 |
 |
 
Drag strips can cure your burnout desire
Originally published July 19th, 2003 in The Toronto Star
Written by: PETER BLEAKNEY
Two series try to divert fast drivers from the streets `I'm hooked,'
says poster girl for reformed racers
You have a hot sport compact. You like to go fast, but you don't want to be part of the street racing problem. You're not alone. This year, there are two competing drag racing series for sport compacts: National Compact Racing Association and the newest kid on the block, Canadian Sport Compact Series. Twenty-year-old Jennifer Lee from Newmarket is an ex-street racer who competes in both series and is not shy about showing her enthusiasm for the track. "I'm hooked! I'm definitely spreading the word about how great it is!"
And if you think these organizations are for the "big boys" only, you'd be missing out on a lot of fun: beginners are welcome.The National Compact Racing Association (known as Import Society until 2002) has been operating for five years, and is expanding to 10 events at four venues this year. Event director George Ciordas tells how a novice would get started: "Everyone starts out with bracket racing. You don't have to have the fastest car to win. It's all about consistency and reaction time. And having fun."
Here's how bracket racing works. Say you've got a highly modified Subaru WRX pressurized to within an inch of its life ... or a stock '83 Civic that couldn't pull the skin off a peach. Doesn't matter. You could end up running against each other. To find out where you begin all this, you have to establish your car's "dial in time," which is the elapsed time (ET) you can consistently run in the quarter mile. The best way to do this is to attend a "test and tune" session at the tracks. There you can take a few practice runs, get a feel for the "Christmas tree" starting lights and find out what your car can do. And you can talk to seasoned racers.
Dial-in times are generally set at just a hair quicker than your best ET. Let's say you turn in a 16.15, a 16.10 and a 16.12. You will probably set your dial-in at 16.1, because you don't want to beat that time in a race. You'll lose automatically.So it's time to go racing. When you're paired up with another car, the dial-in times are input into the computer system and the slowest car gets a head start — which is determined by the computerized start tree based on mathematical models. To win, you have to be closest (or equal) to your dial-in, without going faster or "breaking out." If both cars break out, the one closest to its dial-in wins. In the event of a tie, the driver with the best reaction time (R/T) at the tree wins.
The NCRA offers a structured point series, and champions will be crowned in every class at the end of the season. Prizes and cash purses are also awarded. New this year is the Canadian Sport Compact Series, with four events on the calendar. Duane Hoo, who owns the series with his brother Kevin, told me they are concerned about the illegal racing problem and are determined to get as many potential racers off the street and on to the track as possible. They represent the Canadian division of RACER (Racers Against Street Racing) and the CSCS's motto is "Prove it on the Track."
Hoo says they are aiming for a broad appeal and have tailored their series to rookies. Along with the six classes of drag racing, their events also include road circuit racing, show and shine, Db drags (sound system shoot-outs, Db standing for decibel), team racing, a unique all-female class and the Battle of the Sexes (fastest male vs. fastest female). Sweepstakes, product giveaways and feature vehicles add to the fun.Which is not to say you won't see some serious drag racing at either series. The top sport compact racers in the Pro Compact Class are deep into the nine-second range, and compete at both the NCRA and CSCS.
So will the opportunities provided by these drag series help with the street racing problem?Jennifer Lee could certainly be the poster girl for reformed street racers."I was into street racing for years," she says. "At first it was a total adrenaline rush. You're always wondering who's gonna get caught ... and trying to stay ahead of the cops. But after a while, I got tired of worrying about losing my licence."As fate would have it, she did lose her licence for a few months (not due to racing), and missed driving so much she had a friend drive her car to the track so she could race there.
"It was totally different than what I expected. There were no attitudes and the competition was great. Most of all, I saw how much fun it could be."Lee has a 2001 Acura Integra with a turbocharged 1.8-litre VTEC engine and last weekend beat her previous quarter-mile times at Toronto Motorsports Park, clocking a 12.5 and 114 mph (184.7 km/h). She also won three bracket and pro classes outright.
"When I was street racing, the guys used to say the track was for pussies, but the truth is, a lot of street racers are afraid to go to the track because they know their cars aren't as fast as they claim," says Lee, who gets a lot of "support" from Exotic Touch Design of Brampton."Another good thing about track racing is you don't have to worry about idiots. On the street, you never know who's out there."Which begs the question, are track racers and hard-core street racers essentially two different animals? Ciordas from the NCRA thinks so."I've been to a lot of street races, and some of those guys will never change. They only want to race on the street and don't care about anyone or anything. They want to be in bed 20 minutes later."
Does he think the expansion of these series will draw more racers off the street?"We certainly hope so. We want to get as many kids off the street as possible. "Some street racers do graduate to the track and are in it for the long haul. It's a commitment. Maybe they don't care about life — theirs or anyone else's — but they do care about their cars. They don't want to crack them up on the streets so they come to the track where it's safer."Part of the difficulty in getting racers to the track boils down to convenience — there are no tracks in the GTA. Toronto Motorsport Park (Cayuga), at about an hour's drive, is the closest.
Many argue a drag track at the old Downsview air force base would really help with the illegal racing problem, but serious opposition from the local municipality and liability issues have halted those efforts for now.For a calendar of summer events, check the NCRA (http://www.ncraspeed.com) and CSCS (http://www.cscs.ca) Web sites.
Discuss this article on our Discussion Forums
|
|
|
 |
|
