starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Racers,

let me hear about some successful methods/equipment for good starting reaction. That is to say, long throw switch, brake pedal switch, etc.

Thanks

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

K.I.S.S. principle.... the less peripherals the better. Footbrake it, and get a handheld practice tree from Biondo. Train your brain.

$.02,

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

...add to that a healthy diet, lots of sleep, abstain of alcohol, sugar or caffeine the week prior and during the race.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I appreciate both these comments. The note about healthy foods and adequate sleep is especially timely for me. My weigh and fitness level have gradually, "slipped away" and I don't like it and intend to do something about it!

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Or, you could try the John Force method...gulp down Reese's Cups while in the lanes.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

are you kidding?

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Put a young gun in the driver seat. I did.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

No, I am not kidding. As a matter of fact, many of the top racers do follow a diet prior to a race, exercise and get a good rest. Do you think your reaction times are going to be better after downing beers and having a steak the night before a big race?

As a matter of fact, I remember a well known Pro Stock racer at a Safeway store on a Sunday morning prior to a national event, searching for Tylenol to deal with a hangover due to excessive drinking. He admitted to another person that he only had two hours of sleep, had been partying and drinking heavily. If NHRA had taken a close look at him, probably they would not had allowed him to drive.

There is a book about motrosports driving that was written by Jackie Stewart. He wrote a whole chapter about diets and physical conditioning for racing. I feel it was one of the reasons why he became such an excellent driver.

As a matter of fact, one of the best sections in National Dragster, was the Running Healthy column with Dr. Jeremy Torstveit. He addressed many of these issues on his articles.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

SSDiv6

I completely agree with your comments. There may be some drivers who can party the night before and perform the next day, I can not. My age is 61 and I have gradually come to understand the importance of driver fitness as part of the overall performance package.

I think it would be an interesting discussion to discover the lifestyle habits of successful drivers. I expect, for the most part, drivers who regularly appear in the late rounds have not been at a late night party in the previous days.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

In his book, Jackie Stewart said that the week prior of the race, he would only eat fish, lamb, vegetables, sea weed (not the one people smoke), fresh fruits, juice and water. No alcohol, beef, pastries, sugars or caffeine.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Re the starting line follow Beards suggestions and you will never go wrong.

Re the physical end, its no secret, get your body in some sort of condition/weight level you can repeat time and time again, and put your body in that state when you practice......

Rise at the same time, hydrate the same way, take the same vitamins, exercise the same way, use caffiene/don't use caffeine the same way. Going out or not and getting wrecked, is up to you, but if you do it, do it consistently.

Pre-game/race meals and snacks should be pretty consistent.....don't loose the race due to the chili-dog blues, or tasting the shots you had the night before.

After you get to that point, then you can make the needed adjustments for everything you are taking into consideration for your car. Don't pass out due to de-hydration!

I run every day, 6-8 miles, drink the same amount of water each morning, don't try anything new, and try not to get injured when its the day before and day of an event/game.

Works for me and my hopefully slowly aging 40 year old body still playing competitive baseball, the racing thing is a newer pursuit. Your results and milage will vary.

Eric
Stk 1883

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

what fun is that?

Greg

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I am attempting the whole diet and getting in shape deal starting Jan 2 of this year and by the time racing started at end of march I was down 35lbs and felt great and was driving much better. Sadly I could not keep it up and have now gained about 1/3 of it back as I could not stay away from the beef and sodas. I am still off of the fast food and went back to just water this week. My wife and I are going to go back to the hard core diet soon as well. Although it has helped me at the track especially on those 100 degree summer days, I really did it mostly for myself. My hips were killing me after a long day in the shop due to the extra weight and I am only 38. I also dont want to end up like may father who has had several heart attacks over the last couple of years. Dont get me wrong as the owner of a beef cattle operation I want you all to eat it, just dont do what I have done and eat it almost every day since I was a very small child. If you are thinking about getting in shape this has helped me alot, Next time you think a big mac sounds good ask yourself the same thing you ask before you buy that trick speed part of the week is it going to make the car faster. After a month it gets easier but its never easy at least not yet for me.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

For the first time in probably ten years or so I'm eating properly and getting the right amount of rest nightly and it has made a huge difference in my driving and how I feel on race day........................Getting old is tough and it takes more work trying to keep up with todays young guns . Now if I could only stay away from "Uncle Buck" and those SuperGas guys ........they really know how not to eat ! ! !

