History

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

For years drivers have intentionally used oversteer in motorsports such as dirt track racing, motorcycle speedway, and rallying. Early Grand Prix drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari also used an at-the-limit form of driving called the four-wheel drift. It has also featured prominently in stunt driving and other forms of exhibition.

Modern drifting started out as a racing technique popular in the All Japan Touring Car Championship races over 30 years ago. Motorcycling legend turned driver, Kunimitsu Takahashi, was the foremost creator of drifting techniques in the 1970s. He was famous for hitting the apex (the point where the car is closest to the inside of a turn) at high speed and then drifting through the corner, preserving a high exit speed. This earned him several championships and a legion of fans who enjoyed the spectacle of burning tires. The bias ply racing tires of the 1960s-1980s lent themselves to driving styles with a high slip angle. As professional racers in Japan drove this way, so did the street racers.

A street racer named Keiichi Tsuchiya became particularly interested by Takahashi’s drift techniques. Tsuchiya began practicing his drifting skills on the mountain roads of Japan, and quickly gained a reputation amongst the racing crowd. In 1977, several popular car magazines and tuning garages agreed to produce a video of Tsuchiya’s drifting skills. The video, known as Pluspy, became a hit and inspired many of the professional drifting drivers on the circuits today. In 1988, alongside Option magazine founder and chief editor Daijiro Inada, he would help to organize one of the first events specifically for drifting. He also drifted every turn in Tsukuba Circuit in Japan.

One of the earliest recorded drift events outside Japan was in 1996, held at Willow Springs Raceway in Willow Springs, California hosted by the Japanese drifting magazine and organisation Option. Inada, the NHRA Funny Car drag racer Kenji Okazaki and Dorikin, who also gave demonstrations in a Nissan 180SX that the magazine brought over from Japan, judged the event with Rhys Millen and Bryan Norris being two of the entrants. ^[1] Drifting has since exploded into a massively popular form of motorsport in North America, Australasia, and Europe. One of the first drifting competitions in Europe was hosted in 2002 by the OPT drift club at Turweston, run by a tuning business called Option Motorsport. The club held a championship called D1UK, then later became the Autoglym Drift Championship. For legal reasons, the business was forced to drop the Option and D1 name. The club has since been absorbed into the D1 franchise as a national series.

[edit] Present day

Drifting has evolved into a competitive sport where drivers compete in two wheel drive cars to earn points from judges based on various factors. At the top levels of competition, especially the D1 Grand Prix from Japan and others in Malaysia, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Formula-D in the United States, and New Zealand, these drivers are able to keep their cars sliding for extended periods of time, often through several turns. Drifting is not recognized by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) motorsport’s governing body, as a professional form of motorsport.^[2]

Amateur drifting on public roads is a significant problem in Saudi Arabia.^[3]

[edit] Drift competition

Drifting competitions are judged based on line, angle, speed, and show factor. Line involves taking the correct line, which is usually announced beforehand by judges. The show factor is based on multiple things, such as the amount of smoke, how close the car is to the wall, and the crowd’s reaction. Angle is the angle of a car in a drift, Speed is the speed entering a turn, the speed through a turn, and the speed exiting the turn; faster is better.

Team Drift Competition in Melbourne, Australia.

The judging takes place on just a small part of the circuit, a few linking corners that provide good viewing, and opportunities for drifting. The rest of the circuit is irrelevant, except as it pertains to controlling the temperature of the tires and setting the car up for the first judged corner. In the tandem passes, the lead driver often feints his or her entry to the first corner to upset the chase driver.

There are typically two sessions, a qualifying/practice session, and a final session. In the qualifying sessions, referred as Tansou (speed run), drifters get individual passes in front of judges (who may or may not be the final judges) to try and make the final 16. This is often on the day preceding the final.

The finals are tandem passes, referred as Tsuiso (chase attack). Drivers are paired off, and each heat comprises two passes, with each driver taking a turn to lead. The best of the 8 heats go to the next 4, to the next 2, to the final. The passes are judged as explained above, however there are some provisos such as:

• Overtaking the lead car under drift conditions almost always wins that pass.
• Overtaking the lead car under grip conditions automatically forfeits that pass.
• Spinning forfeits that pass, unless the other driver also spins.
• Increasing the lead under drift conditions helps to win that pass.
• Maintaining a close gap while chasing under drift conditions helps to win that pass.

