of any type are prohibited. Aftermarket ignition systems allowed, must carry CARB or DOT approval for street use. Playback tach and gauges OK. Any device that is used to control the rate of acceleration, place the vehicle in motion, or provide real-time data or track location to the driver, is strictly prohibited. All throttle controls must remain in stock configuration. Power adders are allowed, but must conform to IHRA safety rules. Snell m00 approved helmet required for convertible or T-top entries. When you stage your car you have accepted the scoreboard dial.
$30 Entry/Buyback $15
$100 Win
Forth round winner - $50
Third round winner - $35
Second round winner - $25

Klemme Performance Motorsports Bikes/Sleds 6.50 & slower –No delay boxes allowed.
$40 entry/Buyback $25
$200 Win
$100 Runner Up
Must win two rounds to collect Runner Up money. $20.00 per round win starting with second round winner.
Phil Mc Gee PM-1 Junior Dragster - 7.90 and slower - Beginner (8-9), Advanced (10-11), and Master (12-17) will be separated until down to one in their class. Winner will move into the next age group class up until winner and runner up.
If over 8 entries will pay a $100.00 US savings bond to the winner.
$25 Entry/Buybacks $10

Trophy: 6.50 & slower -This is intended to be a fun class. Let’s try and keep it that way. Slicks OK, No delay boxes, throttle stops, etc. When you stage your car you have accepted the scoreboard dial.
$25 Entry/Buybacks $10

High School - 12.00 &slower - Street legal D.O.T. tires required. Trans brake and two steps not allowed. When you stage your car you have accepted the scoreboard dial.

1320_Guy

iTrader: (3)

I would fit best in the footbrake class. There would probly be more than 25 entrys here so 500 would be nice as long as i brake nothing.

unklechuckles19

Those classes that you listed IHI, are they nation wide or are those just at your track? Is every track different? I'm know about the rules and such, just not about the classes.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

All classes, entries, payouts, rules are upto the individual tracks hosting events and all are based on needs/car counts, etc...

Around here the drag stripes are pretty dead, nothing like what you read/hear about at the nationally known dragstripes so smaller tracks are constantly changing up rules/entry and payouts to keep enticing racers to come out and run. Last year was our first year of the combined modified/super class that had 1 entry fee for both classes of $150 and even if you won your class no box or box class, that was really only a semi final showing since the 2 classes combined in the finals for 1st and 2nd place. This was a catch 22 though, it did finally attract more top or box class cars, but it dramtically dropped the no box car count since many of our racers come 3-4hr to race and with fuel prices waay up and then the entry fee that was literally doubled of what it's been, alot of guys on typical budgets had to tone down their schedules so they did'nt go broke playing in this game.

So our track this year caem up with the footbrake class, trying to give this cars set-up for modified a place to go that was cheaper to enter even though for many it still means MAJOR mods to their cars to slow them down and a completely different chasis/convertor/gear set-up to go from transbraking to footbraking...so we'll see. Typically the street class the past 4 yrs has only been 10-12 cars consistantly, and with the new street class rules many of those cars are too fast or dont meet exact rules so now they're lost with no place to go, 4 of the consistant street class guys are getting out of racing due to this fact. Track hopes the new footbrake class will be a hit. Down south footbraking is huge and transbraking is unheard of, so we'll see how long and if that catches on up here...end of this year will probably mean even more rule/class mix ups's for '07 Right now I'm hoping the guys trying this foot brake class get 25+ cars, but with the way things are going it may only happen a few times.

Owners of the track wanted to turn our track into a lil buckets track focusing on appealing to no box and box cars, but when you start pitting $50K+ rails against $20-30K door cars, typically the rails will always win-sad but true. 12 races this year had 12 different winnners and out of the 12 run offs in the finals only 1 no box car won...and that's because the box guy red lit, so general consensus here is your always running for 2nd place pay out

1bad406

iTrader: (1)

Bracket racing is just boring to watch (and race for me). People in the stands don't like to see cars get a handicap start. We hardly get anyone to come out and watch bracket racing at our local track. And we have a ton of 4-link dragster running in the middle to upper 4's. But when outlaw weekend roles around with Outlaw 10.5/Limited Street/EZ street/6.0/7.0 all heads up classes, the people pour in.

Rogue86

A relative of mine once said they realized how much they hated bracket racing when they saw an old beretta win against somebody's built drag car. They didn't see it as racing.

Josh - With the et finals going to michigan this year, i'm not going to care about points at eddyville very much. So I'll probably hit up that new footbrake class up there!

