Drag Strip Gear Question

[tall69]

So, I need help understanding something.  If I lower my gear ratio, from 4.11 to say 4.56 to improve my starting line ratio, but increase my tire diameter (from 27 to 29) to keep my big end RPM in check, would I actually be improving the mechanical advantage at the starting line or would the changes cancel each other out?  Let's assume I'd have no traction problems with either tire and gear setup.  I understand the physics behind it, but I'm wondering if any of you have tested this at the track.

[Rory428]

Well, if you are having no traction issues, I don/t think you would gain much, if anything. Years ago, my buddy had a street/strip 70 Chevelle SS454 LS6, with a TH 400 and 4.10 gears. It was running low 12s at 116 MPH on 8 1/2x26-15 M/T slicks, with a best of 12.10. He hated the way his Chevelle looked with such short tires, so he went to a set of 4.88 gears, and 29 1/2 tall slicks. The car did look much cooler, but the net result was about zero. He did get a best of 12.09 out of it

[ericwevans]

Your gearing change is just over 10% while you're enlarging the tire diameter by  about 8%.  This will leave you with a change on the starting line of about 2%.  It would be like having a 4.19 gear with your current 27" tire.  So yes, they would largely cancel each other out, while still leaving a minor change.

[BattlestarGalactic]

So is the car bogging off the line, is that the reason you want a deeper gear?  Yes, putting a bigger tire and equally more gear is not going to help, likely make it a bit worse.  You need some tire rotation(spin) to help keep the motor up in the power.

[tall69]

So is the car bogging off the line, is that the reason you want a deeper gear?  Yes, putting a bigger tire and equally more gear is not going to help, likely make it a bit worse.  You need some tire rotation(spin) to help keep the motor up in the power.

Yes, it dead hooks and bogs.  I'm running 27x10.5 QTPs, with 18-22psi and a very mild burnout.  On one run last year, my clutch or tires slipped a little on the launch.  This resulted in a 1.71 60' and 11.90 ET, my best in both cases by a significant margin.  Do I try more air in the tire?  Smaller or different compound tires?  How do I get a controlled slip at launch?

[Falcon67]

It is setup dependent but I have not found any ET between a 4.11 and a 4.56, after removing other factors.  That's with a mild motor pushing a heavy car.  Sounds like your real problem is not enough starting line RPM.  My bitty 302 leaves with a 1.68 60' time, but the converter flashes to 4000 doing it.  If I put a 11" street converter in it, flash maybe 2200, it's leave like a bus even with the 4.56 spool in the back.

Drag radials usually work best in the 16 lb pressure range more or less.  Look at the wave pattern on the tire, it will tell you.

[My427stang]

You clearly need more power

Just teasing, but will your engine handle the additional RPM at the big end if you keep the same tire and go 4.56s?  If the answer is yes, add the gear but don't add the tire

If the answer is no, and its a CR 4 speed, I'd go wide ratio, if it's an AT, I'd add more converter, in fact, that may be the better answer in any case

[BattlestarGalactic]

My guess is the Close ratio toploader is causing all the problems.  They were fine if you have 4.88 gears in the back and slicks from the 60's that spin real easy.

What for shocks are you running?  Traction devices?  You need to tighten things up to not allow so much bite.  Tighten the front end so it doesn't rise, tighten the rear so it doesn't plant the tire. 

How about no burn out?  Skip the water, just stage and go.  A heavy clutch and no gear ratio is hard to get moving.

[Rory428]

I agree with Larry, if you still have a close ratio toploader, changing to a wide ratio gear set will make a major improvement in getting a heavy car off the line. Your current 4.11s with a CR 2.32 low gear gives you a starting line ratio of 9.53, leaving the 4.11s, and using a WR 2.78 low gear will give you a starting line ratio of 11.42. Even if you went to 4.88 gears, with the 2.32 low, your starting line ratio be a bit less than that (11.32). There really is no downside to using the wide ratio gearing on a street/strip car, or on the dragstrip. Maybe on a road race course, but you are not doing that, right? Back in the 80s, I had a 70 428CJ 4 speed Mach 1, with 4.30s and a Detroit Locker. With Goodyear 10x28" slicks, I could not get the car to leave as hard as I wanted to, plus I had to replace the clutch every other year. A buddy lent me a big spline (input and tail) crashbox Toploader that had been converted to wide ratio, out of his drag car.  This was back before 60 foot times were recorded, but the differance in how the car left the line was huge. Unfortunately,on the first pass, the mainshaft broke on the 2-3 shift, so I never did get a full 1/4 mile pass with it, but between how much harder the car pulled off the line, and a Friday night  "test cruise" made it apparent that the car was gonna pick up noticabely.  In talking with a couple of other guys who had done the same thing, they figured .15 ET improvement was typical. If I still had that car, I would have loved to have tried my 3.19 low gear Jerico in it!