Points are awarded for each pass, and usually one driver prevails. Sometimes the judges cannot agree, or cannot decide, or a crowd vocally disagrees with the judge’s decision. In such cases more passes may be run until a winner is produced. Sometimes mechanical failure determines the battle’s outcome, either during or preceding a heat. If a car cannot enter a tandem battle, the remaining entrant (who automatically advances) will give a solo demonstration pass. In the event of apparently close or tied runs, crowds often demonstrate their desire for another run with chants of ‘one more time’.^[4]

There is some regional variation, for example in Australia, the chase car is judged on how accurately it mimics the drift of the lead car, as opposed to being judged on its own merit. Other variations of the tansou/tsuiso and the tansou only method is the multi car group judging, seen in the Drift Tengoku videos where the four car team is judged in groups.

[edit] Cars

Drifting Toyota AE86

Usually, drift cars are light to moderate weight, rear-wheel-drive coupes and sedans. In Japan and worldwide, the most common drift machines are the Nissan Silvia/180SX/200SX, Toyota AE86, Mazda RX-7, Nissan A31 Cefiro, Nissan C33 Laurel, Nissan Skyline (RWD versions), Nissan Z-car, Toyota Altezza, Toyota Chaser, Toyota Mark II, Toyota MZ20 Soarer, Honda S2000, Toyota Supra (MKIV), Ford Mustang and Mazda Miata. US drift competitions the same cars, plus Chrysler LLC‘s Dodge Charger, General Motors’ F-Body cars from 1967 until 2002, Pontiac Solstice, Holden Commodore, and Holden Monaro . Drifters in other countries often use local favorites, such as the early Ford Escort (UK and Ireland), BMW 3 Series (other parts of Europe), Porsche, early Opel cars, the later Russian market Lada (Hungary) or Volvo 700 series (Scandinavia), modified Proton cars (Malaysia) and the Holden Commodore in Australia.

As an example, the top 15 cars in the 2003 D1GP,^[5] top 10 in the 2004 D1GP,^[6] and top 10 in the 2005 D1GP^[7] were:

Nissan Silvia S15 drifting

The Top cars in the 2006 Formula D Championship: DriftLive (English).

Like the D1GP the most frequent nameplate in the top rankings is Nissan, but in America the Ford Mustang is making significant inroads and is growing a fanbase.

FWD cars do qualify for entrance into D1GP events, but are rarely used due to the drivetrains inability to allow the car to accelerate out of a drift. They are not eligible for Formula D events.

AWD vehicles, such as the Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution can drift but usually requires different suspension tuning (when compared to RWD), higher amounts of power, and, in some cases, an adjustable center differential. In D1 Grand Prix, these cars are modified to RWD specification.

One of the more widely known AWD drifts cars, is the JUN HYPER LEMON EVO V, that won 1st place in the Drift Challenge in Germany on June 1, 2001 at the Hockenheimring.

[edit] Techniques for inducing drift

The basic driving techniques used in drifting are constant, though each car and driver will employ some subset of these techniques. A similarity for all drifting techniques is to be smooth and practice. These techniques include:

[edit] Beginner techniques

These techniques do not use weight transition, so are typically the first thing the novice drifter learns.^[8] However they are still used by the most experienced drifters, and require skill to execute properly. These techniques aim to induce a loss of traction on the rear wheels, either by locking the wheel (e-brake drift), or using enough power from the engine to break the traction force (power-oversteer and clutch kick).

[edit] Hand-brake drift

While the clutch is depressed, the hand brake (or Emergency brake) is pulled to induce rear traction loss. As soon as traction is lost, the driver releases the clutch, depresses the accelerator, and countersteers. This technique is used heavily in drift competitions to drift large corners, or to trim the car’s line mid-drift.^[9]

[edit] Power oversteer or Powerslide

It is usually done at the corner exit by stepping on the gas hard, to slide side ways out of the corner. It is most commonly employed by beginners because it teaches steering and throttle control without the danger of an actual entry oriented drift.

Nissan 240SX Shift Lock Drifting

[edit] Shift lock (compression slide)

Initiated by downshifting (usually from third to second or fourth to third, and using a very fast shift) instead of braking, without rev-matching, causing the drive wheels to lock momentarily. Helpful for very tight corners, allowing the driver to approach the corner at a slower speed and lower revs, while allowing quick acceleration when exiting the corner. This technique can be very damaging to the engine if mis-used as the ECU is unable to rev limit when the engine is oversped by the rear wheels. Premature downshifters are called “Rod Stretchers”.^[10]

[edit] Clutch Kick

This is done by “kicking” the clutch (pushing in, then out, usually more than one time in a drift for adjustment in a very fast manner) to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car’s balance. This causes the rear wheels to slip. The foot should be at an angle so the brake and gas may be pressed as well, this being needed to control speed and stop from spinning out in the drift.

