Could someone school me on box racing .. I mean I know nothing and I mean nothing about it ... please explain it to me like a 3 year old .. thanks guys.

I'll take a shot...it's really pretty simple, the term "box" is referring to the delay box (basically a timer) built by numerous manufactures that allows you through practice and learning your body's reaction time combined with your cars reaction time to release the transbrake button on the top bulb instead of footbraking off of the bottom bulb. The advantage is that it allows you to train yourself to leave off of the first flash of yellow on the top bulb rather that "guessing" when yellows go off or come on based on your and your cars reaction to the bottom bulbs, lots of guys are really good footbrake racers but to me it's much easier to train your eyes and body to leave off of the first flash of yellow at the top of the tree. There are now crossover delay boxes that will do the math for you based on you and your opponents et, back when I started using delay boxes we had to carry a calculator to work the difference so I could leave off of the opponents top yellow...hence being able to leave on the first flash of yellow, since most trees are shielded nowadays it doesn't matter, you just leave off your side of the tree and the delay box does the math...NORMALLY...a box racer has a sizeable advantage over a footbrake racer (due to more consistent and better lights) which is why at most tracks they separate the classes. I hope this helps maybe others will chime in...I have grossly oversimplified the process but maybe it helps a little.

Box racing= LGBT
No box= NRA

Just kidding... I’m interested too.

Most of the fast guys in "no box" release the trans. brake button as well. These guys adjust the "delay" with longer throw buttons and blinders and different tire sizes and starting line rpms. The list is very long for the fast cars in "no box" to keep from going red. A "box" is just a timer to react to the top bulb or pro tree. The average human can react in .3XX of a second where a full tree is .500 between yellows and green. A pro tree is .400 (.500 Super Street only) and I believe they made it like .390 for Pro Stock Motorcycle. With, say, a 2,100lb. Super Gas car, with 1,100 hp, on a .400 tree, you are going to go red every time unless you add some delay to when the trans. brake actually releases. You see the light, you let go, the .050 of delay happens and then the trans. brake releases and away you go. Remember folks, a TON of races are decided by .00X or less. Anything you can do to the car or driver to tighten up those packs will result in a LOT of fun turning on those W lights.

On most trees now, both top yellows come on together and then on the fast car's side, there is a delay before the second yellow comes on and the tree continues down. This eliminates the crossover and arithmetic needed to figure the number to use. Essentially, it turns a full tree into a pro tree with both drivers reacting to the flash.

A delay box is electrical and requires use of a transbrake. Release the button on the flash, the box delays release of the brake a preset amount of time. The ET difference if you are the faster car, half a second for the second and third bulbs on a .500 tree, and whatever fine adjustment needed for car and driver reaction times before the tire clears the beam.

Delay boxes were invented to keep from red lighting with a fast car on a pro tree. It's pretty simple. This is part of the thing that makes Comp. Eliminator so cool. No boxes allowed with ultra light and fast cars.

LOL, delay boxes are actually in Wikipedia...there's lots more in there this is just an excerpt... "Delay Box" is a common slang term used in drag racing to describe an on-board timer which is a Transmission Brake Delay Timer. A transbrake forces the race car to remain stationary at the starting line, in gear, regardless of how much engine power is applied. When the visual signal is given to start the race, the driver triggers the delay box to begin timing (precisely counting down). If the driver does not interrupt this timing device, the car is launched down the race track at the instant the timer expires (counts to zero). Delay box use was very controversial in the 1980s and 1990s, as it removed a portion of the advantages more experienced racers had. There was a period where technologists added and concealed homemade circuitry inside a delay box that violated some racing associations rules. Racing associations have imposed strict limits on delay boxes today, with manufacturers having to submit to an approval process, which has drastically reduced the number of makers of these." Some interesting history in there

Division 1 bracket racing in the 80's were interesting to say the least. "Who's cheating" was the topic of conversation. Then you had sensors that caught the flash of the tree, caught the light beams from the timing beams down track, Matty boxes, wheel speed and ground speed sensors, micro processors, slew rate controls, etc, etc.

X2

It's a way for people with more money than talent to win races.

I think that kind of goes both ways. Like your comment. Drag racing is generally a roll of the dice. Any opponent, in any class, at any time, can completely WHACK!!! your a$$.

Do you really believe that
I know a lot of rich racers that haven't won a race in their entire career, it does take talent, practice and patience to learn on how to adjust the box to the driver and car
I know other wealthy racers, male and female, that took time to learn to race and drive with no boxes that won a lot of races, especially heads up, no break out racing That type of racing takes a lot money, work and talent

Within their respective catagories, yes it takes talent. But most people look at the reaction times of a box vs no box racer, and sees closer rt's with a box racer. I drive a stick, and believe that I will win on my own merit.

Cool, this thread got interesting, I was a poor boy bracket racer from 1977 until 2010, foot brake racing my 4 speed GTX then in order...a 69 Barracuda, a 137" slingshot front engine dragster, and my first rear engine dragster in 1989...all footbrake, winning was sporadic at best, in 1990 I built my first transbrake car, no delay box, got my arsh whipped on a regular basis by delay box cars, put a delay box in the car in 1992, still got my arsh whipped, it wasn't until 1993 that I started figuring it out, ran 3 more rear engine dragsters until 2010, 3 gold cards, 2 Wally's, 1 track championship, numerous big money wins, pretty much paid for my habit from 1996 until 2010 when I quit. Now...box vs no box, I don't care whether you are either...nowadays it takes (and back then) AT LEAST 3 things to win, the ability to cut a light, the ability to drive the stripe and a car you trust to know what it's going to do and this applies to either box or no box, both require TALENT, in my opinion...to some degree...money does not factor in, I've seen some of the best bracket racers win driving absolute bailing wired together junk and high dollar show cars...keep in mind most of the best bracket racers and/or S/C S/G S/S racers are racing somewhere almost every weekend...practice, practice, practice...

Could someone explain multiple hits with a delay box? I know you can react off of your opponent’s first amber light and your own amber light.
How does the delay box choose which ever was the quicker of the reaction times?

Excellent question...it's somewhat of a crapshoot...the delay box will take the quicker or "shorter" timer...it's a "seat of the pants" thing for the driver...if you feel you "missed" the first release of the button you can re-press the button and re-release it...trick is knowing for sure you "missed" the first release. Most guys I know only used it for a absolutely known first miss...it was a known sure fire way to go RED...lots of guys use a "bump-down" with a pre-set amount in the "bump-down" if they think they missed it the first time...also really sad to bump down your way into being red.

Sure does sound like you don't race, and have never set up and run a delay box car.

Well plenty of people here who know little replying here to a type of racing they obviously know nothing about. The internet go figure....

Yeah, like the guys who thing you can put a throttle stop and timer in the car and make it run what you want like dialing a telephone number. Just like that.

Whoops...didn't mean to spin the lid off that can of worms.

I am by no means an expert, my best E.T. is 12.34 and It was some of the best times of my life when I was bracket racing.
But I remember seeing a television program about drag racing years ago, and they were discussing delay boxes and one point that was brought up was that the human body is more consistent to reacting to something, say the top bulb, then it was to anticipating something, as the green bulb.