Re: Etiquette for drag racers
#7477
11/27/03 08:55 PM
11/27/03 08:55 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919 Long Island, NY
B1Ken
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919
Long Island, NY
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Quote:
I feel that the CARS have the right of way over pedestrians. Guys may be coasting back to their spot to help speed cool down, and they don't want to hit the brakes as they would then need to re-fire the car. Also, they may be trying to get into the lanes quickly.
This is one of my pet peeves. Guys come FLYING through the pits or staging lanes with the engine shut off. My son almost got run over by Mark Dickerson at Cecil County one day. There IS a speed limit in the pits. My son said he didn't hear him coming and he must have been going 30 mph. I feel that people who do this should be thrown the f*ck out BEFORE they kill someone.
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: B1Ken]
#7478
11/27/03 09:35 PM
11/27/03 09:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,142 Central New York
slippery440
Crybaby440
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Crybaby440
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,142
Central New York
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Anyone going 30 at our track will get a a$$ chewing from the owner.Not to smart but we have the ricers and they most of the time are not to smart. How old was your son?
If the MODS did their job I would not be hitting the notify MOD button. LOL
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: slippery440]
#7480
11/27/03 10:07 PM
11/27/03 10:07 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,401 Tucson, Arizona
MRMOPAR
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top fuel
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,401
Tucson, Arizona
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At SIR we normally run at night and people who coast thru the pits with engines off, no lights, over that speed are idiots. If you hit someone you will quickly discover that the courts may not be sympathetic about your thinking you have the right of way because you are driving a race vehicle. 5 MPH in pits and return road is the rule here at SIR. That is to allow you to STOP if someone happens to wander into your path. At that speed you can probably not coast all the way to your pit location. Pedestrians in most states, and in AZ, have the right of way, not some smart a$$ in a race car. Further, the pits can be very crowded, and someone backing out of a space with the engine running may/can not hear or see you. Use a lot of caution.
Also the jerks that bring all their "quads, golf carts, and motorized bikes", and then let their kids and family cruze around the pits like it was their own race track. Personally if they outlawed all that stuff it would not bother me. At SIR the rule is that you have to be licensed to ride those things around anyway.
Pulling forward in the lanes with other cars, that depends. Here in Tucson the evening temps can exceed 100 degrees most nights. I DON'T start my engine and pull forward everytime the line moves. It is really no big deal if you don't do that. You are not going further than the front of the lane anyway until you are pulled out to the water box by the lane steward.
Most tracks require at least one rear light on the car after dark.
Staging depends on the track. We don't do courtesy staging here. Some tracks do, you should watch what the locals do. I like the autostart. It gets rid of the guys who like to screw around getting staged. I usually wait for the other lane to at least light the top bulb before staging the rest of the way.
68 RR 528" INDY MAXX
07 2500 CTD
Southwest International Raceway - IHRA - Tucson, AZ
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: slippery440]
#7481
11/27/03 10:26 PM
11/27/03 10:26 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919 Long Island, NY
B1Ken
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top fuel
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919
Long Island, NY
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Quote:
Anyone going 30 at our track will get a a$$ chewing from the owner.Not to smart but we have the ricers and they most of the time are not to smart. How old was your son?
He's 28 now and he knows his way around the track and he's aware of his surroundings. He said Dickerson came within a few feet of him and he was just about to cross over the road when he went by. I've also seen this guy do this and I think it's time for me to give this guy a talking to. I almost got run over by someone on a motor scooter that had to be going 40 mph through the pits at Maple Grove. He came flying around a curve and I never saw him coming. Also kids drive quads and scooters through dirt pits stirring up all kinds of dust. If your working on your engine at the same time it can really piss you off!
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: B1Ken]
#7482
11/27/03 10:37 PM
11/27/03 10:37 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,091 MN
JERICOGTX
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,091
MN
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Quote:
Pulling forward in the lanes with other cars, that depends. Here in Tucson the evening temps can exceed 100 degrees most nights. I DON'T start my engine and pull forward everytime the line moves. It is really no big deal if you don't do that. You are not going further than the front of the lane anyway until you are pulled out to the water box by the lane steward.
I'm guilty of this, and will continue to do so. As Bill said, you can not go very far anyways. I'll wait at lest 5 car lengths, or move when someone waves me forward. Tearing up clutch discs, and heat in the motor, to go 5 feet is a waste.
Quote:
Staging depends on the track. We don't do courtesy staging here. Some tracks do, you should watch what the locals do. I like the autostart. It gets rid of the guys who like to screw around getting staged. I usually wait for the other lane to at least light the top bulb before staging the rest of the way.
Courtesy staging, should be done at EVERY track. I do like the auto start also.
69 GTX
68 Road Runner
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: slantzilla]
#7483
11/27/03 11:26 PM
11/27/03 11:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,437 Omaha Nebraska
Brian_wo
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,437
Omaha Nebraska
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Quote:
The biggest thing would be to ask questions BEFORE going on track, or at least just watch the starting line for a while to see how things work.