[edit] Weight transition techniques

These techniques employ a further concept of weight transition. When a vehicle has the load towards the front, the back wheels have less grip than the front, causing an oversteer condition that can initiate a drift.

[edit] Braking drift

This drift is performed by braking into a corner, so that the car can transfer weight to the front. This is immediately followed by throttle, which in an RWD car causes the rear wheels to lose traction. FWD cars can also use this technique as it does not depend on the rear wheels being driven.^[11] In FWD cars the front wheels are not allowed to lock due to the continuous power, the rear wheels locks easily due to weight transfer and due to the general front heavy design of FWDs.

[edit] Inertia (Feint) drift or Scandinavian flick

^[12] – This is done by transferring the weight of car towards the outside of a turn by first turning away from the turn and then quickly turning back using the inertia of the rear of the car to swing into the desired drifting line. Sometimes the hand-brake will be applied while transferring the weight of the car towards the outside to lock the rear wheels and help the rear swing outwards. This type of drifting causes the car to accelerate faster afterwards, because of momentum built up while drifting.

[edit] Kansei, Lift off, or Taking In

^[13] – By letting off the accelerator while cornering at very high speeds, cars with relatively neutral handling will begin to slide, simply from the weight transfer resulting from engine braking. The drift is controlled afterwards by steering inputs from the driver and light pedal work, similar to the Braking drift.

[edit] Other techniques

[edit] Dirt drop

This is done by dropping the rear tires off the sealed road onto dirt, or whatever low-grip surface borders the road, to maintain or gain drift angle. Also colloquially called “Dirt Turbo”.^[14]

[edit] Choku-Dori/Manji (Pendulum)

Otherwise known as over-sway, this technique is done by swaying the car’s weight back and forth on straightaways, using countersteer and throttle to maintain a large angle. This is a show maneuver that usually involves many cars following the same line.

Sewer Gripping The driver drops front tires into sewers on mountains to increase grip and to enter the corner at a greater speed.

[edit] Drift tuning

[edit] Drive train

A proper mechanical limited slip differential (LSD) is almost essential for drifting. Open diffs and viscous diffs cannot be controlled during a sustained slide. All other modifications are secondary to the LSD.^[15] Popular drift LSDs include OS Giken & Cusco.

The most popular form of LSD for drifting is the clutch type, in “2-way” form; this is preferred for its consistent and aggressive lockup behavior under all conditions (acceleration and deceleration). Some drift cars use a spool “differential”, which actually has no differential action at all, the wheels are locked to each other. Budget drifters also use the welded differential, where the side gears are welded to give the same effect. This makes the car very easy to slide at high speed, but difficult to park, and is hard on the driveline. Torsen and Quaife (available on cars such as S15, FD3S, MX5, JZA8x, UZZ3x) diffs are also adequate.

The clutches on drift cars tend to be very tough ceramic brass button or multiple-plate varieties, for durability, as well as to allow rapid “clutch kick” techniques to upset the balance of the car. Gearbox and engine mounts are often replaced with urethane mounts, and dampers added, to control the violent motion of the engine/gearbox under these conditions.

Gearsets may be replaced with closer ratios to keep the engine in the power band. (Japanese drifters confuse the “L” and call these “cross-mission”^{[citation needed]}.) These may be coarser dog engagement straight cut gears instead of synchronised helical gears, for durability and faster shifting at the expense of noise and refinement. Wealthier drifters may use sequential gearboxes to make gear selection easier/faster, while sequential shift lever adapters can be used to make shifts easier without increasing shift speed.

[edit] Suspension

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The suspension in a drift car tends to have very high spring and damper rates. Sway bars are upgraded, particularly on the rear. Caster is often increased to improve the car’s controllability during a slide. Most cars use an integrated coilover/shock (MacPherson strut) combination. This type of suspension allows the ride height to be adjusted independently of the suspension travel. There is no perfect height setting or spring/shock combo for any car, but each driver will have their own personal preference. Many suspension manufacturers offer suspension tuned specifically for drifting, allowing many people to enter the sport competitively.

Bushings can be upgraded with urethane parts. Most Nissan vehicles have a floating rear subframe which is usually fixed in position with billet aluminum or urethane “drift pineapples”, to prevent the frame moving during drift.

