pecker extender

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Things should be outlawed. You stage with your tires, so that’s what should break the finish line beams. A lot of guys dive on the breaks to use their front spoilers take the stripe instead of their tires. A hundredth is a big number in bracket racing. I lost a state points championship because I was racing my opponents tires not realizing his stupid little “spoiler” tripped the finish line beams after the slicks expanded at speed.
 
The pecker extender SHOULD be used only to allow someone to equalize the front overhang compared to an opponent.
The car I chose to race has at least two feet less front overhang than an 80s/90s camaro/firebird.
I agree, the tires should break the finish beam.
Since they don't, why should I have an unfair disadvantage? Cause my car has one foot front overhang, and the guy in the other lane has 3 1/2 feet stock? Pecker extender rules still don't let me get even with that firebird in the other lane.
 
I don’t have one but I’m stupid for not having one. In a class full of dragsters every dragster I race has a pecker, their nose piece.
 
Bracket racing you can take that into account when tightening it up at the top end. I can’t see a solution in heads up racing other then raising the ground clearance. A guy could nearly drag their front end on the ground across the stripe by airing up some air bags in the rear along with tire expansion.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I don’t have one but I’m stupid for not having one. In a class full of dragsters every dragster I race has a pecker, their nose piece.
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I want to agree with that, without insulting you,lol. I'm stupid too, considering the front overhang I've got.....
If I'm door to door in the lights, I'm losing nine out of ten.
 
33IMP said:
I want to agree with that, without insulting you,lol. I'm stupid too, considering the front overhang I've got.....
If I'm door to door in the lights, I'm losing nine out of ten.
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my duster doesn’t have a lot of room from the front tire to the bumper and I wouldn’t have it out past the bumper but 3 inches is three inches.
 
School me here! l don't understand how it helps in bracket racing. Seems like all it does is make the rollout a lot longer and thus the car run a diff (faster) number (i.e. a rolling start) but who cares? It would always do this so it seems like the dial-in takes care of that?

Now in class or index racing, I can see where it would make for a faster ET so the motor doesn't have to make as much power to run the number. Maybe helps if you're struggling to run a number.
 
Demonx2 said:
School me here! l don't understand how it helps in bracket racing. Seems like all it does is make the rollout a lot longer and thus the car run a diff (faster) number (i.e. a rolling start) but who cares? It would always do this so it seems like the dial-in takes care of that?

Now in class or index racing, I can see where it would make for a faster ET so the motor doesn't have to make as much power to run the number. Maybe helps if you're struggling to run a number.
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To understand this you have to understand the staging lights beems and finish line beems. The staging lights are higher so you stage by your tires. The finish line is lower. On a bracket car the advantage is when your competition is lining you up while staging you pecker will hit the finish line before your tire. For the long pecker in heads up racing it shortens the track making your eye faster.
 
Demonx2 said:
School me here! l don't understand how it helps in bracket racing. Seems like all it does is make the rollout a lot longer and thus the car run a diff (faster) number (i.e. a rolling start) but who cares? It would always do this so it seems like the dial-in takes care of that?

Now in class or index racing, I can see where it would make for a faster ET so the motor doesn't have to make as much power to run the number. Maybe helps if you're struggling to run a number.
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If it’s low enough it will trip the beams at the top end which can effect the guy in the other lane when squaring up before the stripe. If they think they are ahead by a wheel the extender could be further ahead than they think and trip the beams in your favor. Like I said, it bit me once. I knew I was ahead of the guy, but didn’t realize he had a little pecker.
 
pittsburghracer said:
To understand this you have to understand the staging lights beems and finish line beems. The staging lights are higher so you stage by your tires. The finish line is lower. On a bracket car the advantage is when your competition is lining you up while staging you pecker will hit the finish line before your tire. For the long pecker in heads up racing it shortens the track making your eye faster.
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Backwards, John. Starting line at 3", finish line at 6".
 
There is a spec in the rule book about how low a car can be (ground clearance) before or after the tire, to avoid tripping the start beams with bodywork, or headers. Or pecker extender. (Had a friend get bounced at a Firestone centerline division finals. He made the mistake of beating the local track champ/favorite, and got protested that his headers were too low. They weren't)
The finish line lights are higher, and if the nose is long enough and low enough to trip the beams, it can make a winner out of an otherwise close/losing race.
As stated above, even against a non-peckered car, my front overhang is so short, I have to be driver-even with my opponents fender if I want the stripe.
 
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To be truthful, a pecker extender can cause a breakout.
"In theory", if a racer is used to breaking the finish beams with a tire, but then taps the brakes in the lights the pecker extender (or normal low bodywork), can shorten the track enough to maybe, MAYBE, cause a breakout. Dial would have to be dead nuts though. Pecker first, instead of tire? Maybe .005 ?
 
Thx guys. If the pecker is low enough to set the stage lights (3" off the ground), then it must still trip the et light at the end at 6" off the ground. So the only advantage would be a longer rollout essentially giving more of a "running start" before the et clock starts at the starting line. This would give a lower et but in bracket racing, that really doesn't matter as it would be in the dial-in anyway. The only advantage I can see is visual at the end of the track if you're trying to play some cat and mouse and don't realize the pecker is there to trip the lights instead of the tire. For the 1/8 mile racers, I wouldn't think there's time to worry about that. For the 1/4 mile racers...maybe. Seems like a lot of hoo-hah for not much for bracket racing. Maybe why I haven't seen them... or maybe I just haven't been smart enough to see them!

Thx for the education...fascinating!!
 
It's ILLEGAL to trip the stage beams with anything but the tire. No bodywork, no header, no pecker.
(Used to have what was known as a guard beam, would trip a red if it broke while the stage beam was still on. Haven't seen one in a long while.)
But you're right. The advantage is the visual at the end of the track. Not any rollout or E.T.
 
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