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Bernie Cunningham · 09-14-2007, 01:27 PM

Thx. Todd and Michael.

Tim G, thankyou as well but I must explain my racing philosophy, this not directed towards you only but contains to the 2-step and button issue.
Racecars are nothing but a tool that we use in a contest between ourselves to negate 1320' as accuratly and consistently as we can. Truth be known, what the heck are we using cars for, this is like bringing a knife to a gun fight! To define the correct tool for the job it would be one that doesn't spin the tires, is not reliant on weather or changing of any conditions, ie. tire pessure, timing, gear ratios, track prep, tune-up, etc. etc. and have no human input.
Because we use these ill equipped tools, (we do drag race cars and not robots) it's in our best interest to prepare our tools to complete the job the same everytime to the best of our knowledge and skill. If you think about it, it's not very easy with all of the scientific variables out there. Now the contest, this is where the human factor counts and because we are human you'll never, never get the same result twice just like in any other contest whether it's a board game or an athletic sport. We try to do our best and as always, there are people that are better at it than others. Drag racing is something that you don't want to be perfect at every time, .000 on the tree and dead-on with a zero is not how to keep winning rounds one after the other. It's more like 'he who screws up the least, wins'

OK, your probably wondering about this rant.

We race and win/lose using thousands of a second to decide the contest. We all know that our starting line parameters (there are a ton of em) are important. A couple of the most critical are stall RPM and accuracy leaving the last yellow. This is why most racers have gone to two steps and hand operated buttons (just as it's allowed in the rules). Pedal mounted buttons have been found to be inconsistent just as true footbraking can be. A lot of drivers prefer to footbrake and manually stall their cars and there are some very good ones out there, can't take anything away from them and it's a personal choice, just like the car combo choice you made as to what tool you'll bring to the contest. Therefore, 2-steps and buttons have been used to limit some variables and have helped a lot of mediocre racers get better at the job, who has a problem with that. We've also seen how the LED's have helped but there will always be the human factor in the equation to level the playing field and decide who wins or loses each contest.

Thx. B

09-14-2007, 01:27 PM	#82
Bernie Cunningham Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 561 Likes: 46 Liked 52 Times in 17 Posts	Re: Stockers....buttons.....check This Out Thx. Todd and Michael. Tim G, thankyou as well but I must explain my racing philosophy, this not directed towards you only but contains to the 2-step and button issue. Racecars are nothing but a tool that we use in a contest between ourselves to negate 1320' as accuratly and consistently as we can. Truth be known, what the heck are we using cars for, this is like bringing a knife to a gun fight! To define the correct tool for the job it would be one that doesn't spin the tires, is not reliant on weather or changing of any conditions, ie. tire pessure, timing, gear ratios, track prep, tune-up, etc. etc. and have no human input. Because we use these ill equipped tools, (we do drag race cars and not robots) it's in our best interest to prepare our tools to complete the job the same everytime to the best of our knowledge and skill. If you think about it, it's not very easy with all of the scientific variables out there. Now the contest, this is where the human factor counts and because we are human you'll never, never get the same result twice just like in any other contest whether it's a board game or an athletic sport. We try to do our best and as always, there are people that are better at it than others. Drag racing is something that you don't want to be perfect at every time, .000 on the tree and dead-on with a zero is not how to keep winning rounds one after the other. It's more like 'he who screws up the least, wins' OK, your probably wondering about this rant. We race and win/lose using thousands of a second to decide the contest. We all know that our starting line parameters (there are a ton of em) are important. A couple of the most critical are stall RPM and accuracy leaving the last yellow. This is why most racers have gone to two steps and hand operated buttons (just as it's allowed in the rules). Pedal mounted buttons have been found to be inconsistent just as true footbraking can be. A lot of drivers prefer to footbrake and manually stall their cars and there are some very good ones out there, can't take anything away from them and it's a personal choice, just like the car combo choice you made as to what tool you'll bring to the contest. Therefore, 2-steps and buttons have been used to limit some variables and have helped a lot of mediocre racers get better at the job, who has a problem with that. We've also seen how the LED's have helped but there will always be the human factor in the equation to level the playing field and decide who wins or loses each contest. Thx. B