This month's feature : Drag Racing

Drag Racing

It's spring time and that means that the blood is starting to boil inside the bodies of many enthusiasts around the country. Cars are getting dusted off and finishing touches are being made, bottles of VHT are getting ordered, and new rubber is being applied to many rides. That's right, the tracks are opening up and the Christmas trees are being powered again. It's drag racing season boys and girls, are you ready?

Some new things are happening in the drag racing industry: the biggest is large diameter drag radials. Nitto is now producing their NT555R's in 20" sizes for the Viper and Vette crowds so that the new cars can join in the fun. This is a big step for many newer vehicles that have large brakes, front and rear, and previously couldn't apply the old standard 15" Drag Slicks because they wouldn't clear the rear brakes. Now they will be able to join in the fun, and with the expansion of 600+ horsepower "supercars" hitting the streets, this is going to be a big step in making these cars competitive down the 1320'.

It's also not just new technology that is in the works for most enthusiasts, some old tricks are still around and more popular then ever. Many people don't want a "drag" only car and are using some insight from the "old timers" to make their cars more efficient. With the commonality of IRS applied to new pony cars, people are getting out the bicycle pumps to stiffen up their rear suspension. That's right, "Drag Bags" are again popular and are being applied to newer Muscle Cars around the country. BMR Fabrication has recently shown a lot of success with Drag Bag kit for the Pontiac GTO, it is a simple, inexpensive way to stiffen up these cars and cure the wheel hop that plagues most IRS automobiles. You simply put an air bag within the springs on the rear end and take a bicycle pump and put some air in them. You virtually are creating a higher spring rate without having to swap out the factory spring! When your day is done at the track, simply deflate them and drive home like your vehicle was stock!

The NHRA has also made changes to their rules. With the inception of stock automobiles, running mid 11 second 1/4 miles these days, some rules needed to be changed. Previous rules required convertibles that ran faster then 13.99 to have a drive shaft loop as well as a roll cage. But with cars like the Dodge Viper running into the 11's stock, this prevented many owners from attending track events because they did not want to have to modify their stock automobiles. Under the new E.T. Street regulations, stock automobiles running 11.50 or slower will not be required to use a roll cage, and other restrictions that were required for these automobiles in the past have been lifted.

I wish all of you the best of luck. Start practicing your reaction times now while you are sitting on the couch waiting for the tracks to open in your "winter" plagued areas. Get the cars fired up and let's see some passes people!!!