I Want to Go Fast: Drag Racing versus Road Racing Essay Example
There are two types of racing: Drag racing and Road racing. Drag racing moves in a straight line from one point to another as fast as the car or ones nerve will let him/her go. Road racing takes place on a circuit turning and can turn both left and right. This type of racing is usually more involved in smashing the skinny go pedal. Aside from that, this paper will also examine car set-ups and the costs associated with the two types of car racing and finally the driving skills needed in the both types of car racing.
Road racing is generally prevalent in North America. It commonly takes place on road courses or temporary circuits such as public roads and runways found in the airports that are no longer functional. The races that take place on public roads are usually sanctioned and not
...legally recognized by the government especially in nations such as Great Britain. This is because these races disrupt the flow of traffic by unnecessarily closing these roads and sometimes lead to deaths of spectators. There are various series of road racing in the world such as MotoGP and Formula One. Drag racing uses vehicles as well as motorcycles that are specifically made for the purpose of racing. These races are held on courses that are straight from one point to another one over a certain distance, such as over a distance of a quarter mile. These races are legally recognized by the law unlike road racing. The results of the races arising from drag racing are usually recorded down using technologies such as speed sensing systems and also electron timing (DeMille, 2015).
Prior
to the beginning of the race, each racing driver must conduct a burn out. Afterwards, the driver then aligns the racing vehicle to the starting line. In other modern races, there is use of sophisticated systems, for instance, the Christmas tree. This allows use of column lights designated on each lane for a specific racing car at the starting of a line. Disobeying these lights invites serious outcomes such as disqualification from the race. Drag racing uses several methods that are applied in each race. These measurements include speed, reaction time, among others. The winning car is the one that is the first to pass the finishing line. In case a traditional breakout method in which the car that has lost is eliminated is used, the winning car progresses to the subsequent round up to the time when the champion is announced (DeMille, 2015).
The assumption is that one’s grandmother has a 1989 Dodge Reliant and one wants to put the pedal to the metal at the track. One can surely race anything from a snowmobile to a 2017 Bugatti Chiron, but to do it effectively and safely takes a bit of preparation. The set up of car for these two different types of racing can be similar for certain aspects and totally different in its purposes. One can never race fast to a point that his/her safety is ignored. In both types of car racing, safety must not be under-emphasized. This is done to avoid any car crash. Racing cars need roll cages, fuel cells, 5-point seat harnesses, and on board fire extinguishers (DeMille, 2015).
Taking into consideration of the above safety measures, one can progress
into lightening up the ride. Following the laws and principles of physic, the lighter a car is, the faster it will spend. Drag racing requires the car to be able to transfer weight from the nose of the car to the tail end so that the tires grab more traction. Road racing necessitates the car to be as perfectly balanced front to rear, right to left. One does not only move in one direction fast, but also accelerates, brakes, and corner as easily as possible. A person can put lead weights in his/her road racing car to even out the weight in order to maintain the balance of the car. Engine set-ups have a different approach as well. DR tries to get as much horsepower to the ground as quick as possible for only a couple seconds, and as such a person does not require endurance while in RR, the engine power is expected to move smooth and maintain that power through the length of the race where up to extremes last 24 hours. The car can be set up a thousand of different way for different tracks, all of that cost money (DeMille, 2015).
Sure, one can race for as little as pulling a junk car out of a barn and filling it up with a tank of gas. Where it gets expensive is when a person wants to go faster than the guy in the next lane or faster than the last lap time. It is possible to dump an infinite amount of money into a car for both types of racing. Most of the people can agree that the car is never just
right; there are always upgrades or changes that can be made. This is a never ending battle people forgo vacations, work crazy hours or even hock positions to get car parts. Tires are a necessary evil that both styles need and they are not cheap costing upwards of 10 thousand for a set. DR can be done for a little as $100 for fuel, food, and gate fees. RR is quite a bit more costly for a day of racing, for the cheap end and it costs closer to $400 (DeMille, 2015). The best set up car and all the money in the world doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you can’t get the car down or around the track.
The driver and his driving technique is how you win races. A lot of people new to both sports focus on the stuff mentioned above and just think the driving part will just be there. This approach has wasted millions of dollars, wrecked many of cars and unfortunately cost lives. A prime example can be traced back in April of 2015; an inexperienced driver wrecked a Lamborghini at Walt Disney World’s Exotic Driving Experience killing the instructor (Grant, 2015). Natural ability can only take one so far; drivers invest years in honing their skills behind the wheel. A good driver is a good driver wither it be drag racing or road racing, however to be a great driver requires very different skill sets. Drag racers need to have lightning quick reaction times, be able to shift gears even quicker, and be able to keep the car going straight down the track. There are so
many variables that can change from one pass down the drag strip to another.
The track could cool off or heat up, could change lanes, tire pressure could change, or the race could affect passing down the strip. As stated earlier, some skills are the same for both types of racing; the difference is a sprint versus a marathon. Road racing is typically a session of 30 minutes to an hour, and one cannot take a break when he/she is tired. The car itself can get temps of over 100 degrees inside; and as such physical endurance to fight the car around the track for that long is needed. The driver has to be thinking two turns ahead, setting up the car in one corner for that turn. Similarly, the driver must also be thinking about the brakes, fuel and other racing drivers (Grant, 2015). The whole time weighs different variables, at the end session a driver is mentally and physically exhausted. Racing isn’t just as simple as turning the key and taking Ms. Daisy for a drive, it’s everything from the car, money and driver.
Hopefully, the divers will no longer think that racing is just racing, because both drag racing and road racing are as different as tuna fish and cupcakes. They both have a car, a driver and a desire to race as fast as different factors will let you go. As many factors that make them the same is just as many that make it different. A person can be great at drag racing, but horrible at road racing and vice versa. It doesn’t matter the choice of car racing, the fact is,
and both types of racing can get lead to adrenaline fix.
References
- DeMille, M. (2015, March 14). What is the average cost to drag race your car at the track?
- Grant, M. (2015, April 13). 1 killed in crash at Disney's Exotic Driving Experience. Retrieved
