Drag racing is a competition between two vehicles. One vehicle is equipped with a powerful engine capable of propelling it forward. The other vehicle, normally an automobile, is driven by a qualified driver, whose sole purpose is to Outrun the Engine of the opposing vehicle. These are only a few of the definitions you may encounter when talking about drag racing, but the one thing common in all of them is the speed of the race cars.
In general, quarter mile races require no explanation. The other 4 miler frames require a reason – they either need to beat their opponents, or the driver who outraces his opponents needs to be declared the winner. The 402 meter (or 400 meter, sometimes incorrectly called “398”) meter dash is the fastest frame in professional drag racing and street stock car testing alike. Although the term “mile” is commonly associated with sports, drag racing shares some elements with motorsport – particularly high speed and high-battery odometer testing.
Quarter mile races happen in just 1 minute. However, the starting time of each race is given in milliseconds instead of fractions of seconds. When you watch a dragstrip entertainment program, you can see all of the cars zipping by at amazing speeds. The quarter mile race is considered to be the hardest to drive, but the drivers and their engineers have found ways to get around that shortcoming.
There is one important factor that you must keep in mind when participating in any type of drag racing or street car event, and that is your starting line. The starting line for each race starts at exactly one hundred and forty five meters apart from each other. In most cases, this means that the cars on opposite ends of the track will be racing side by side. However, if both cars are running on the same side of the track, their starting distances will be different.
Another thing you need to know is that the starting line doesn’t move when the cars hit each other. So, if you see two cars on the track in the front and on the back, they are not even trying to move forward towards the finish line at the same time! That is why, in most cases, the quarter mile time is what is considered the official start. However, there have been cases where starting with the back wheels has been illegal and the event was called a failure of inspection.
A lot of people don’t realize that there are more than 200 measures and parameters that are used to evaluate a driver’s Drag Racing performance. Dragstripping is a competition, and the more methods and data you collect the better. So, the next time you watch somebody in Drag Racing ask yourself how good their m.p.h. If they don’t have it, go out and find one and get it working for you.