[tall69]

My guess is the Close ratio toploader is causing all the problems.  They were fine if you have 4.88 gears in the back and slicks from the 60's that spin real easy.

What for shocks are you running?  Traction devices?  You need to tighten things up to not allow so much bite.  Tighten the front end so it doesn't rise, tighten the rear so it doesn't plant the tire. 

How about no burn out?  Skip the water, just stage and go.  A heavy clutch and no gear ratio is hard to get moving.

I switched to wide ratio kit when I rebuilt my toploader two years ago.  I wish there was a better 1st gear option for toploaders.  2.78 is just not deep enough.  I heard bad things about the 2.90 first gear so I skipped it. 

I switched to 90\10 drag shocks, small block front springs, and roller perches last year.  Which might have me going the wrong way?  I have slapped bars on the back with an extra leaf on the passenger side.  I'm launching at 4k+ RPM.  I'm already worried about breakage.  Thus far, it's either bogged or the clutch has slipped.  I really need a soft-lok clutch, but I drive it mostly on the street and don't want to deal with those headaches. 

I could maybe go to 4.33's from 4.11's.  It would raise my big end RPM by a couple hundred which would put me just beyond my targeted RPM max of 6k.

[57 lima bean]

11.90 street car.....I'd leave it alone.At over two tons,you don't want it to turn into a parts wrecker.

[Falcon67]

I'll also add that you'd only want to go to a taller tire to increase your contact patch, as in having traction - spin - problems.  If you are not having spin issues, then go up a gear and leave the tires.

[tall69]

I'll also add that you'd only want to go to a taller tire to increase your contact patch, as in having traction - spin - problems.  If you are not having spin issues, then go up a gear and leave the tires.

Okay, so no to a bigger tire.  I need to introduce tire slippage into my program.  I was under the impression that increasing tire pressure should theoretically create less traction.  Is this not accurate?  I've tried 18-22 psi and it still dead hooks.

[57 lima bean]

Is there a harder compound tire available?   http://hoosiertire.com/assets/Drag-Racing-3-17-17.gif

[MRadke]

What about a narrower tire?

[BattlestarGalactic]

For a quick change, take off the 90/10's and put a stock shock back on.  That might slow the front end down and help take some of the bite out.

How tight is the gap on the slapper bars?  Make it tight, so it doesn't allow the tire to dig in as much.

[tall69]

For a quick change, take off the 90/10's and put a stock shock back on.  That might slow the front end down and help take some of the bite out.

How tight is the gap on the slapper bars?  Make it tight, so it doesn't allow the tire to dig in as much.

I had stock shocks and heavy front springs on it 2 years ago, same result.  I maybe have a 1/4" gap now between the rubber bumper and spring.  If I eliminate the gap, would that reduce downward pressure on the tire?  I've been contemplating removing the slapper bars because it rides like sh*t on the street.

Has anyone tried the clutch tamer setup that gets promoted on different websites?  Seems like snake oil to me, but maybe there's some validity to it.

[57 lima bean]

What about a narrower tire?

        http://www.mandhtires.com/M-H-Racemaster-Drag-Slicks/8.00-8.50-14#.WOPUdVXyuUk   


      Put them on an eight inch wheel run 30 pounds

[BattlestarGalactic]

Yes, taking the gap from slappers makes it ride rough.  Been there with my '69 F100.  I want to get ladder bars back under it someday, but the slappers at least get me by.  Tightening the gap takes some of the stored energy from the springs wrap up from hitting the tire.

Ya, for this I would look at the Clutch tamer(did I say that? LOL).  What could it hurt?  It basically slips the clutch for you, which is what you need.  I have no personal experience, but have done some reading on his website.

A narrower tire is another good idea, but maybe the Tamer is a better start?

[shady]

what rpm are you dropping the clutch at on the tree?

[tall69]

what rpm are you dropping the clutch at on the tree?