Another big one is to make sure you know where the finish line and return road are so you can stop safely and get off track without crossing in front of the other car.
Read a rule book. Lots of good information in there.
It's up to us old-timers to help the newbies along, no matter hwat kind of vehicle they are driving. New blood is our future.
coming from a guy who hasn't had much time to go race I can say this is great advice,when I finally had time to go I went to the line and watched the guys stage,watched where the first yellow came on then the second,also watched when the lights came down and at what point the guys were taking off,then looked at the reaction to see who was doing it right,after watching for at least an hour I went and got my car,pulled right up as if I had been doing it for years and when the light came down pulled a .530 for my first ever light
Once I get done with this damned house I am going to get a car ready and start trying to go racing much more often,for the first time in many years I have a job where I have weekends off
who is that guy?
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: B1Ken]
#7484
11/27/03 11:33 PM
11/27/03 11:33 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,142 Central New York
slippery440
Crybaby440
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Crybaby440
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,142
Central New York
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You need to talk to the track owner.Ya those scooters are a pain in the a$$ here to.Like I said the tracks around here will not put up with that.Scares me after its dark and my car has few lights and little kids if not watched will run out into the pit roads.
If the MODS did their job I would not be hitting the notify MOD button. LOL
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
#7485
11/28/03 12:36 AM
11/28/03 12:36 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,840 The Swamp
Sixpak
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,840
The Swamp
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Best bit of advice I can give, aside from all the other comments, is to make your first time racing at the track on a test and tune night. Usually the atmosphere is a little slower, no great rush to get everyone's time trial in before eliminations, not as many cars typically, and you can embarass yourself in front of fewer people in the stands. Get the bugs out of your car, and you, on test and tune nites. When you are ready and know the drill, try elimination day.
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
#7489
11/28/03 03:41 AM
11/28/03 03:41 AM
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Anonymous
OP
Unregistered
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Anonymous
OP
Unregistered
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How about being carfull when your opening your doors in the staging lanes. Some of the lanes are quite narrow without much room to open your doors all the way. I have a nice little scratch and ding about the size of a quarter in my passenger door from someone in the Sportsman class flinging the door open into mine. Show some respect for others property. Also dont be leaning on someone elses car or hanging your head through the window.........cant tell you howmany times I have had someone leaning against my car when I come back from using the bathroom.
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
#7490
11/28/03 08:35 AM
11/28/03 08:35 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,928 Akron, Ohio
ProSport
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 17,928
Akron, Ohio
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Very good point, my drivers door needs some serious body work, one year the previous owner was at Norwalk, a tech guy opened the door on a windy day to tell him something, the door flies open and wedges itself into another car. Norwalk did nothing to pay for the damage.
1970 Challenger, all aluminum 528 Hemi, HDK suspension, Tremec 5 speed manual
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: wildcargo]
#7492
11/28/03 11:35 AM
11/28/03 11:35 AM
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Anonymous
OP
Unregistered
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Anonymous
OP
Unregistered
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Every reply to this post is excellent info. I would like to copy and compress it into a document form for the tech archives, for the first timers, if that would be Ok and Tom would agree to that, unless he's already doing that.
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
#7494
11/28/03 02:55 PM
11/28/03 02:55 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919 Long Island, NY
B1Ken
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,919
Long Island, NY
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Here's one I haven't read here. DO NOT do your burnout with a car sitting on the starting line. Most times the guy in the water box will signal you, but sometimes there won't be anyone there. My son used to run the tree at the local track here on Long Island. The owner was too cheap to hire a water box guy, so my son had to be the policeman. Some guy did a burnout with the two cars still on the line. My son walked over to him and had him shut it off. He respectfully reminded the guy, who was an experienced racer, not to do that anymore. Needless to say, the guy was not apologetic. He resented my 23 year old son telling HIM how to behave. There was also a group of street racers there with a $hit box T-bird with a heavily sprayed BB Chev. in it. They gave him a HARD time when he was tech'ing their car. REALLY threatening! The first time down the track the car got out of shape and crossed over into the other lane. The A-Hole got back on it and continued the run in the wrong lane. When admonished for doing this (not kicked out mind you) he said "WTF are you talking about? I went straight down the track! The owner, as I said, was too cheap to hire any security and wuold never turn anybody's entrance fee down. I wasn't too happy that my son had to put up with this Bull$hit, I can tell you.
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Re: Etiquette for drag racers
[Re: 1BadLiLCharger]
#7496
11/28/03 08:27 PM
11/28/03 08:27 PM
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972 Romeo MI
MR_P_BODY
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Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 52,972
Romeo MI
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Quote:
How about, take someone with you that knows their way around a dragway.
Like 1 Bad said, this is one of the best things you can do, because you cant remember all of the stuff the first time out, take someone that has done it before(hopefully a feeeww times), he can help with tires, refueling and checking your coolant over flow bottle and other things, YOU as a beginner just cant remember ALL of it, have fun and ALWAYS be SAFE
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