Are they still running a braket race on the midnight street races? If so, I'm going to come up there and try to win a quick $300.

AlkyIROC

See. That's the problem with spectators. They don't "like" or understand a handicap start. I've seen a 20 second Ford Festiva beat a 12 second Fairlane (local married couple). The fans thought it was great that the Festiva is around mid track before the Fairlane launches and the Festiva got the win light.

Spectators also don't understand class racing (NHRA Super Comp, Super gas, Super Street) (IHRA Quick Rod, Super Rod, Hot Rod). I've listened to spectators in the stands when the throttle stops kick in and they think the driver missed a shift or something. It's just another form of bracket racing but the goal is to change how the car runs to run the same ET every time instead of changing the dial in on the windows. Go to a national event and watch 100 Super Comp dragsters all running as close to 8.99 without going quicker and tell me that isn't boring to watch.

Another difficult class to understand for spectators is Comp Eliminator racing. I'd love to get into that but without major sponsorship, it's way out of my budget range.

Like IHI says, many tracks are trying different things to attract racers, fans or just finding some way to increase income. Our track has been so disorganized with little to no track upkeep that many racers have stayed away. It's so bad now that as of last fall, we were told that there will be no competition racing put on by the track in 2006. That's drag strip, road course and oval track. You can rent the track but who would want to rent a track that doesn't get any upkeep?

As it looks for 2006, I'll have to travel to get any track time. I have 2 other regional tracks available. One is a grass roots NHRA track, the other is a national event quality IHRA track. Since I don't have the qualifications to run into the 9's under NHRA rules, I'll probably be making a few trips to the IHRA track. Both tracks are about a 3 hour drive. Both are at lower altitudes so I know I'd easily be in the 9 second range this year.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Christian, they're having 3 of the night races again this year, you can check out the schedule on their home page http://cedarfallsraceway.com/index.html

You'll have to let me know when your coming upto race so I can get out there and see you guys

unklechuckles19

I searched around on google for a bit last night and found my local track's (Island Dragway in Great Meadows NJ) website. I checked there and found a complete list of the devisions and such. It sounds really interesting, I'd love to get into the whole sport. But I too am short on cash flow for now, so maybe next year. I'm definatly going down and just watching, I think the idea of a 15 second car beating a 10 second is pretty awsome.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

chuckles: that is the whole idea behind handicapped starts and bracket racing...so the average joe with barely a pot to pizz in can run and BEAT $50K car sponsored sammie.

Be warned now however: you will most likely get addicted and this will consume you until you achieve your goals or go broke trying to go faster and faster and run more events For the most part alot of good guys and gals out there that will go out of their way to help a person out and try to keep you in competition...until you stage against them then it's their mission to shut you down

AlkyIROC

Unless all the racers are lumped into a single class like a King of the Hill race, you normally won't have a very fast car against a slower one. The different bracket classes are normally grouped into ET breaks.

0 - 11.99 is normally the quickest. It allows the use of electronics such as delay boxes and throttle stops.

12.00 - 13.99 is normally the next break. Pretty much street cars that have been converted into race cars. Just about anything goes however the use of electronics such as in the above class are prohibited. At most events this is the biggest class.

14.00 and slower is also called a street class. The type of vehicles in this class drive to the track, race, then drive home with little more than checking fluids and topping up the fuel tank at the end of the day.

The ET breaks are not carved into stone. Some tracks will move the numbers around to fill different classes. Things like if you don't have electronics and are in the 10 second range, you still might be in the middle class. A few years ago we had a crossover break. Fast cars were able to run as slow as 11.99 but the slower cars were able to run as quick as 11.50. This gave a 11.50 - 11.99 range where you could run the quick end of one class or the slow end of another. It was up to you to decide what class you wanted to run in. It also let some of the quicker cars go into the slower class. Normally we averaged about 30-40 cars in each class.

When they finally allowed the cars with no electronics to run as quick as 10.00, the car counts changed drastically. The fast class dropped to about 10 cars and the slower class increased even more. Pros and cons for each. It made it harder to win the slower class because of how many rounds you had to go through but the entry fee was cheaper. The quick class had a higher entry fee so if you did win, the payout was greater.

Normally the slowest class, street or Sportsman, is the cheapest to enter but winning the event also means a very small prize purse and/or just a trophy for your efforts.