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Gregory P.

I think you and I are in trouble on this one!!!
Sounds like they are getting ready for a 15 round boxing match.

Jim

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Cimo,

If it makes you feel any better, my old football coach was told by his Dr. to stop drinking beer in order to lose some weight (mind you this is a man that LOVES his Coors Light). He quit drinking beer for a month and gained 4 lbs. Who says beer isn't good for the waistline?

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Jared...it was not the lack of beer...it was the substitution for the beer...

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Jay-Rod!

I think it all has a lot to do with how long ago you were born. I attended an IHRA bracket finals over the weekend. The kid that won both gamblers races stayed up all night howling at the moon, drank and ate everything he could get his hands on all weekend and still kicked everybodys butt.

Jim

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

greg hill... ill drink to that !

i agree you should repeat your agenda, most of us division 3 racers have it down...
rookies and recreational drinkers should not show up at murphys the night before 8am eliminations, leave that for the professionals !

hell if i wanted to drink fruit juice and eat baked fish i'd take up chess.

jack mccarthy

of course i dont win a lot of rounds but my FUN vs. MONEY SPENT is way up on the meter !!!!

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I've been partying and racing for many years. I've been close several times at national events, but have not won yet. I party hard and will suffer the consequences if necessary. I try to do it consistently. I have read books, heard advice from great racers, and witnessed many versions of how to win. I am 60 years old and feel OK. I am overweight, but I enjoy good food. I do not eat or drink anything "diet" Beer is my favorite drink. I figure that when I die it is not from some illness from how I have lead my life, but from some idiot who crashes into me on the highway.
As for the racing aspect of things, I have put pressure on myself, I have tried to be calm, I have tried to refrain from partying the week before, I have tried to be careful of what I eat before a race. The resuls are always the same........some times you win, sometimes you don't. The actual race for me is only 14 seconds, alot more time to concentrate than you fast 10 or 11 second cars. Stuff happens, you have heard of the million ways to lose a race or win a race.

Dragsinger, I am going to give you the greatest bit of advice I recieved from a very smart friend.
When you are sitting in the lanes. Look around, see the sights. Are you happy that you are there? Do you enjoy the competition? Are you having fun? If you are then take in this time and really relish in it, put a smile on your face and enjoy. When you start your engine to pull into the waterbox, smile one more time and let the fun of competition begin. Good luck to you.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA PARTY

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Dragsinger, I am going to give you the greatest bit of advice I received from a very smart friend.
When you are sitting in the lanes. Look around, see the sights. Are you happy that you are there? Do you enjoy the competition? Are you having fun? If you are then take in this time and really relish in it, put a smile on your face and enjoy. When you start your engine to pull into the waterbox, smile one more time and let the fun of competition begin. Good luck to you.

Very Good Ron, Thanks

And yes, for sure your comments are dead-on because just being there and being a part of the action is a very satisfying part of the package. No question, winning is great and what I strive to do. But if I have given myself every reasonable opportunity to win and performed well but do not win, I do not beat myself up. Instead, I will shorty be making plans and looking forward to the next outing.

I

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Amen Brother Ron! Amen! Party on, have fun, go racing! Jim

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I agree that dowing 6 beers before first round isn't a good thing. Thats drinking and driving in my books and thats not cool. But if you thing that eating oats and salads and peanuts and drinking water is going to help your reaction time you best think again. You can't drive...you can't drive...period. Id like to call myself a recreational drinker at the races. I have a few rye and cokes after all the racing is done and ya we do eat steaks and hamburgers...ect. Its never hurt my reaction time....but it does need help. And I would never look at the food im eating to cure it. Never. Im not a National Eveny winner...im a Weekend Warrior that is in the sport for fun...not to make a living. I race Stock because I love muscle cars and I love going fast with stock parts. If you are in this sport to attemt to make a living then you should take up something else because its a Weekend Warrior that enjoys himself at the races and parties with his friends that will put the guy who is reading a Martha Stewart book on "How to Cut a Light" on the trailer.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

"Martha Stewart book on "How to Cut a Light" on the trailer."

Ha, but Martha when to the jail house!

