Why are people scared of the drag strip?

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All of the above comments are valid and I would like to add : a lot of these so called "rods","pro-street","pro-modified" ,"rat rods" ar just plain UNSAFE . I wouldn't get within 100 feet of them . Engines in cockeyed , grape tig welds , and the biggest f-up, batteries in the trunk with 1/4" j-bolts . Get me away from these people

That's why I have mine inspected every few years by the region NHRA inspector. It's certified to 8.49 or slower. The inspector is sharp and spends a lot of time on it. He has gigged me a couple of times and he brought things to my attention. I make the updates immediately and bring it back to him., Safety is first.....
 
The biggest reason is fear of looking stupid trying something new. The second might be the car might perform less than they thought and some people just like the idea of high performance car, not the actual practice. They like saying “look I have a 600hp car” but they have NO interest is putting it to work
Yeah I think that's a huge one for a lot of people who haven't done it before. They're looking stupid.
I guess when you're a pro at looking stupid like me, it's just par for the course...
 
Yeah I think that's a huge one for a lot of people who haven't done it before. They're looking stupid.
I guess when you're a pro at looking stupid like me, it's just par for the course...

Trust me, they will not look good if they are trying to race competitively against seasoned racers. But if they just go to the track with their buddies and "Test and Tune", they will have a blast....
 
Your car doesn't have AC?

Nope, just windows and a spray bottle if it's that hot out.
What are you supposed to do in Vegas (the second closest track) sit in the AC car all day?:D
It's already starting to hit 100 at both tracks and the closest one hits 100 tomorrow.
 
Here's something to ponder : If you have a 13 second car , your car is faster than 50% of the cars on the street . If you have a 12 second car, your car is faster than 60% of the cars on the road . If you have an 11 second car , your car is faster than 70% of the cars out there . If you have a 10 second cars , your car is quicker than 80-90% of the cars out there . There are always exceptions , of course . The big exception would be modern muscle . If you built a 10-11 second car yourself , you are in an elite group of people who have my deepest respect . A 10 second street car is a handful .
 
Here's something to ponder : If you have a 13 second car , your car is faster than 50% of the cars on the street . If you have a 12 second car, your car is faster than 60% of the cars on the road . If you have an 11 second car , your car is faster than 70% of the cars out there . If you have a 10 second cars , your car is quicker than 80-90% of the cars out there . There are always exceptions , of course . The big exception would be modern muscle . If you built a 10-11 second car yourself , you are in an elite group of people who have my deepest respect . A 10 second street car is a handful .
you must be talking "hot rods" only. Certainly, if you go to a Walmart parking lot where 150 cars are parked, you are beating more than 50% with a 13 second car. You might very well beat them all.
 
I'm not going to beat on my car!
but they think nothing of starting their car up in zero degree weather,jump in and slam it into reverse before the car even runs thirty seconds. that may be one of the worst ways to beat on a car.
sure, I raced my Dart and spiritallty drove it on the track and street. It was for "testing" purposes. Clean the carbon out...look for weak links...come to think of it, it was my Chevy's that broke driveline pieces. The 340 only ate timing chains.
 
**** happens to the best of us. I have drag race everywhere since the early 70's. In 1976 I ran a SB 64 Malibu 4 speed car. I lined up at a now closed Tampa Dragstrip, Launched the car at 6800 RPM in reverse! Tore the shifter out of my hands, spit the Muncie out of the car ( excet for the 4 ears, they were still on the scatter shield) twisted the drive shaft like a pretzel! It happen so fast, no one but me knew I was in reverse, car never moved when I did it. Imagine for the first few seconds thinking, wheres the shifter! Main two reasons most guys fear the drag strip. 1) screwing up and looking like a fool 2) What if my car DOESN'T run 10 sec! Like I think it does.
 
Nope, just windows and a spray bottle if it's that hot out.
What are you supposed to do in Vegas (the second closest track) sit in the AC car all day?:D
It's already starting to hit 100 at both tracks and the closest one hits 100 tomorrow.
If I lived in Arizona I would have built my car entirely around my AC unit....
 
I want to go to the strip so bad but it is to far away with my F'ed up back that doesn't like driving to far. Me and my son did mark out a quarter mile on an abandoned road and with his fancy phone I ran a 12.60, now I know that is not as accurate as the dragstrip but it gives me an idea. I'm doing some changes to the Dart right now, new heads, bigger cam and adjustable rockers, We will run it again at the same place to see what changed, and believe me, If I get near a strip I will run the screaming **** out of it to get that timing slip, Fast or slow, if something breaks we will fix it. And about the dragstrip most guys are just plain afraid to show how slow their so called "800 Horsepower beast is".

