Reading the E.T. slip for newbie racers
Yeah, for new bracket racers, just dial it hard (honest) and try to not win by too large of a margin. Half a car length ish is fine…don’t win by a full car length or more, because you are probably breaking out and going to lose.
Holding numbers (sand bagging, dialing soft, etc) should only be done by experienced racers…otherwise you are just giving yourself more ways to lose….but if you know what you are doing (and done correctly), holding numbers can help you win races that you had NO business winning. When/if I hold anything, it is usually just to cover my reaction time…or if the track in marginal (tracking issues) dial soft enough to account for that variable, but remember, whatever you hold you have to get rid of at the stripe or you WILL break out and lose.
Example time slip: If I think I’m going to cut a 0.030 light or better then I would dial up 0.03. In this example, my car should have run a 6.59 all out, but I dialed a 6.62. I missed the tree a little (0.043) and my opponent had a much better light (0.028). By dialing soft I was able to get out in front and control the race.
At the finish I had to decide to either take the stripe, or give it to my opponent. Knowing I was holding some, I had to slow down, and since he was close I decided to take the stripe…Granted, I got lucky on this one….I like to take 0.01-0.001 stripe, and I accidentally took 0.0002 (less than ½ an inch) and won.
On the flip side, if my opponent had been really close to me before I slowed to lose the numbers I was holding, I would have tapped the brake to get in behind him and let him have the stripe…..because that would indicate that he was on a breakout pass (or it would indicate that I REALLY missed the tree)...either way, let him eat the stripe.
Clear as mud…..good…..
Yeah, for new bracket racers, just dial it hard (honest) and try to not win by too large of a margin. Half a car length ish is fine…don’t win by a full car length or more, because you are probably breaking out and going to lose.
Holding numbers (sand bagging, dialing soft, etc) should only be done by experienced racers…otherwise you are just giving yourself more ways to lose….but if you know what you are doing (and done correctly), holding numbers can help you win races that you had NO business winning. When/if I hold anything, it is usually just to cover my reaction time…or if the track in marginal (tracking issues) dial soft enough to account for that variable, but remember, whatever you hold you have to get rid of at the stripe or you WILL break out and lose.
Example time slip: If I think I’m going to cut a 0.030 light or better then I would dial up 0.03. In this example, my car should have run a 6.59 all out, but I dialed a 6.62. I missed the tree a little (0.043) and my opponent had a much better light (0.028). By dialing soft I was able to get out in front and control the race.
At the finish I had to decide to either take the stripe, or give it to my opponent. Knowing I was holding some, I had to slow down, and since he was close I decided to take the stripe…Granted, I got lucky on this one….I like to take 0.01-0.001 stripe, and I accidentally took 0.0002 (less than ½ an inch) and won.
On the flip side, if my opponent had been really close to me before I slowed to lose the numbers I was holding, I would have tapped the brake to get in behind him and let him have the stripe…..because that would indicate that he was on a breakout pass (or it would indicate that I REALLY missed the tree)...either way, let him eat the stripe.
Clear as mud…..good…..
