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Top End Strategy, whats yours

49K views 366 replies 106 participants last post by  Drag Chevette 
#1 · (Edited)
I've come to realize that top end racing strategy is where consistant winners really shine. Lets hear your insights on what you do on the big end to go rounds.

Thanks, Ray
 
#37 ·
My top end stratagy changes all the time. Depends on what the race looks like.... as in am I holding..... am I being chased or am I the chaser..... Whats the speed difference..... Did I feel like I smacked the tree or did I miss it..... If I'm chasing can I get around my opponent or not and if so am I holding or am I dialed hard.......Same thing if I'm getting chased..... Do I know my opponent and how they race or is this someone new.....

Know your car and generate a "feel" for where you are on the race track even if your not looking where your going.


The most important thing is to have a game plan on the run when you dial the car and be able to change it on the fly should the race start to look different. You should be CONSANTALY evaluating the race after you hit the tree.

Also, Nitrous is a good tool to have in your back pocket should you need it. It's all in how and when you work the button.
 
#39 ·
footbraking running 11.70 113 mph,i dont hold. im gonna be .020 on the tree and dead on. cuz i know my car. if im way out on you i will pedal it, if not im all in. now you do your job and beat me!!! holding was an advantage when only a few people did it. now that 3/4 of racers do it its not an advantage. using my stratagy people break out taking the stripe or lift cuz they know they cant catch me without breaking out , giving me room to be safe. like i said before, you can win 90% of your races that way. FOOTBRAKING.
 
#41 ·
When I'm racing my 14 second car I'm usually the one being chased. It's a fuel injected car so not always that consistent. I will usually give myself a couple hundreths to play with if I feel like I can judge the car on the other end. Will usually ride the brake a little as I'm getting around 1100'ish then smack them lightly if I feel I have it.
 
#44 ·
I was talking about BOTH drivers holding a .1 and wondering who is going to break out first/more. They are both getting there too quick and only if one guy has a horrible light will the other know to dump.

If I just ran a 11.252, then I'll dial a 11.24 for a fast car. If I just ran a 11.259, then 11.25. So I guess I'm only giving myself about 1/2 not a full 1.

There again you can't compare what you do running a dragster against running a car like mine. Two completely different animals.
 
#46 ·
I was talking about BOTH drivers holding a .1 and wondering who is going to break out first/more. They are both getting there too quick and only if one guy has a horrible light will the other know to dump.

If I just ran a 11.252, then I'll dial a 11.24 for a fast car. If I just ran a 11.259, then 11.25. So I guess I'm only giving myself about 1/2 not a full 1.

There again you can't compare what you do running a dragster against running a car like mine. Two completely different animals.
Understood!! & completely wrong!!! you have no business holding if you dont know when & where to start gettin rid of excess baggage! It's pre-determined & you can normally watch & see if the other car is is giving it back!

as far as comparing what's done in a dragster to a door car, I say BS....I aint always had a dragster & currently have both!! you hold less in the door car, but the practice is the same...... I can hold in a door car being chased & chasing...it aint as different as you would want to believe!!! but if I'm gonna dial 1 under in the door car being chased then I'm gonna also have a full bottle to make sure I can cover that 1 if needed!! your strategy works too...I've done that myself!!!! what I'm saying is that it changes all the time...it just depends on who's in the other lane!
 
#45 · (Edited)
thats close to what i do but i usually will round up, so if i was 11.25 with a 5-9 i'd go 26 anything lower 25. this way if the 60's off a hair (something normal for our track) i'm not starting the race in the hole. important to remember you can always slow down but you can't magically go faster, not counting nitrous.
 