Up to 4800RPM.  The higher the launch, the faster it seems to go.  Something has to give though.  So far, I've been lucky.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Yup, the higher the RPM, the quicker it is recovering/less bog and it will go faster.
You have 3-4 more tenths in it if you can get it moving.  I used to go 11.5's at 116-117 mph.

[shady]

I don't know if I would change anything. Sounds like it is working good. Up the rpms some more so it doesn't bog down out of your power range & hang on. If it goes faster with more rpm, the chassis is working. If something breaks, then replace it with something stronger.

[Falcon67]

Okay, so no to a bigger tire.  I need to introduce tire slippage into my program.  I was under the impression that increasing tire pressure should theoretically create less traction.  Is this not accurate?  I've tried 18-22 psi and it still dead hooks.

The more pressure you run in a DR the quicker it goes, up to some point.  So here's another problem to consider - if you want to induce some spin in your launch program, you may need to switch to slicks.  DRs do not recover well from spin like a slick.  They dead hook or blow off, not much in between.

[tall69]

The more pressure you run in a DR the quicker it goes, up to some point.  So here's another problem to consider - if you want to induce some spin in your launch program, you may need to switch to slicks.  DRs do not recover well from spin like a slick.  They dead hook or blow off, not much in between.

I'm running Hoosier QTP's, which are a DOT legal bias ply drag tire.  I switched from MT ET Street Radials for the reason you mention.

...If something breaks, then replace it with something stronger.

 

Yup, the higher the RPM, the quicker it is recovering/less bog and it will go faster.
You have 3-4 more tenths in it if you can get it moving.  I used to go 11.5's at 116-117 mph.

Good to know.  Another astute drag racer suggested that the bog might be, in part, fuel related.  This is quite possible.  My pump shot is probably all used up at my launch RPM level.  I can switch to a 50cc pump shot and delay the cam to ensure I have some fuel left for launch.  I've attached a graph showing my RPM and AFR of my 11.90 run last year.  It does go way lean at the launch and every time I shift.  The black line is the RPM, and purple the AFR.

[BattlestarGalactic]

What carb are you running?

[tall69]

What carb are you running?

QFT Q-series 1050

[BattlestarGalactic]

That should be able to push enough fuel to not lean out.  Might look at the pump shot.  Start the car, run it to your launch rpm and see how far the throttle is open.  Then shut it off.  Compare that setting to how much pump shot is left, even on the back side. I would likely bet you aren't that far into the throttle to use up the pump shot.  Maybe move the pump cam to the next spot and see if that gives you a later shot.  Cheap way to test it.

[My427stang]

Are you launching on a rev limiter?  We've had good luck on a 440 inch Rat that runs about the same times by holding it to the boards and letting the limiter hold it on a launch pill.  Takes one less movement out of the equation

[tall69]

Are you launching on a rev limiter?  We've had good luck on a 440 inch Rat that runs about the same times by holding it to the boards and letting the limiter hold it on a launch pill.  Takes one less movement out of the equation

No, but my MSD has a two step feature that I'm going to try.  So, a question about this.  When you stage against a rev limiter with the carb at WOT, the pump shot is out of the picture obviously.  Would fuel on the primary and secondary side be flowing and balanced effectively through the boosters before launch?

What's the best way to enable the two step?  A momentary switch on the clutch?  Tie it to my line lock on my shifter handle?

That should be able to push enough fuel to not lean out.  Might look at the pump shot.  Start the car, run it to your launch rpm and see how far the throttle is open.  Then shut it off.  Compare that setting to how much pump shot is left, even on the back side. I would likely bet you aren't that far into the throttle to use up the pump shot.  Maybe move the pump cam to the next spot and see if that gives you a later shot.  Cheap way to test it.

I've tried this.  On the primary side, it's nearly out of stroke.  My secondaries don't come in until 2/3 throttle, so none of that shot is used while I stage.  I could try a different cam, or a different cam position.  I'll have to do some reading on accelerator pump tuning.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Well, that is likely your lean out condition, lack of pump shot when going WOT.  You need a pump cam that is longer on taper instead of short.  Don't know what they offer for 50cc pumps(I assume that is what is on the carb).  Holleys usually have two spots to mount the cam.  It rotates it, so moving it later would add to the distance it sprays on throttle position. 

