And the fastest thing she has ridden in is probably the 14 second Duster I drove when she was little. Reason for the post, I need a game plan to make sure she is going to succeed at this.
My daughter is 37 years old, and has done some rather intense stuff. Like free falling into a net from eleven storys up. So I think the car won't intimidate her to the point she can't adjust.
My first request to her was to get into a Go-Kart and get some driving experience as far as handling goes. That will give her some practice with reacting to what is happening in the car.
After that, I figure a full training session about the car, cockpit test, starting and running the car in the pits, and lots of practice of the driving routine.
After I feel she is ready, some low to medium power launchs by setting the throttle stop. Then as she goes through the six license runs, increasing just like they want.
My question is, for someone that has NEVER driven a drag car much less an 8 second car, what else should I do?
Might be better to consider a drag racing school? I keep thinking of all the other women that drive pro cars, and they had to start somewhere!

She wont have any problems... might set it up on
a 2 BBL for a bit

Greg, sounds like she easily has the nerve to do it. As far as helping get ready, talk to Sanborn (40 Ford). He put his son (who had never drag raced)in a very quick front motor dragster. His son did have a lot of experience in some very serious dirt track cars so he already was adapt at thinking at "race speed". And, achieving that is probably the biggest thing. Laps, and developing second nature reactions to situations are key.
1st lesson should be where, when and how to hit that kill-switch.

Greg,
Standing on the starting line, watching my Daughter run my Challenger, was the single most nervous event for me in 25 years at the Track!

I started by writing down every single action required by the driver from start-up at the head of the lanes, to the launch at the tree. I was shocked by all the steps we take for granted. After having her rehearse them in the car, I realized it was just too much, so I broke it into two halves. I added an extra step after she cleared the burn-out box, and put the tranny in nuetral, the added step was called "JUST BREATHE", then start to stage...

Her first burnout went flawlessly, and when she clicked nuetral, I opened the door and peered in at her. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she was white-knuckling the wheel.. "What's next"? I questioned, "Just breathe" she shouted, and instantly regained her composure and focus. Then she staged and did everything according to plan.

She might cut better lights than you after only a few lessons. Dont bring her along to slowly, she may lose interest.

O boy now the fun starts !

I think you have a very well thought out plan already.......some seat time in a school wouldn't hurt , but probably isn't a necessity.
Work on establishing a routine regarding each phase of the run.....like anything else , it becomes mechanical. Next thing you know , you're actually good at it........except a golf swing for some reason.

I like the go kart idea......they are nimble and require very quick reactions to make them go fast. There used to be an indoor track up your way ( Blaine ) that had some quick carts......if they are still in business , I'd start there.

not trying to be negative at all or that she couldn't do it without issue but the one thing to remember is that most people with basic interest and skills can drive some pretty fast stuff when it's going straight. it's when things start to go wrong that an inexperienced driver can get in trouble especially in a fast car and as i'm sure you know things can go bad real fast. my brother who had never gone down the track on anything faster than a 10 second bike (one or two runs) was going 8 teens by his third license run (they weren't happy about it either) but a dragster is a different story.

personally if it's an option i would think getting some time in a milder car than yours would be a good idea so she can become accustomed to driving and the overall experience of racing first.

Limit throttle, pull some timing, chip the two step down, short shift. Greg's a smart guy, he can figure out ways to kill ET for awhile as she gets used to the car.

I think she'll pick it up faster than you think.

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I think she'll pick it up faster than you think.

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not suggesting otherwise, she might pick it up in a few passes. i guess the one thing that comes to mind is that often your faster machines are harder to run incrementally. 10-11 second machines are one thing but when you're in the eights on the bars it's a bit different. i know it's an apples to oranges comparison but from my experience trying to ride a fast bike slow just doesn't work well. you need to "hit" it to set the chassis and keep it working properly. i would think to some point his car is similar, it needs to be run fairly hard to make it work right.

not saying there would be any problem just offering some thoughts

All I want to say if have fun. I won't let my daughter drive my Jeep, forget about the Dart

Thanks for all the input, guys. Would like to hear from all that care to comment. One nice thing is I have the two stage throttle controller, so I can do a lot in the power reduction department. The track of choice will be Brainerd International, one of the safest tracks in the country because the shut down is actually a road course straight, with a lot of road left after the last turn off.
As far as catching on to the car, I am more concerned about the teacher and his plan than my daughter. She is sharp, and I don't see an issue there.

Greg...I think you will make a good teacher. I have a simular situation. My grandson is 16 and wants to drive my slow junker. He is into the 4-wheelers,dirt bikes and sleds and drives huge John Deere tractors for his other grandad. Smart kid and I am quite proud of him. We think we will let him try a street car in the high school class to learn the basics. He has been going to the track with us since he was around 5. Good luck!!

Start with some burn-outs and 60' runs then a few 330' runs and work forward from that. After she masters the 330' mark if you have a good handling car and I'm sure you do it's mostly just a ride...unless something goes wrong.And I think you will have her up to speed on that part before she even gets to do a burn-out.

I had a friend who used to help on the Race-Car before they moved to North GA and his wife got the idea after seeing another woman race at the track one Saturday night she wanted to drive,and she is one of them type that won't take no for a answer.The fastest car she had ever rode in was a stock mustang,not even a Mopar.
To make a long story short after about 3 weeks I had her climb in the car and set in the floor-board and forgot to tell her to hold on to the roll bar After that she never mention driving the race-car again.

If nothing else it would not be a bad idea for her to 1st do a ride along with you to see what its like,but anybody that will jump off a building into a safety net with out the building being on fire is not going to be scared of driving a race car.

Not specific to drag racing but I think the best overall training you can get is to drive on ice, you don t even have to drive fast so it s pretty safe too
after a while you know what to do without thinking and that can save your life someday

this won't work for you southern people

sounds like you are on the right track for getting her into the car.

I started racing a stock 225 slant 6 68 barracuda. moved up to a 318, then 360, then 383 the 440 now i have a 543. I started slow, i blew up every engine on this list in one way or another. But and it is a big BUT I never wrecked at the track- and im a IDIOT!

can u put a passenger seat in the car? obviously you would have to slow it WAYYYYY down, but then she can watch what you do in the car down the strip, then you could watch and coach her.

as long as it goes straight a monkey could do it, im living proof! but if it were to get hairy... thats where ur coaching will come in.

Greg; sounds like a good plan to me. Did you drag that other Dart home? I can see a 2 car operation in your future. Maybe the next car could be that B-1 or a Hemi headed monster. Dave