One suspension tuning method, still popular in Japan, is known as “Demon Camber” (Japanese: 鬼カム, Oni-kamu). It involves setting the suspension with extreme negative camber in the front to reduce slide. Negative camber on the rear would only induce understeer, making the car more difficult to drift. The front of the car having better grip and less tendency to slide, it is easier to swing the rear of the car around to get a good drift angle. However stability, grip, and overall ability to control the car are compromised. It has thus fallen out of favor as a serious performance-minded suspension setup. However, many cars built for show (such as those driven by bōsōzoku) still use this style of suspension setup for its aggressive look. A few degrees of toe-out on the rear wheels (leading edges angled outward) can reduce rear stability, and make setting up a drift a little easier.

Generally drifting consumes tires rapidly and multiple sets may be necessary for a single professional event.

[edit] Cockpit

Because of the large sideways forces, drivers find it preferable to be retained firmly by a bucket seat, and five point harness. This allows the hands to merely turn the wheel, as opposed to bracing oneself against the wheel. The steering wheel should be relatively small, dished, and perfectly round, so that it can be released and allowed to spin through the hands as the caster returns the front wheels to center. The locking knob on the hand brake is usually replaced with a spin turn knob, this stops the hand brake locking on when pulled. Some drivers move the hand brake location or add an extra hydraulic hand brake actuator for greater braking force. Many drivers make use of additional gauges to monitor such things as boost levels, oil, intake and coolant temperatures.

[edit] Engine

S13 Silvia bay with modifications for drifting.

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Engine power does not need to be high, and in fact if a car has too much power, it can be very hard to handle during a drift. Each driver has their own preference, and drift cars can be found with anything from 100bhp (74kW) to 1000bhp (745kW). Typically, engine tuning is oriented towards achieving linear response rather than maximum power output. Engines also must be equipped with upgraded cooling systems. Not only are the engines pushed very hard, creating lots of heat, but being driven at an angle reduces the airflow through the radiator. For turbocharged engines, intercooler efficiency is similarly reduced. Oil coolers are almost essential. V-mounting the intercooler and radiator improves flow through these components, and keeps the expensive intercooler out of harm’s way in the case of a minor accident.

[edit] Steering

With increased steering angle it is possible to achieve greater angle with the vehicle, it will also aid in spin recovery. This is often done with spacers on the steering rack, custom steering racks, custom tierod ends, or machining the spindles. Increased steering angle often requires other modifications as at some point the tire or wheel will come in contact with other suspension pieces or the inner/outer fenders.

[edit] Body

Cleaning up severed bars during drift meet.

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Chassis preparation is similar to a road racing car. Roll cages are sometimes employed for safety, and to improve the torsional rigidity of the car’s frame, but are compulsory in events that involves the 2+ cars tsuiou runs in the event of a side collision. Front and rear strut tower braces, B-pillar braces, lower arm braces, and master cylinder braces are all used to stiffen the chassis. The interior is stripped of extraneous seating, trim, carpet, sound deadening; anything that is not essential is removed to reduce weight.

Body kits are often attached with cable ties. When the body kit meets the wall or curb, the cable ties snap, releasing the part, as opposed to breaking it.

As drift cars are pushed faster, aerodynamic tuning becomes more important as well. Rear spoilers and wings usually are useful only in large, open tracks where the cars develop enough speed to create a need for more downforce. Wheel arches are often rolled or flared to allow the fitment of larger tires. Airflow to the engine is critical, so the hood is often vented. The popular “whale tail” spoiler is only practical at high speeds (+130 mph), and in street use create drag and/or add weight to the car.

Due to the nature of the hobby, drift cars are typically involved in many minor accidents. Thus, those involved with the sport tend to avoid expensive or easily damaged body kits and custom paintwork.

[edit] Tires

S13 Silvia – tire stretched over a wide rim, increasing sidewall rigidity. The rim has a low offset to increase track.

The cars quite often have different tires on the front and back, and the owner may have quite a few sets. This is because a single afternoon of drifting can destroy a new set of tires. As a rule, good tires go on the front for good steering. On the back, hard-compound tires are used, quite often second-hand ones tend to end up in a cloud of smoke. 15″ wheels are common on the rear, as 15″ tires are cheap. As a driver gets better, they will most likely want to upgrade the tires used in the rear for a higher grip compound. Although cheap/hard tires are fun purely for their slipperiness and ease of drifting, they quickly become a hazard for high-speed drifts. More advanced drivers require the most grip possible from all 4 tires, so as to retain control adequately during high speed drifts. Competitive drifters often run DOT approved tires closer to racing tires, which is permitted, with the exception of some major championships including D1GP which only permits commercially available tires that are approved by them. The grip is required for control, speed, and a fast snap on the initial entry. Some companies have started to create tires with special effects for drifting. One such company is Kumho. They recently released tires designed especially for the drifting crowd. These new tires produce colored smoke instead of regular grey smoke when drifted. Lavender-scented tires have also been developed.^[16] They are not permitted in many competitions, as they are seen as giving an unfair advantage to teams with the funding to use them; now, they are currently expensive, but available to the public.