At least running in bracket racing, you do get a chance to win something plus you get to race on a prepped track. People are always complaining about poor traction when at street legal racing nights. Even a set of slicks will help but without any track prep, even slicks will spin. Go to a bracket race and you'll normally notice a big difference in track prep even for street tires. Also during street legal races, you pay your money to race heads up but don't win anything except bragging rights. Many of us like to race just because we like to race but having some sort of incentive such as prize money helps to fund our hobby. You're not going to see many $50k+ cars racing for just a trophy. I'm happy if I can just win enough to cover my day's expenses.

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

my honest opinion: bracket racing is a blast to do, cause it takes skill and lots of educated thinking to set the car up and dialed in correctly, however, it's boring as crap to watch.

most people just don't understand how it works, and that's the biggest thing....people want to see two cars equally matched totin' the tires past the 60' marks and running neck and neck to some ridiculous low 8 second blast....well, atleast, that's what the nsca fans love! heads up is where it's at, and my next motor will be built around that!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

From what I've seen, the "spectators" at bracket races are people waiting to run or those who came out with a racer. Very, very few people come just to watch the races. We have events with 400 cars out, and maybe 50 people in the stands at any given time.

Bring out a jet car, though, and watch the masses amass . . .

If you have bracket raced, then you can understand the 20-sec car vs. the 10-sec car match-up and know what to look for. The cry of "Brakes! Brakes!" often is shouted just before someone breaks out. The typical spectator wouldn't have a clue what the yelling is about.

Personally, I only find the spectating interesting if a friend is one of the cars lined up.

The biggest crowd I raced in front of was Pomona, and we were just a side-show. The crowd came out to see the big boys. But, they keep saying the crowd "loves us".

KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

IHI, where is cedarfalls at? I am planning on points running at CDP this year, but would like to hit some other tracks on the off weekends. I would really like to get back to eddyville, but haven't run there in almost 3 yrs. Does anyone here get out to the track at Byron very much, and if so what kind of brackets do they run?

IHI

iTrader: (1)

CFR is about 2.5 hours north/north west of Cordova of highway 218 north. Pretty easy to get there from cordova since it's all interstate. 80 to 380, then 380 to 20, and finally 20 to 218.

Big facility, nice folks over there and very laid back.

I dont know what to expect from eddyville this year with new management again for '06, but otherwise I loved the track. nicest track in the state-if it were 1/4mi it'd be the only track in the state.

Earville-Tri-State is NHRA and would be closer than CFR coming up from your area. Another very nice track since it's still a newer facility, smooth track, nice downhill staging area, friendly folks and decent competition.

Never made it to any of Byrons events, but alot of buddies have. VERY FAST since they used to have to be shut down by 6pm and they averaged 4-500 cars for the events buddies drove over for (typically big bucks $2500/$5K Saturday/Sunday and they always finished the race before 6pm.

I love cordova since roll out is the same at CFR so no car changes need to be made to cut a light and the staging area is second to none for all the events I've run there for repeating 60's. Just dont like the dust bowl pit area but heard scott is slowly going to start paving out there to make it better.

mod313

Tough to get a crowd even at Div'ls and Opens. And looking at Eppings IHRA Nat'l event, they don't draw nearly as well on Sunday as they do for the "Night of Fire" on Sat. It's also a big factor of advertising too. Clear Channel, which owns IHRA even thru it's new spinoff company, barely advertised the Nat'l last year. Hard to ever get spectators in the seats if they hadn't heard there was any event.
Another thing that will help once you get them there is a gifted announcer. Nothing creates boredom like dead air on the p/a or an uninformative announcer. A weekly news paper put out by the track that focuses and informs the spectators will help too. With the right pr, you can get a crowd to start showing up. The tougher part is getting them to return.

BlueBeast

I would love to do bracket racing, but my biggest thing is if it breaks its going be broke for a while. My motor is built strong but that doesnt mean that it still cant happen. Not to mention my track is run like romper room. The biggest thing is the breaking part i guess.

LB9GTA

iTrader: (1)

I live in rural Manitoba, Canada.

I attend 3 races a year(airport drags)

These tracks "tried" the bracket racing and everyone prefers the heads-up style.

Even myself, (I have been racing for 3 years now), I prefer heads-up.
WHY? B/c I like to make my car go faster, not try to make my car run EXACTLY every time.

I found that I had to turn my n2o off, b/c I couldn't get it to be consistent when running brackets. I didn't find it fun to be slower!!

What we did was have classes for 1/8th mile racing
6 sec, 7 sec, 8 sec and so on.

Then within each class, people are matched up to close running vehicles.