Jeff
 
you must be talking "hot rods" only. Certainly, if you go to a Walmart parking lot where 150 cars are parked, you are beating more than 50% with a 13 second car. You might very well beat them all.
Yeah, I was going to say, a 10 second car is probably faster than > 99% of the cars on the street (from a statistical perspective).

I have respect for anyone (Ford, Chevy, Honda, whatever) that takes the time to make their car fast...New cars like the Demon and Hell Cat are nice and all, and I would love one....but it only took deep pockets to get cars like this...its just not the same. Not bashing people that have them, its just not the same as building a fast car.
 
Yeah, I was going to say, a 10 second car is probably faster than > 99% of the cars on the street (from a statistical perspective).

I have respect for anyone (Ford, Chevy, Honda, whatever) that takes the time to make their car fast...New cars like the Demon and Hell Cat are nice and all, and I would love one....but it only took deep pockets to get cars like this...its just not the same. Not bashing people that have them, its just not the same as building a fast car.
Late to the party but absolutely correct. It's always interesting to see a car morphed into a built racecar throughout it's History. There's a couple Mopars around here that started out street cars and the owners have been improving them and making them faster every year.
 
The track in Orlando is very friendly to first time racers at TNT. I find that it is more dangerous to drive on the street with all the a hole texters.
 
And me saying something kind of stems from this last Saturday. Met some friends at a car show three of them. One with like a 68 LeMans. One with the 79 Trans Am. One with a I don't know what you're Chevy Blazer lowered with a modern LS or LT based motor. I said so let's go to the track and let'em run? Oh man the hemming and hawing and excuses started coming from three different directions! The first one was the one that was talking about with the Trans Am. Me and him drove to the show in our cars and he was more or less trying to drag race me on the way there LOL less than more! LOL his reason for not wanting to go to the track is he didn't want to beat on his car. The other guys my friend's brother and a high school buddy of mine both said when they get their big motors in the car that's when they'll drag race me or with me(is what I want). And boy I've heard that one before!
Now mind you these are some very good friends of mine and I'm not trying to blast on them like they're scared, but when it comes to this car stuff they seem a little extra cautious....
Funny thing is I had a couple friends who weren't scared or not scared but cautious about coming out to the track when I had my 318 in the car...?
Of course the friends that I've got to go to the track, or be at, happened to be at the track the same time as me they had faster cars. And one of my friends was kind of cool he just let me take off and would come chase me down and then just stick the front bumper in front of me so I didn't get all swelled up. I'm willing to do that.....
 
Dragraced my one friend several times at Woodburn and his car is way faster than mine and when we're in competition of course he has to chase me down and man just before the Finish Line it feels like a jet just passed me!!
 
I want to go to the strip so bad but it is to far away with my F'ed up back that doesn't like driving to far. Me and my son did mark out a quarter mile on an abandoned road and with his fancy phone I ran a 12.60, now I know that is not as accurate as the dragstrip but it gives me an idea. I'm doing some changes to the Dart right now, new heads, bigger cam and adjustable rockers, We will run it again at the same place to see what changed, and believe me, If I get near a strip I will run the screaming **** out of it to get that timing slip, Fast or slow, if something breaks we will fix it. And about the dragstrip most guys are just plain afraid to show how slow their so called "800 Horsepower beast is".

Jeff
The drag strip is the best dyno that there is. No correction factors, blah, blah, blah..... It takes "X" amount of HP to move a given amount of weight over a pre determined distance. Fact.....
 
I'll never mention the word drag strip to my friends again from now on I'm going to ask them if they want to take a quick trip down to the dino to take some pulls???
 
I'll never mention the word drag strip to my friends again from now on I'm going to ask them if they want to take a quick trip down to the dino to take some pulls???

Dyno numbers can be manipulated pretty easily. The dyno manufacturer has a lot to do with the outcome. Some makes are more generous with their outcomes than others....
 
First and foremost they don't want to blow their car up? Second they don't want to beat on their car? And 3rd they don't want to crash their car...??
That's the top three...
Oh jeeez, I'm sure if yo press them a few more times, the'll cry about doing there laundry, no more panties for work tomorrow....
The track in Orlando is very friendly to first time racers at TNT. I find that it is more dangerous to drive on the street with all the a hole texters.
No doubt and than ks for the tip when I arrive later.....
Same crap here. I love laying on the horn and swerving my truck around to wake a few of these bastards up!
To see there faces, it is priceless to behold when I do that.
I need a train horn.....
 
I drag raced at Moroso in FL years ago when I was young. It's too expensive. Drag racers have a lot of disposable income. I also don't have the time to pull engines out and repair stuff.
 
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