#48 ·
race a very slow car like a smart car that usually runs the 1/4 in 22 seconds and you're guaranteed to win ea time and make rounds .watched the exact thing happen last year at a psca race in vegas were a smart car was competing in bracket one and running against 7 second super comp dragsters were they've got to wait almost 14 seconds before there light goes green .this smart car went into the semi's before he broke out

back in the 80's at OCIR same thing a stock 4cyl ford pinto wagon was bracket racing and running against faster 7 and 8 second cars . the pinto would get a huge lead then sometimes stop before the top end stripe watch the mirrors and when he saw the car starting to freight train him he would simply put it into gear and roll across the stripe getting the win
 
#51 ·
race a very slow car like a smart car that usually runs the 1/4 in 22 seconds and you're guaranteed to win ea time and make rounds .watched the exact thing happen last year at a psca race in vegas were a smart car was competing in bracket one and running against 7 second super comp dragsters were they've got to wait almost 14 seconds before there light goes green .this smart car went into the semi's before he broke out
Any 7sec car running a 22sec car should have their head examined and deserve to loose. The difference after the 1/8 mile would be like driving into a brick wall if either got into the other. Shame on the track, and the racers for letting that match up happen at all. If it did.
 
#54 ·
ive raced a 167 mph dragster and a 113mph doorcar. i feel i can drive the finish line better in the slow car after being in the fast car. i hear people saying all the time how tight they can make the finish line but when they race me they never do. but its harder to tighten it up that tight with such a big diffrence in mph. and as far as taking .005 . you can take distance not time. .005 is a lot diffrent at 160 than at 110 or 130 . if you say you can take 3 ft. ok but at difrent speeds 3 ft. might be .005 or .020
 
#58 ·
Winlight148 It's only harder to tighten up if you dont leave yourself enough racetrack to do so, Thats why I'll hold as much as a tenth, Thats a huge difference on the track! It's enough time to get the car positioned where you want it!! Two cars dialed honest & one having a terrible RT your still not leaving enough room to make it extremely close, your lucky to get a couple womps out of that pass! But holding & actually putting your car in position on the racetrack is the difference maker! any good driver knows when they have hit the tree.....So the decision is made right off the starting line what to do with them at the stripe!! Ask Scotty Richardson or Anthony Bertozzi or Luke Bogaki They'll tell you the same!!
 
#56 ·
chevydude. i understand what your saying. it just doesnt work for me. are you saying that you will be going 113 at the stripe with me. please understand i mean you no disrespect , i just like to debate this topic because alot of people say holding is the only way to race and i try to prove them wrong. i hold in my shift rpm. so if i feel like i spun or something i can ring it out and then dump.
 
#59 ·
I love a good debate also!! No what I'm saying is that by holding I can break it down & know where my car is in comparison to your car to the finish line... For good practice try this the next time your on the freeway!! Seriously!!! Pick a sign or mile marker, then pick a vehicle you may be approaching or one that is approaching you...without braking , run up on that car just nudging it out before you get to that desired object without using full throttle! My friend you have just held numbers & manipulated the race into your hands!! Now I do dial honest also!! But normally when the car I'm racing runs closer to my dial!
 
#60 ·
i choke all the time when i try to hold. :smt078 sand bagging give people who cant tune there cars to run the number an even playing field. i guess you could say i would be a better crew chief than driver. but i do allright behind the wheel too.
 
#62 ·
Make it a point to be the winner in the tree every round...or as often as possible. Reacting and more importantly tuning the car to make it react as you need it to is so simple to ensuring you have a good chance at having the head start.

Not saying it's safe for everybody, but I always like to drift away from the center line and towards the wall when I was being chased..many good drivers have a line on the window to line up on your car when your staged..drifting away changing the visual angle and can/will screw up their "site" they have marked on your car.

I never used to like sandbagging until I seen an increase in round wins over dialing honest. Biggest thing, it covers yoru ass in the event of a spin/loss in the 60' for whatever reason, and gives you a cushion at the end. Know that a car carrying 30-50mph on you has as much difficulty judging the stripe as you do trying to judge him..granted they can see it unfold, but there is a bunch of assumed guessing when it comes to them whomping/dragging a brake...so this is where cutting a killer light is needed and bagging can allow them to push out and you get the win light.