[edit] Drifting in popular culture

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Because of the showy, spectator-friendly nature of drifting, it has received some exposure in mainstream culture both in Japan and the rest of the world.

[edit] Anime and Manga

• The manga series Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno, later adapted to an anime, an arcade game, and a Live action film, tells the story of a young kid taking on the Touge of Japan‘s Mt. Akina in the Gunma prefecture. Keiichi Tsuchiya acts as a consultant and makes a voice cameo in one episode of the anime.

• The manga “Over Rev!” prominently features drifting as a way to attack turns in mountain touge battles, this series is praised for its realistic view on street racing and drifting techniques

[edit] Videos

• Best Motoring International as well as JDM Option frequently features drifting events with Keiichi Tsuchiya (nicknamed the Drift King). BMI also released the Drift Bible, a well-known reference DVD explaining drifting in a step-by-step fashion. JDM Option covers the D1GP Professional Drift series regularly.
• Race Factory, a US based company documents the lifestyle of everyday Japan drifters as well as Japan D1 pros. A specially built S13 with 450 Horsepower was customized to follow the drifters on the track to document the techniques of those drifters, but turned to a Professional D1SL car in 2006. By their 3rd appearance, D1 pro driver Ken Maeda, managed to place 7th at Fuji Speedway on 5/14/2006.

[edit] Video games

A drifter performing a Feint Style drift in the simulator Live for Speed

• Driving simulators like Gran Turismo, Enthusia Professional Racing, Forza Motorsport and its sequel, Live for Speed, and other racing games (certain Need for Speed series, etc.) include the physics necessary to simulate drifting. Live for Speed has online multiplayer servers specifically for drifting.
• Other drifting games include Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift and its sequel, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Project Gotham Racing, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, D1 Grand Prix, Crazyracing Kartrider, and Drift City.

[edit] Television

• The presenters of British TV program Top Gear are known to enjoy powersliding cars on their test track. In the final episode of series 6 Richard Hammond tested the Vauxhall Monaro VX-R and was taught how to drift in the same car by D1 Grand Prix driver Yasuyuki Kazama. Despite being unable to speak English, Kazama was able to teach Hammond by using hand signals. Kazama then took the VX-R and showed Hammond how to drift properly.^[17]
• Drift events have been covered by major TV sports networks worldwide, as well as through a regular program on US-based cable TV network G4techTV.
• One of the earliest coverage on drifting was at the first episode of Jeremy Clarkson’s Motorworld, at the early segment of the episode which deals with Japanese car culture, Jeremy Clarkson visits a touge where drift runs took place and remarked that its like joyriding but with their own cars, he then interviewed a boy of 19 when his 180SX is waiting for it to be recovered. He then attends a drifting event where he interviewed Dorikin.
• The children’s TV Series Roary the Racing Car has a character – Drifter – who is so named because of his ability to Drift around corners. He is often shown to be almost perpendicular to the intended direction of travel.

[edit] Movies

• Overdrift (July 2007) a short film by the Duncan Brothers about a drift racer who must cross over into a mythical dimension where dinosaurs drift all the time and it’s impossible to drive straight, or the “D-Dimension”, in order to solve the mystery of his brother’s disappearance.
• Slide America (May 2007) is a documentary about the American Drift scene and culture. They traveled to 19 cities filming street drifting, grassroots events, and interviewing drifters.
• Drift Alliance Bad as Hell (May 2006) is a documentary about Drift Alliance, a popular drift team composed of Vaughn Gittin Jr., Tony Angelo, Chris Forsberg, and Ryan Hampton. The documentary features Drift Alliance at competitions as well as demonstrations.
• Drift: The Sideways Craze (2007) is a documentary HD film that features the art of professional drifting. National drifting champion Samuel Hubinette and drifting rival Ken Gushi prepare for the D1 Grand Prix, while they teach a young fan the basic elements of drifting. The film can be found on Discovery HD Theatre.
• The third film in the The Fast and the Furious series, Tokyo Drift, is set in a romanticized version of Japan’s drift culture. The film very loosely depicts the Japanese drift-racing environment. However, little to no street racing — such as that depicted in the feature — takes place in major Japanese cities, and the majority of racing is undertaken on licensed tracks or on touges (mountain passes).
• Drifting and Touge driving are featured in the third, fifth and final installment of the Shuto Kousoku Trial series.
• In the Pixar movie Cars, Lightning McQueen learns drifting from Doc Hudson.
• Impak Maksima (literal translation from Malay language is Maximum Impact) and Evolusi: KL Drift (Evolution: Kuala Lumpur Drift)
• In the Initial D live action movie, a Toyota Corolla Trueno/GTS(AE86), Mazda RX7Gen2(FC3S), Mitsubishi Lancer EvoIII, and Nissan Skyline GTR32 are drifted.
• Men and Motors program titled “Pro Drift” Show’s how the Drift Scene is progressing in Ireland. Many events are covered along with some of the more famous Irish Pro Drifters (Flat eric etc)
• In the Impak Maksima movie, there are a Toyota AE86,NIssan Silvia S15,Nissan Cefiro A31 and special drifting show by Malaysian D1 GP DriverTengku Djan Ley Proton Waja R3.