Each race brought anywhere from 80-100 cars and 1000-2500 people PER RACE, and costs $50 per race day and I usually get in about 8 passes.

It is only starting to gain popularity and even in my small town of 2000 people and surrounding communities, we are trying to start an auto club b/c of the popularity now.

BTW, there is no money or trophies here, people race for the fun of it, isn't that why street racing is so popular?


George

05TrackChamp

I remember the adrenaline my first pass down the track as ugly as it was, it was fun
each run after that Id try to better the last
Id test and tune and pick up some tips like how to better my reactions
Id watch brackets but still didnt get it
I entered my first race and won my 1st race round but didnt realize it untill some body told me
I said that was ez , next round i got whopped and started asking questions why and how
The next week I got lucky and won two rounds
Thats when I got the math of it all and started trying to improve
Slowly I was learning to prepare to race
Then came the 1st time I got to the money, after that came my first event win
Bracket Racing equals the feild for everyone to participate
And at each level I attained I still remeber the adrenaline rush
And still get it each time I win a round
Bracket racing is boring and or confusing to watch, but once you can get to a level for a good chance to win, you will start to crave the competition and adrenanline rush of being the best

ckjoshz28

iTrader: (1)

I would love to bracket race and will probally look more into it when I graduate college. For the meantime once a month runs at the track will have to do since I have to drive 1.5+ hours away to new jersey....riverhead and southhampton are closed.

Although doubtful they are trying to build once in yapank but it isn't getting the local's support.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

and the amount money really starts getting spent quickly once you reach that point LOL!!!

muggsyjack

Mod313: Is Jan landers still the announcer at New England Dragway? I raced there in the early 70's. My cousins were raised in Whitman.

Down here in florida, we do not get many young people in brackets unless it is second or third generation racers. My son is one of the youngest at 26. There is one family with three generations running. My son says the guys in his age group just cannot afford it. There are a fair amount of spectators on Saturdays (brackets and 10.5 etc.). Most are ex-racers and such.

They did try high school drags on wed nights but it did not get support. The under 21 types like to race along highway 27 on the eastern edge of the glades. We interupt them on our way home from Friday TNT.

05TrackChamp

Yea good equip cost and helps get to that level, but not required

Case in point
I own a glass co in AL we were down in FL doing hurricane work after wilma
One weekend I decided to goto Imokolee Dragstrip in my glass truck and entered ''ole blue'' in the race for fun
Before 1st round i found out that they allowed double entries and said what the heck im gonna have some fun
So when they put us on a ladder at 8 cars I had lane choice on both tech cards in my glass truck
I went .48 red on one and won the other
At 4 w/lane choice I had to run the track champ and lost by .00sumthing
By the way ole blue a 89 chevy ex/cab P/U was the first vehecle I ran down a track in competition

mod313

Muggsy;
Brian Lohnes is the regular track announcer with Joe Lombardo (track manager) filling in when Brian is not there.

05TrackChamp

And let me say
I got $25 for quarter finals
I got $75 for semi
I spent 95 on entries and both buybacks,and 75 in feul
The looks on their face when the ladder came out Priceless

AlkyIROC

The trouble with heads up racing is that there's always a catch 22.

Without car restrictions to limit what you can do to the car, someone will always spend more money than you and you'll never win unless you also spend lots of money. This doesn't make it an entry level, go out and have fun, class. To qualify, you're spending more and more money because you "have" to go faster.

With restrictions, everyone does the most they can within the restrictions and all the cars get maxed out to roughly the same ET. Look at ProStock cars. Top 16 qualifiers and there's usually less than a 1/4 second between first and 16th. Sometimes between 1 and 16 there's less than a tenth of a second. All the race becomes after that is who gets the best reaction time.

At least with bracket racing, everyone from the daily driver cars to 8 second dragsters all have a fair chance of winning. You don't need a huge budget to race or you can put every dime you make into your race program just to go faster.

There have been classes created in the past to become a high end entry level class. It's gotten so competetive that the classes are no longer considered entry level any more because of how much to need to spend just to qualify.

Our street class is usually populated with pickup trucks. There's even a few street legal pickups in the No Box class that run 12's. One of the 12 second trucks still has an aluminum truck cap on the box with all the tourist decals stuck to it. You wouldn't know it ran 12's by looking at it.

LB9GTA

iTrader: (1)

Isn't the whole point to racing your car is to see how fast it will go? Not limit the car because you wrote a dial in time on the car. and don't want to break out. It's pretty sad that you have to use your brakes inside of the 1/4 mile just to win!