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Your absolutely right. Some people can't see the difference between having a few and having too many. What scares me is all the clowns flying around on golfcars and atv's drunk when my car is outside the trailer. Im going to have to ask Dan Fletcher what he does next time I talk to him in the lanes. I can remember a second call for superstock to the lanes and passing him while he was walking back to his trailer with an ice cream. If eating ice cream will help me win a national count me in.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I will take one example of an old racer that takes care of himself: Bob Dennis. Those that know Bob, will recognize that he jogs and also stays in a healthy diet. Let's also acknowledge that he did not only qualified #1 at Indy, but also won Super Stock class. Indy, due to its lenght, can be trying to many racers.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

In lieu of ice cream, he could have been eating some nutritional and healthy frozen yogurt... :)

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

ok enough man...go have a beer and stop it with your frozen yogert. ;)

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I have been off road racing (SCORE) for the last 7 years. I noticed a big differnece between the off road crew and the drag racers. I noticed that most drag racers were in bed by 10 and not seen until the pits opened. The off roaders left thier hotel rooms at 10 and drank all night long. One of the top drivers told me that a hang over just made him drive a little meaner

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

This is an interesting topic, and so far most of the discussion has been on driver reaction time (DRT), but I think the author was looking for tips on vehicle reaction times (VRT). As most of you know DRT is very difficult to change, you can sharpen it but making it consistant is the thing. I agree 100% with getting rest, staying hydrated, eating right and physically fit as very important factors.

One thing most of the older racers face are meds for many different kinds of health issues. Many of these can affect ones natural reaction time, this is something the average person would never notice, but as a drag racer you will when thousands of a second count.

As I mentioned earlier being consistant is the most important, yet most difficult factor to achieve. Thats where practice and natural abilitly come in. Face it some racers have it and some don't and never will, some people are just better at certain things in life than others. The difference between the great drivers and the good drivers is DRT consistancy. A great driver will have a RT variation of say (these are just random numbers) .020 average of 50 RT's where the average racer may be .040. So the racer with the .020 RT variation can set his car up to react closer to .000 than the racer with .040 RT variation.

Once you reach this point you can start to adjust the car to work with you. When the car is working right and the driver has a comfortable spot on the tree and the VRT is right you'll start going rounds. Often you'll see a racer change a converter, gear ratio, or tire size and all of a sudden he starts winning rounds. It can go the other way also, being class racers we are always trying to go faster and sometimes a change may pick the car up .1 but hurt the VRT by .05 and now you have a faster car to lose in the early rounds with. Now it's time to make more adjustments and it just keeps on going.

Let's hear about some things that can help VRT's. I'll start with converters, if your late put a tighter one in and if your red a looser one may help. Thats if adjusting the launch RPM doesn't help, some times it will sometimes you won't see enough change. So lets hear some others.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

At the season opener divisional race in Bradenton, FL I took my future son in law. He had a good time and enjoyed all the cool looking cars. All the friendships and howdy do's from other racers that I have'nt seen since last year impressed him. I informed him of the great parties at night with all these other people. What a dissapointment to walk around the pits at 9:00 and see no one. It was like a ghost town. Everybody was huddled in their motorhomes or had gone off to their motel rooms. I believe that we saw maybe 4 areas where there were people hanging out, but it was not as if they were having a good time. I guess that most people have decided to lead the clean life and get ready for the upcoming days activities. I would understand this reasoning if it was on a Saturday night, with eliminations starting at 8:00 AM on Sunday, but this was a Friday night. What a dissapointment.
If anybody is at a race and wants to have a good time at night, look me up, I'll be the one with a beer in hand and food in my mouth sitting there waitnig to party.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA maybe I should get serious..................right.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Good post Mr. Mirza. I spoke to Scotty Richardson years ago just before he won the Stock Championship. I asked him what was the difference between his performance last year when he was going red quite a bit, and this year when he was cutting good lights. he said to me that he weakened his front end springs to slow the cars reaction down and put him where he wanted to be.
Even though I speak of the partying side of racing not affecting what happens during the race the following day, it is extremely important that your race car be properly set up to compliment the driver.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA am i getting serious.................oh no

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Tire sizes, tire presure (both front *and* rear), launch rpm (not to mention actual staging technique, re: bumping in and then getting on the coverter vs getting on the converter and then bumping the car in), taking extra bumps after staged, staging alignment, sunglasses, choosing a lane based on the sun's orientation with the tree, shock settings...