[edit] R/C drifting

Main article: Radio-controlled drifting

R/C drifting refers to the act of drifting with a radio-controlled car. R/C cars are equipped with special low grip tires, usually made from PVC or ABS piping. Some manufacturers make radial drift tires that are made of actual rubber compounds. The car setup is usually changed to allow the car to drift more easily. R/C drifting is most successful on 4WD (Four wheel drive) R/C cars. Companies such as Tamiya, Yokomo, Team Associated and HPI have made drift cars and supported the hobby.^[18]

While usually thought of as an American and Canadian pastime, drag racing is also very popular in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Caribbean in particular Aruba, Mexico, Greece, Malta, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries especially Finland and Sweden. At any given time there are over 325 drag strips operating world-wide[

Basics of drag racing

Drag races are an acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles side by side over a measured distance. The accepted standard for that distance is either a quarter-mile (1,320 feet) (402.3 m) or an eighth-mile (660 feet) (201 m). A drag racing event is a series of such two-vehicle, tournament-style eliminations. The losing driver in each race is eliminated, and the winning drivers progress until one driver remains. In drag racing the car with the fastest time in qualifying, moves to the pre finals.

These contests are started by means of an electronic device commonly called a Christmas Tree because of its multicolored starting lights. On each side of the Tree are seven lights: two small amber lights at the top of the fixture, followed in descending order by three larger yellow LED lights, a green bulb, and a red bulb.

Two light beams cross the starting-line area and connect to trackside photocells, which are wired to the Christmas Tree and electronic timers in the control tower. When the front tires of a vehicle break the first light beam, called the prestage beam, the pre-stage light on the Christmas Tree indicates that the racer is approximately seven inches from the starting line.

When the racer rolls forward into the stage beam, the front tires are positioned exactly on the starting line and the stage bulb is lit on the Tree, which indicates that the vehicle is ready to race. When both vehicles are fully staged, the starter will activate the Tree, and each driver will focus on the three large amber lights on his or her side of the Tree.

Depending on the type of racing, all three large amber lights will flash simultaneously, followed four-tenths of a second later by the green light (called a Pro Tree), or the three bulbs will flash consecutively five-tenths of a second apart, followed five-tenths later by the green light (called a Sportsman, or full, Tree).

Two Separate performances are monitored for each run: elapsed time (e.t.)and speed. Upon leaving the staging beams, each vehicle activates an elapsed-time clock, which is stopped when that vehicle reaches the finish line. The start-to-finish clocking is the vehicle's elapsed time, which serves to measure performance. Speed is measured in a 66-foot (20 m) "speed trap" that ends at the finish line. Each lane is timed independently.

The first vehicle across the finish line wins, unless, in applicable categories, it runs quicker than its dial-in or index (see glossary). A racer also may be disqualified for leaving the starting line too soon, leaving the lane boundary (either by crossing the centerline, touching the guardwall or guardrail, or striking a track fixture such as the photocells), failing to stage, or failing a post-run inspection (tech).

