DAKOTAMOTORSPORTS

Here are some more terms to make sure you’re “up to speed” ‘when you attend your first live event. It’s better to be in-the-know than left in the dust!Header: A fine-tuned exhaust system that routes exhaust from the engine; replaces conventional exhaust manifolds.Holeshot: When a driver reacts quicker to the Christmas Tree to win a race against an opponent with a quicker elapsed time.Index: The expected performance for vehicles in a class as assigned by NHRA. It allows various classes of cars in the same category to race together competitively.Interval timers: Part of a secondary timing system that records elapsed times, primarily for the racers’ benefit, at 60, 330, 660, and 1,000 feet.Methanol: Pure methyl alcohol produced by synthesis; used in Top Alcohol Dragsters and Top Alcohol Funny Cars.Nitromethane: Produced specifically as a fuel for drag racing, it is the result of a chemical reaction between Read the rest of this entry »

If you head out to a live event you’re going to hear a lot of terminology being bandied about. And since the last thing you want is to look like a newbie, take a look at some terms you might hear so you’ll understand what you’re seeing an experiencing on as full a level as possible.Air box: Serves to settle “negative air” around carburetors on motorcycles the way a hood scoop does on a car.Air foil: The same concept as a wing, it is a stabilizer generally used to create downforce which increases stability and tire-to-track adherence at high speeds.Bang the blower: An explosion inside the supercharger caused by a flame from the combustion process that accidentally re-enters the supercharger where fuel and air are present. It is generally caused by a compromised intake valve.Breakout: Refers to a contestant running quicker than he or she “dialed” his or her vehicle (predicted how quick it would run), and used only in handicap races. Unless an opponent commits a more serious foul (e.g., red-lights, crosses the centerline, or fails a post-race inspection), the driver who breaks out loses. If both drivers break out Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re new to the world of drag racing then a little primer might be in order so you can appreciate every nuance when you attend your first live race.First of all, what is a drag race? It is simply an acceleration contents on a track (or drag strip) that begins from a standing-still start between two vehicles over a pre-measured distance. An event is a serried of these two-vehicle races run in succession tournament-style through a process of eliminations. The winner from each set of eliminations progresses to the next round, and so on until only one victor remains.Upon each run (or “pass”) two separate performances are monitored: elapsed time and top speed. The start-to-finish clock indicates the vehicle’s elapsed time and speed is measured in Read the rest of this entry »

Pro stock truck driving as once endorsed by the NHRA may seem like little more than an urban legend since its unexpected and untimely death in the 2001 season. It left a lot of racers not only feeling disgruntled, but literally out of pocket with regard to expenses they had already allocated in anticipation of the upcoming seasons. With that kind of figurative rug being pulled out from beneath them you can bet there were a lot of unhappy drivers, fans, and peripheral support members. Enough, some would say, to drive anyone away far, far away from ever wanting anything to do with racing again.But as the adage says “time heals all wounds” and one can’t help but wonder if Read the rest of this entry »