Changing a converter just to move r/t sounds like way too much work for me, George! ;) But otherwise great post! You hit on the most important thing -- if the driver's not consistent, you can throw everything else away, because you don't know what you're adjusting FROM. Race or test a lot, and worry about becoming a consistent reacting driver first. I don't care if you're .080 green or -.020 red all day long, just as long as you are *something* all day. Once you've found *your* spot, then you can go to work on the car.

Some people think that there is just one spot for a driver... that may be true for some, but if you mess around with a practice tree long enough on different rollouts, you may find that you can be comfortable in several different sweet spots that may be several hundredths apart. You may have one "best" spot, but there may be others that are quite good for you as well, and give you a fighting change. I've driven more than one car that I had to leave on the 2nd bulb going out... cars anywhere from high 15's to high 9's!

Another important note is that all of these opinions are just that -- listen to everyone, then go figure out what works best for YOU. Every driver is different. Chip Johnson is a killer top-bulb racer, but he's a tree counter when bottom-bulbing. Some people like to block, and some are worthless if they can't see it coming (me). Arm yourself with information and seat time.

I guess the best advice I can give class racers is what I told Jim Bailey earlier this year: "Approach driving like you do building your car. Break it down into its component pieces and say 'How do I make that piece better?'"

I've been working on a Guide to Bracket Racing off and on since college. I'd finish it someday, but I keep learning stuff.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Best kept secrets in D-1
The "Brew Crew"
The "Brat-pack"
& The "Wolf-pack"

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Ron, that is an interesting observation. Just do a poll on the age of the Stock and Super Stock population ages and you will see that there are not a lot of young people racing in these classes in comparison to the older folks that are racing. A lot of the young ones are the kids of racers.

In the past, we have discussed the shift in the population of our classes; interesting enough, we have come to the conclusion that many of the kids are more interested in Japanese/JDM/Ricers/Drifting, Hip-Hop/Rap music, technology/computers, hybrids, environment and text messaging. In a nut-shell, a lot of us are getting old and many of our kids are not interested. Also, look at the limited selection of new cars to race; probably with the advent of the new S/SS factory race cars from Ford and Dodge, things may change. Also, the cost of racing has escalated.

The new kids cannot afford that buy an old muscle car and build a car from scratch because the prices have gone up with the classic car auctions and the trends to modifiy the cars just like Unique and Fosse by lowering the cars, putting big wheels and big sound systems.

Let's face the reality...our population is growing older, health issues pop-up and we cannot party the way we did in our earlier days. :)

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Michael Beard's advice and website, have improved my consistency on reaction times this year. After the Division 9 Rockingham race, I purchased a pocket tree and started practicing the second light out. I thought it sounded crazy, but it works with my car (VRT) and my (DRT). I was really consistent at Jackson; every time was red; but they were close to perfect. On Sunday I was -.009 in qualifying and -.007, 1st Round with a 7.524 on a 7.52 dial. I'll keep practicing, and maybe next year.....

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Yea, getting old is a bummer, but the alternative is worse.

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to know that the better physical condition you are in, the better and more consistant job you'll do on the starting line.

I'm at the point where I'm happy to just be out there and still be a part of it.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

As i sit here looking at my 14 iron men and reading this post i thought for a moment.
1) I'm fat (250)
2) I never have drank a drop of alky
3) I never did any drugs
4) I get about 5-6 hrs sleep a night.
5) I eat fast food for breakfast at least 3-4 times a week the other times it's a honey bun and diet coke.
6) I eat fast food(CHEESEBURGERS) for lunch at least 3-4 times a week.
7 Healthy is an occasional salad with my cheeseburger or Subway
8) We eat Red Meat for Supper at least 3-4 times a week.
9) I own a vending company so I eat crap all day.
10) I probably drink a case of water a year.
11) Will I'm racing I may stop and eat a steak and Ice cream or I may munch on trail mix all day depends on the mood.
Bottom line is I have FUN and win an occasional race or 2.
If you want to be good at this don't over analyze, have fun, and get some seat time.
Chip Johnson
p.s.
Don't beleive in practice trees

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

I follow the strict technique of Bubba Linke. he seems to have it down seeings he is #6 in the world at this moment. So if you want the secret come see us at the Dutch.

Re: starting line reaction tools/methods for stockers
 

Haha, now that's funny!