Many guys use a two step for launching.  I tried it years ago.  Back then many of the nostalgia events classified a 2 step as "electronics" and you couldn't use them.  Thus I removed it and never used it in the last 20 yrs(this is my 22nd season racing the wagon).  My two 600 Holley's are vacuum secondaries and I have 50cc pumps on them so it gets plenty of fuel.  My secondaries don't open until I hit high gear(bout 1/8 mile).  By testing(unhooking), the 1/8 miles times are not affected.

One friend put his line lok and two step on a button and manually releases it at launch.  Others mount switches on the clutch pedal to do it automatically.  Though you need to adjust them very carefully as you need the clutch to be grabbing at the same moment the 2 step releases.  If not, it will either bog or the RPM will rapidly climb way higher then you had it set for.

[My427stang]

My guy has a button on the shifter he holds, and at launch, he slides his hand up to the T-handle as he releases the button.  Personally, it seems busy to me when you have a handful of car, but he is comfortable doing it

We used to have a line lock wired too, but he hasn't had issues rolling through the lights, so he doesn't use it

As far as the fuel, it is certainly flowing through the boosters, and with all 4 throttle open on the Dominator, as soon as you let it go, it's off and running.

[BattlestarGalactic]

Better then what my friend did.  His was on the tilt control lever(rh side of column foxbody), let go and then have to reach over for shifter to grab second gear.  Yikes.  He did it for many, many years.  I drove it once and was like "nope, not me".

[tall69]

This is all good information guys.  It gives me a lot to think about.

[cjshaker]

We used to have a line lock wired too, but he hasn't had issues rolling through the lights, so he doesn't use it

He's obviously never raced at Beaver Springs...lol  But instead of rolling through the lights, you roll backwards.

[tall69]

We used to have a line lock wired too, but he hasn't had issues rolling through the lights, so he doesn't use it

He's obviously never raced at Beaver Springs...lol  But instead of rolling through the lights, you roll backwards.

Wow.   I don't use my line lock to stage, just to do the burnout.  It got old doing the old clutch drop stab the brake dance.

[BattlestarGalactic]

We used to have a line lock wired too, but he hasn't had issues rolling through the lights, so he doesn't use it

He's obviously never raced at Beaver Springs...lol  But instead of rolling through the lights, you roll backwards.

THIS^^^^^

Yes, not ALL dragstrips have a level starting line.  I have always used the line lok to stage.  Get to the first light, tap the brake, hit the button, then bump in to last bulb.  I don't hit the brakes hard, as it is hard to get the car to move with too much brake pressure.  I tried using a brake pressure gauge but even 50# was too much(lowest reading on gauge) so I took the gauge out and just continue to do it by feel.

[My427stang]

Copy all!  I am in the beautiful Midwest, flat as the eye can see

[shady]

Yep, the left lane. heel the brake, toe the gas & hope the tree comes down b4 your foot slips. bad thing is, roll back & you just red lighted.

[Falcon67]

Why I use an automatic and either just footbrake or come off the two step/trans brake.  Pre-stage @ 2000, bump in to stage, swap feet on 3.  Or stage, push button, flat foot on #2 bulb, release button on 3rd.  Off you go.  Line lock in the door car for burnout only.  No front brakes in the rail, just hammer and spin until it bites then lift.

Two step + t-brake legal in all NoBox classes in Div. 4 IHRA and NHRA.  Still many footbrake races in these parts that don't allow either or both.  I may try switching the dragster over to organic rear pads so I can stage it on the footbrake.  Hard pads good for 150 MPH stops don't hold well with even a little throttle on a high stall converter.

[BattlestarGalactic]

It's so bad at one track they divided up the no Box,  NB or footbrake.  The footbrake guys were whining that a trans brake(even bottom bulb) is an advantage.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  I can't run in NB, because I use a line lok.  WTF is that about?  Ya, it is an "advantage"?  Say what?  How the hell do I hold my car from rolling without using a line lok?  Needless to say I don't run there, except when the stick group does and we run out own program/rules.

I say make them all put a third pedal in and see how they do?

[machoneman]

Why I use an automatic and either just footbrake or come off the two step/trans brake.  Pre-stage @ 2000, bump in to stage, swap feet on 3.  Or stage, push button, flat foot on #2 bulb, release button on 3rd.  Off you go.  Line lock in the door car for burnout only.  No front brakes in the rail, just hammer and spin until it bites then lift.

Two step + t-brake legal in all NoBox classes in Div. 4 IHRA and NHRA.  Still many footbrake races in these parts that don't allow either or both.  I may try switching the dragster over to organic rear pads so I can stage it on the footbrake.  Hard pads good for 150 MPH stops don't hold well with even a little throttle on a high stall converter.