My opinion is I am racing the clock, and the person racing beside me is just along for the ride.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

No offense, but we have a few "old boys" that live by that credo growing up in the heads up thing-they stick a number on the window and NEVER hit the brakes....I wish they made it past buy back round so they'd be an easy $50 for me, but that mentality will not ever win a bracket race. Fine for heads up, but I venture to say 98% of us dont have the clout or budget to even be the slight bit competative in any of the open classes....hence bracket racing-you are racing the clock, period.

cp87GTA

I was racing when they first started bracket racing. Didn't like it at all back then. So I quit in 1971. Started again in 2001, wanted to do it again before I died. Have always been a car nut. Currantly have 2 2nd gen T/As , an 87 GTA, and building a full tube chassie 92 Grand Am. I LOVE bracket racing. The guy that has won the pro class for the last three years in a row has a buick powered 78 camaro that runs mid 7.40s. He made it all the way to Ponoma in 2004. I do it because I love it! Don't care if I win or not. My son-in-law quit this year because we didn't win much last year. Man I had a lot of work in that car. Oh well the drive train will be fitted into my Grand Am in a few weeks. Can't wait till the season starts. Maybe driving the GTA, but I'll be there!!

unklechuckles19

I think the idea of having restrictions on the cars in different classes, and having to run the same time, or very close to it everytime is more challenging then just flat out heads up racing. Sure everyone can go out and spend $20,000 to make their car run 10 seconds or faster, but not everyone can make their car run 12.34 seconds consistantly, run after run after run. To me thats more challenging, and more fun to see if I can "beat the clock" time after time. I guess the challenge of racing the clock is just more interesting and fun to me then going out and racing someone else. I can do that on the street with Honda Civic's all day long And yes of course the fact that there are more classes, and less of a budget needed, make it even more appealing.

AlkyIROC

The theory of a bracket race is, no matter how fast your car is, both cars should cross the finish line at the same time. Since we can't all have a car that runs the exact same ET every time, we must calculate how fast the car should run. We also don't get perfect reaction times every time. With those 2 variables, the chances of a close race comes down to the driver's ability to get a good light and have a car that runs consistant. At least 99% of us can't do that. I've also won/lost races by inches.

If you're hitting the brakes at the end to keep from breaking out then you don't understand how your car runs and guessed at too quick of a dial in. This means you gave yourself a head start against your opponent. To many heads up racers who never have to calculate a dial in have no idea how hard it can be to get the car to run a number. The only time I hit my brakes is if my opponent isn't beside me. Only then will I hit the breaks just to be safe since there's no way he's going to pass me for the win. If I'm fender to fender with my opponent at the finish line, like all bracket races should be, I'm driving through the finish line without slowing down. If I break out, then I mis-dialed but I won't slow down to give the race away.

Like I tell people that I've heard spectators say bracket racing is easy. When you watch it, it does look easy. When you're behind the wheel, need to calculate a dial in, need to cut a good light, etc etc, it's not as easy as it looks.

Not always and not everyone can afford to go as fast as they'd like to. That's where bracket racing comes in. Speed means nothing. You need to run as close to your dial in without going faster (unfair head start) and you need to get a good reaction time. Since that's all that's needed to race, any vehicle can race with a fair chance of winning. If I knew my car was always going to be the slowest one in the field, why would I want to show up for a competition race when I know I could never win?

There's always going to be many types of classes to race in. Bracket racing will always be the grass roots racing class since anyone can do it. Age, gender or vehicle mean nothing. It allows anyone with any type of vehicle or budget to race. To others who want to invest more money, there's other classes for them to try.

Like I've said before, I'd love to get into Comp Eliminator racing. Technically it's still a bracket race but there's no breakout rules. Your vehicle is given an index ET based on the class you run in. You can run as quick as .500 under your index without penalty. If you run quicker, you're given a penalty roughly equal to how far under the .500 you went. There's racers that have run .600 or .700 under their index to get the win knowing they're going to be hit with an index penalty the next round but one more round means more chances at winning.

Even some of the largest classes at any divisional/national event are Stock/SuperStock racers. Unless 2 cars paired up are in the same class, they're just more bracket racers. If both cars are in the same class then it's a heads up race with no breakout but then if both cars are in the same class, they're going to be evenly matched.

Drag racing isn't the only motor sport like this. You can get into entry level stock car racing. Some old 4 door sedan with nothing done to it except safety requirements against a field of similar vehicles. It gets you track time. Once you want to start investing more money, you move up to more competetive classes. Top of the field would be a NASCAR.

