One of the cool things that the Hot Rod staff did during Drag Week was attempt to answer some of the most common questions that came up in the chat room as we were doing the live video broadcast. As many of the people watching were not the hardest core drag racing fans, these informational videos were great and really helped to clue people in as to what was going on. Perhaps the most popular question centered around the cars running turbocharged combos at the event. Viewers wanted to know why the turbo cars took longer to stage than anyone else. Rather than just do a straight ahead answer video, the staff polled the drivers around the pits and the answers are awesome, funny, and very informative.
There’s always one smart Alec in every group and this time it was Eddie Miller who was racing his naturally aspirated Duster as he has many times before. Miller is outspoken and can sure be a quote machine when he wants to be. His answer to this question, one of the first in the video, is hilarious. His joking answer leads into some of the more serious turbo drivers actually explaining what is going in with the car and what they are doing inside it. Because Drag Week is largely time trials, reaction time has little to do with it. The addition of the heads-up race at the end of this year’s event showed off some of the true delicate parts of staging and launching a serious turbo car.
We think you’ll dig this video even if you know what’s going on. It is always cool ton hear the drivers talk about something that they know about.
PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE DRAG WEEK COMPETITORS EXPLAIN WHY A TURBO CAR TAKES LONGER TO STAGE THAN OTHERS –
The GOOD turbo cars spool up and leave like real drag racers, ie Jeff Lutz. The rest have to do drag week as they cannot compete at a real race. Drag Week should make the posted time a total between reaction time and elapsed time. Then the rest of the turbo cars would have to figure it out and be like Jeff and Larry.
Or like Lutz’s son, bumping through the beams during the shootout? The crusty nova and Tina Pierce were two of the most consistent turbo cars all week.
It takes practice like anything else. Any Pro Mod event these guys have it dialed in as far as spooling up at the tree.