Had to laugh Chris at the organic pad note. Had a front-engined Boss 302 dragster long ago with a C-4. No trans brakes back then so holding the beast on the line even with a high stall converter was damned hard....also due to hard "racing" pads on Airheart disc brakes! 

[BattlestarGalactic]

Friend had same problem.  Bought a stick car and converted to foot brake.  Couldn't hold the car, so had to switch pads.

[57 lima bean]

It's so bad at one track they divided up the no Box,  NB or footbrake.  The footbrake guys were whining that a trans brake(even bottom bulb) is an advantage.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.

   
                  It is an advantage when tracks allow an adjustable button in the foot brake,no box class.

[gt350hr]

Why I use an automatic and either just footbrake or come off the two step/trans brake.  Pre-stage @ 2000, bump in to stage, swap feet on 3.  Or stage, push button, flat foot on #2 bulb, release button on 3rd.  Off you go.  Line lock in the door car for burnout only.  No front brakes in the rail, just hammer and spin until it bites then lift.

Two step + t-brake legal in all NoBox classes in Div. 4 IHRA and NHRA.  Still many footbrake races in these parts that don't allow either or both.  I may try switching the dragster over to organic rear pads so I can stage it on the footbrake.  Hard pads good for 150 MPH stops don't hold well with even a little throttle on a high stall converter.

Had to laugh Chris at the organic pad note. Had a front-engined Boss 302 dragster long ago with a C-4. No trans brakes back then so holding the beast on the line even with a high stall converter was damned hard....also due to hard "racing" pads on Airheart disc brakes!

        Bob,
           I had a FED in '76 with a Boss 302 and C4. Ran 8.90's at 154 all day long. Too slow for A/ED and canted valves kept it from being C/ED legal. Fun car. Ended up with an all aluminum 418 ci Cleveland and went 7.60's in '78.
    Randy

[Rory428]

Bob and Randy, were either of you guys from the Pacific Northwest? I remember a Boss 302 powered front engine dragster at Mission Raceway in the early-mid 70s. I think it was from either Washington State or Oregon.
As for using a line lock on the starting line with a clutch car, I always use the line lock on the starting line, since its called a "Line Lock", or "Roll Control", it would seem that was why Hurst developed such an item. I have both my 4 speed cars set up with the line lock and 2 step wired together. On the Fairmont, I have a switch on the clutch pedal, wired thru a relay, so once I am staged, I hold the clutch pedal down, and I can release the line lock button, as long as the pedal is down, the 2 step low side and line lock are activated until I release the clutch pedal. Its been working well for many years.

[gt350hr]

    No Rory ,
        Mine only ran in So Cal at OCIR for about 6 months until I converted it to the aluminum 351 engine.

[machoneman]

Bob and Randy, were either of you guys from the Pacific Northwest? I remember a Boss 302 powered front engine dragster at Mission Raceway in the early-mid 70s. I think it was from either Washington State or Oregon.
As for using a line lock on the starting line with a clutch car, I always use the line lock on the starting line, since its called a "Line Lock", or "Roll Control", it would seem that was why Hurst developed such an item. I have both my 4 speed cars set up with the line lock and 2 step wired together. On the Fairmont, I have a switch on the clutch pedal, wired thru a relay, so once I am staged, I hold the clutch pedal down, and I can release the line lock button, as long as the pedal is down, the 2 step low side and line lock are activated until I release the clutch pedal. Its been working well for many years.

No, mine was locally built (Chicago and Racine, WI) and race only here in the Midwest. From an old post:

I don't know.....   January 11 2009, 10:42 AM

It was allegedly built by Bob Rose here in Chicago, IL with expert technical help on the chassis from the old R&B shop out of Wisconsin (the B stands for Ron Buttera....later of mucho funny car fame!). The quality of the entire rig was outstanding and I was amazed that he could build a chassis like this himself...although he did have Ron's help.

http://www.carcraft.com/thehistoryof/ccrp_0803w_lil_john_buttera_death/index.html
Rose ran a auto trans shop here in the city (forget the name right now, Rose Transmissions? RSI?) that mainly specialized in performance applications. The chrome-moly chassis was sweet, engine was a slightly warmed over Boss 302 with Hilborn injection on gas, rear was a Pontiac/Olds and the trans a highly-worked over C-4. The name on the car's dark blue cowling when we purchased it was "Underdog"....like the flying caped cartoon character from TV.