Definately the hardest part to learn...it's a skill that takes thousands of passes, but once you get comfortable taking only .01 at the stripe you will have a big increase in win ratio. I thought I was doing good with .02 in the 1/4mi, and all the hitters I pitted with to learn from said I was taking the stripe by a mile, I need to back it up and never take more than a .01. that took about another year to feel comfortable with since you literally cross the stripe about the same time as the other guy if you both close on the tree..but with practice, even .01 becomes easily "seen" and you can nail it about every time.
 
#63 ·
All these people that know EXACTLY what the cars gonna run at half track, whompin the throttle at the 60 ft timers LMAO. Killing ET at the 1/8 mile......All that shit. Always dead on when they take the stripe and pushing you out when they get behind.

Bracket racing is so easy.....
 
#66 ·
i like making quick decisions right at the moment. if i have to long to think about what im going to do i make the wrong choice. like marriage(long decision wrong choice) or i want that candy bar(quick decision good choice). so thats why i drive like i do.
 
#67 · (Edited)
No disrespect meant, winlight148. Sorry if you took it that way. It just seems like we are talking about the basics that most Bracket racers learn in the beginning and all strive to perfect forever. If we all had it "down pat" we would never have to race. We would never lose. There are a lot of variables involved and no one wins em all. You just have to strive to win and watch those who do. Surround yourself or get to know good racers and talk and learn from them.
 
#70 ·
leavinsteven, i didnt think you meant any disrespect. besides why are we apoligizing to each other. this is yellowbullet.com bitch. i tried holding , it didnt work for me. plus i learned from my dad who raced in the 60s to the late 80s and i started in the early ninties and holding the way they do now wasnt as popular back then . old habits die hard. i just hate dialing up breakin out and thinkin all weak , if only i hada scrubed a little more. allthow i do that when i dont hold too.:) when i was box racin i didnt win as much as i do footin. its brutal out there. but eastcoast footbrakin is getting cutthrowt too.
 
#78 ·
chevydude, your strategy sounds good if your going to different tracks where they dont know you but if your at the local track and i see you every weekend,well then i know you hold and i would hold also and try to drive you through the stripe, riding the brake hard at the end knowing your gonna break out....right! jmo....i guess theres lots of strategies out there and what works for one may not work for another
 
#86 ·
I do agree, It's more ways to win & loose a drag race than can be counted! But as far as racing locally & people knowing your game....some do & those are the good races! But to be honest, Most are scared to hold with you, even if they know!They'd rather try to kill the tree(Chance going red) & Hope I'd have to break out to catch them..... If I dial honest,I'm the same on the tree, but things are moving fast & when your talking about winning races as close as .0001 anxiety's run high & there's normally plenty of opportunity's for disaster 99% of the time with Back door type bracket racing! (" I've seen some goofy shit at the stripe")

It's the Split second, Knee jerk reactions that I avoid! #1 being, Brakes are for stopping! I do not Jab the brakes on any car @ the finish line! I like to throttle roll, it's just as effective...You get them guy's up there Standing on the brakes & sideways & the win light still dont come on! Holding Cuts out a bunch of that shit Because you get there early!! & some of the less experienced get that "I'm fucked sense" & just hold it out the back door! LOL!

My Strategy consist of this 1 rule....EVERY RACE IS DIFFERENT! If it were the same, then you'd be lined up against the same guy every round!!
I don't hold all the time, I dial honest & may stretch my legs with a ghost number from time to time, But 99% of every race is won by a drivers ability to get said car from point A to B you have to be efficient during that race, So you prepare for that car! It's all about how the driver views the race!

The first time I held Numbers was By mistake!! Really! I was at a very marginal racetrack & there was a .05 difference in lanes, After having the slower lane, I forgot to change the dial & didn't realize until I looked up at the scoreboards after doing my burnout! I won the round BUT it was a lesson learned!! Every track is not perfect, so you better know how to hold something because you do a ton better knowing you can run the number instead of hoping!!!
 
#84 ·
I normally do the chasing, so I dial it tight. If I catch them early I lift. If I catch them near the stripe, I keep It pegged and push on the brake, that'll usually knock a 10th off.

I hate lifting but I like winning better!!
 
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