The elapsed time of the vehicle is measured from when the front wheels run out of the staging beam until they cross the finish line; thus, a car with a faster elapsed time can actually lose the race if the driver does not react to the green light fast enough. The elapsed time is a measure of performance only; it does not, per se, determine the winner. In practice, it is necessary for the driver to "jump the gun" by a fraction of a second, starting the car during the split-second interval between when the yellow light goes out and the green light goes on. However, if the car leaves the front electric eye ("the beam") before the green light comes on, the driver has "red-lighted" (because the red light is lit on the Christmas Tree) and should no further fouls happen during the race, is disqualified. Once a driver commits a red-light foul, the other driver can also commit a foul start by leaving the line too early but would win because he or she would leave the line slower. A driver who gets a substantial lead at the start is said to have gotten a "holeshot", and in a heads-up start, should he have a slower elapsed time and wins the race, has a "holeshot win". The driver's reaction time and the car's top speed are also recorded, in addition to the e.t., on the "timeslip". The car that crosses the finish line first wins. A car can actually blow an engine part way down the strip and coast to the end of the track at a (relatively) lower top speed than the competitor, and still win with a lower elapsed time. This practice, where both drivers leave at the same time, is called "heads-up racing", and is used in all professional ("pro") classes and few sportsman classes.

In the common Eliminator racing format, the losing car and driver are removed from the contest, while the winner goes on to race other winners, until only one is left. There are instances where there are three cars remaining, and in this case one car, the one left on the board with no-one else to compete with gets a "bye run" where his or her car goes down the track by itself (in order to at least partially eliminate the advantage that would otherwise come from the engine having one less run on it), and then awaits the winner of the other two for the title. However, in most Eliminator formats, the bye runs take place only in the first round. Drivers are about equally divided between making a nice easy pass on the bye run so as not to stress the car unduly, making a real effort for the benefit of the spectators, or recording a time good enough to earn lane choice. Unlike the NHRA, many European events will feature a consolation race where the losers of the semifinal rounds will race for third place, the final spot on the podium, and more points than the fourth-place driver.

During drag racing events, vehicles are classified by various criteria that take into account the extent of modifications to the car. These criteria include engine capacity, configuration of cylinders, frame type, vehicle construction materials, wheelbase, horsepower to weight ratio, number of cylinders, whether or not power adding devices such as turbochargers, superchargers or nitrous oxide are employed, vehicle type (such as car, truck, et cetera), or even make and model for limited entry fields. The aforementioned divisions are in place to ensure that the cars are evenly matched during the race. (not all of these can apply)

Drag racing vehicles are special in that they are modified to be lighter and more powerful than in their standard form. A lighter vehicle means that the power-to-weight ratio is increased and hence a greater acceleration will be achieved. Power increases vary depending on the extent of the modifications to the engine.

[edit] Racing organization

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) oversees the majority of drag racing events in North America. The next largest organization, Live Nation‘s International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), is about one-third the size of NHRA. Nearly all drag strips are associated with one sanctioning body or the other. The NHRA is more popular with large, 1/4th mile nationally-recognized tracks, while the IHRA is a favorite of smaller 1/8th mile local tracks (and offers selected races on their national tour under the 1/8th mile format. One reason for this (among others) is the IHRA is less restrictive in its rules, such as rules on nitrous oxide (legal in Pro Modified) and oversized engines (no 8.2 liter / 500cid engine restriction in the IHRA’s Pro Stock category) and less expensive to be associated, as the IHRA is part of a publicly traded company.

There are literally hundreds of different classes in drag racing, each with different requirements and restrictions on things such as weight, engine size, body style, modifications, and many others. NHRA and IHRA share some of these classes, but many are solely used by one sanctioning body or the other. The NHRA boasts over 200 classes, while the IHRA has fewer some classes has a bunch of little classes in them to tell between different engine components and such. There is even a class for aspiring youngsters – Junior Dragster.

In 1997, the FIA (cars) and UEM (bikes) began sanctioning drag racing in Europe with a fully established European Drag Racing Championship, in cooperation (and rules compliance) with NHRA. The major European drag strips include Santa Pod Raceway in Podington, England, Alastaro Circuit, Finland, Mantorp Park, Sweden, Gardermoen Raceway, Norway and the Hockenheimring in Germany.

However, there are only 5 pro classes in North America (4 NHRA, 4 IHRA), which are:

• Top Fuel Dragster (TF/D) (NHRA and IHRA). The rail dragsters, or “diggers”, the fastest class– up to 85% nitromethane fuel is used.
• Top Fuel Funny Car (TF/FC) (NHRA and IHRA) Nearly as fast as the diggers, the “floppers” (marginally) resemble actual cars. IHRA will be bringing back Top Fuel Funny Car in 2006, and Top Alcohol Funny Car (A/FC) is already a pro category in IHRA.
• Pro Modified (Pro Mod) Some engine restrictions, very high power. Cars can run superchargers or nitrous oxide. Cars running blowers are limited to 8.6 L (527 cubic inches) while cars with nitrous oxide can run up to 12.1 L (740 cubic inches).
• Pro Stock (NHRA and IHRA) Must maintain stock appearance. NHRA cars can run no more than 8.2 L (500 cubic inches) while IHRA cars can run a maximum of 13.4 L (820 cubic inches) (“Mountain Motors”).
• Pro Stock Bike (NHRA only) Heavily modified motorcycles.