Rose kinda' struck me as local Midwest racer only....could be wrong! I do miss that dragster as it would have been a great bracket car today! Was a ton of fun to drive too. We raced it at Union Grove (WI) and Rockford (IL) Dragway.









   

[gt350hr]

    mine was an SPE chassis , turned out to be an ex Howard Cams Rattler. I ran a custom built "short" C4 with a 5.14 gear and a Bud Moore mini plenum with an 850 Holley.Fun ride.

[Falcon67]

It's so bad at one track they divided up the no Box,  NB or footbrake.  The footbrake guys were whining that a trans brake(even bottom bulb) is an advantage.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  I can't run in NB, because I use a line lok.  WTF is that about?  Ya, it is an "advantage"?  Say what?  How the hell do I hold my car from rolling without using a line lok?  Needless to say I don't run there, except when the stick group does and we run out own program/rules.

LOL, we had those whiners for a while - they apparently gave up because they don't come anymore.  We give buy runs to the best reaction time after 1st round, the few that whined "I'll never get a bye" also don't run anymore.  Yea, if you think that way you've already put yourself behind.
 I've made several rounds against box dragsters and the wife has also.  Last big payout race I lost in the 4th, ran "Bob" in a Super Pro rail dialed 4.76 to my 8.16.  I had the light but ran .01 off, he got there first by a hair and went by at 80 MPH.  Went over to Bob's pit, said "Scared you, huh?"  Reply "I hate running you footbrake guys."  LOL.  I have a picture and a $1000 check in the shop with my wife's name on it.  Beat some hotshot guy in a roadster in a big money final.  Guy's name was Luke Bodacki, you can look him up.  She had no idea who, just put a wheel on him at the stripe and got the win light.  That's how it's done.  I'll line up against Ron Capps in his funny car, don't matter to me. 

Bob,
           I had a FED in '76 with a Boss 302 and C4. Ran 8.90's at 154 all day long. Too slow for A/ED and canted valves kept it from being C/ED legal. Fun car. Ended up with an all aluminum 418 ci Cleveland and went 7.60's in '78.
    Randy

Now that would be a fun ride.

[machoneman]

Chris, a dragster story for you and other digger owners.

My pal's injected, gas SBC 355" front-engined, direct drive rail, which he bought running could only manage disappointing low tens and IIRC about 145 MPH. Randy and I talked a few times about it but the jetting, plugs, clutch slip was all a-o.k.

So, one day at Great Lakes Dragway, Union Grove, WI I talked his bro Ritchie into having him and I tune the Vertex magneto by ear (no kidding) on the in-ground rollers then in use. After it fired, I turned it up a lot until the exhausts were really crackling at idle.....and fought Ritchie to not turn it down! Locked the mag down and pushed it off the rollers.         

Randy lined her up and let fly. Previous best e.t. IIRC was 10.10 or 10.09. This run?

9.27 at 158 mph!

Turns out the previous owner bought a used supercharged F/C mag set up to advance the mech. timing up to about 6,500 rpm and then retard down a steep slope very quickly after 6,500 rpms.....while the rail was geared for near 8,000 rpm! Once he had the Ono Brothers, a Vertex dealer in Chicago, re-do the mag he was flying to I heard later 9.01's.

Pays to check every single thing.   

[BattlestarGalactic]

I'll line up against Ron Capps in his funny car, don't matter to me. 

Yup, my thoughts too.  Put a number on your car and run it.  So many racers put too much thought into it.  Or are just "scared".   I see the guys that "Must stage last" or whatever their hiccup is.  I don't care.  I do my thing and you can do whatever makes you happy.

I'm glad I run with my stick group.  We are all in the same basket and there aren't really any whiners in the group.  We have fun, all bets are off when the staging lights come on, but we enjoy the fellowship in the pits.

[gt350hr]

     This will be my 50th year of racing and I have had far more fun foot braking my way to the winners circle at a bracket race than any other form of drag racing. I tried the heads up dragster classes (Top Gas West) and Super Comp , Super Gas but nothing is better than the left and right shuffle on the last yellow. I have to admit it was fun racing a 20 second Pinto with my seven second dragster but it's fun being chased too. Shoe polish and a good reaction time are all that's needed. I think I'll do it for at least 10 more years.
     Randy