Autocross is the same thing. Different classes to suit different car modifications.

Drag racing is the only motorsport that has such a wide variety and styles of vehicles. There's something for anyone. If all drag racing was dragsters only and they all went the same speed, less people would watch it than they do now. It's like watching a NASCAR race. Under the sheetmetal skin of a body style, all the cars are the same. Not like the old days when a stock car was a real production car converted to racing. Some cars were better designed than others. Now they're all built the same.

Closest thing to that is the old IROC series. All the cars on the track are identical except for paint. It now becomes a driver's race. I wouldn't want to see drag racing turn into that.

sixpackmtrspts

we run in the psca series in so cal http://www.pscaracing.com

we are working on running the new 9.60 index class this year with one car and i plan on running in brackets with mine unless i get it to run some good numbers to at least go a round or two in the heads up classes. brackets are alot of fun to compete in, specially if your good at the mind games and have a fast car.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Would that be Jimmie Barrett? It was listed as a '79. Didn't realize it was Buick powered (didn't see the hood up).

urbanhunter44

iTrader: (3)

ive bracket raced everytime i've gone to the track on street legal nights. It's alot of fun but difficult to get into - it has quite a learning curve.

so far my best was making it to the 4th round.

muggsyjack

Was Joe Lombardo the guy with the Corvette years ago?

Hey glass truck guy, great run. I lost in 3rd round that night. Was great fun.

muggsyjack

Heads up racing is great, if you can afford it. I raced in dragbike classes back when brackets were saturday night fun racing. The class racing was handicapped off class records, if you broke record, you changed handicap.

Was really not much different than brackets. The biggest difference is the ability to set your own dial. Even class racing limits your chances unless you are latest tech/cutting edge.

My son races now in brackets, we may build a heads up car for next year but it will depend on money. Currently we race 1/8th mile at Immokalee, Fl. His car dials high 6's and mine will dial anywhere from low 8's to low 7's depending on which motor I have in.

He hesitated at first and wanted to go 1/4 mile racing cause it was faster. He thought bracket racing was lame. The 1/8th mile place would be nowheresville, etc.

In 2003 we spent minimal money on my fathers 92 RS camaro to get it ready, 134,000 mile 305 w/cam headers and carb. cheap jegs converter, cheap summit th-350 trans, nascar slicks, 10" steel wheels off his high school ride.

After the first 1/8th mile pass he was hooked. Now he has a car of his own and had been as high as 5th in points last year and currently is tied for second or third after first race of 2006 points.

All the BS about real competition and speed is nonsense. Racing is racing, who gets there first is what counts. Some people have a hard time understanding brackets, the math part is easy. The amount of skill to win is formidable. It does not matter how fast you are, it does matter how good you drive and understand what your car will do.

The glass truck is a perfect example of run what you brung. Hats off to the glass guy, come back to Immokalee anytime. Good job.

05TrackChamp

Thanks Muggs I really had fun at Immokolee and thats whats its all about for me, Good luck to you and your son this season now that hes got the craveing for competition
Some might say I got lucky, And I belive in luck, but the luckiest person is the one prepared to receive it
Ill rip off a saying from K. Roberts ''meet you at the finish dont be late''
For the TnT guys thats good info on what to work on to be competitive in brackets
The shoe polish(your dial in) can make anyone competitive
If you heads up race on a Index like 6.0 or 7.0 thats just a bracket race w/no shoe polish
B/R has two ends a start and a finish
With a better reaction than your opponent from the start it gives you more options at the end
At the finish line you have 3 options and it takes practice to make that split decission when approching the line
#1 is its gonna be so close I cant tell who will be 1st stay with it and hope your shoe polish is right
#2 is Im way ahead and he will never get close at the finish so slow or brake check to make the margin as close as possible w/you taking the stripe 1st
#3 is you will not catch your opponent before the stripe or he caught you way before the stripe and usally will start ripping the throttle to slow before the stripe(#2) and or means he had a better reaction then your only hope is to brake check and hope his shoe polish is wrong
In otherwords run to be 1st to the stripe but dont take the stripe by a mile, and if your behind at the stripe really feed it to him
I always visualize the reaction and margin of victory before i get my slip and then compare that to the #'s
Hope this helps the TnTuner thinking about entering a Bracket Race
With the purses climbing to over $20,000 dollars for a streetcar to be able to win I'm trying to Improve every race