In addition to the above professional classes, these are some other popular classes:

• Top Alcohol Dragster
• Pro FWD
• Super Comp/Quick Rod
• Super Gas/Super Rod
• Super Street/Hot Rod
• Super Stock
• Stock
• Sport Compact (Smaller cars, with smaller engines)
• Top Sportsman (NHRA and IHRA)\
• Top Dragster (NHRA and IHRA) / In NHRA These Classes Are Sometimes Run Together (Top Comp)
• Top fuel funny bike ( high performance 5 second bikes)
• NHRA= summit racing series Super Pro, Pro, and bike.
• Junior Dragster (racers between the ages of 8 and 18 may race a half scale version of the sports fastest car, top fuel dragster. Juniors run as following: 12.90-slower for 8-9 years,

10-12 8.90, and 13-18 is 7.90 and slower at a top speed of 85 MPH.

• NHRA new class for Juniors is JR COMP running 6.90s at a top speed of 110 miles per hour

A complete listing of all classes can be found on the respective NHRA and IHRA official websites (see external links).

In the FIA European Drag Racing Championships a different structure of professional categories is used with Top Fuel Dragster (with a 90% nitromethane mix), Top Methanol (Alcohol) Dragster, Top Methanol (Alcohol) Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Modified running as professional championships as well as FIA specifications published for Fuel Funny Car although this does not run as a championship.

The UEM also has a different structure of professional categories with Top Fuel Bike, Super Twin Top Fuel Bike and Pro Stock Bike contested leaving the entire European series with a total of 8 professional categories.

To allow different cars to compete against each other, some competitions are raced on a handicap basis, with faster cars delayed on the start line enough to theoretically even things up with the slower car. This may be based on rule differences between the cars in stock, super stock, and modified classes, or on a competitor’s chosen “dial-in” in bracket racing.

A “dial-in” is a time the driver estimates it will take his or her car to cross the finish line, and is generally displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the starting lights on the “Christmas tree” (commonly just “tree”) accordingly. The slower car will then get a head start equal to the difference in the two dial-ins, so that if both cars perform perfectly, they would cross the finish line dead even. If either car goes faster than its dial-in (called breaking out), it is disqualified regardless of who has the lowest elapsed time; if both cars break out, the one who breaks out by the smallest amount wins. This eliminates any advantage from putting a slower time on the windshield to get a head start. The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver and car rather than on raw speed, in that victory goes to the driver able to precisely predict elapsed time, whether it is fast or slow. This in turn makes victory much less dependent on large infusions of money, and more dependent on skill. Therefore, bracket racing is popular with casual weekend racers. Many of these recreational racers will drive their vehicles to the track, race them, and then simply drive them home. Most tracks do not host national events every week, and on the interim weekends host local casual and weekend racers. Organizationally, however, the tracks are run according to the rules of either the NHRA or the IHRA (for the most part). Even street vehicles must pass a safety inspection prior to being allowed to race.

Besides NHRA and IHRA, there are niche organizations for muscle cars and nostalgia vehicles. The National Electric Drag Racing Association (NEDRA) races electric vehicles against high performance gasoline-powered vehicles such as Dodge Vipers or classic muscle cars in ¼ and 1/8 mile races. The current electric drag racing record is 7.824s for a quarter mile. Another niche organisation is the VWDRC which run a VW-only championship with vehicles running under 7 seconds.

[edit] Drag racing performance facts

The fastest top fuelers can attain terminal speeds of over 530 km/h (330 mph) while covering the quarter mile (402 m) distance in roughly 4.45 seconds. It is often related that Top Fuel dragsters are the fastest accelerating vehicles on Earth; quicker even than the space shuttle launch vehicle or catapult-assisted jet fighter (however this ignores the hydrogen peroxide rocket dragsters such as Sammy Miller and Kitty O’Neil‘s 3.22 ET and 663 km/h (412 mph) quarter mile world records set in 1977). In fact, a vehicle traveling at a steady 200 mph (322 km/h) as it crosses the starting line will be beaten to the finish line by a top fuel dragster starting from a dead stop at the same moment. Additionally, through the use of large multiple braking parachutes, the astounding performance of 0 to 531 km/h (0 to 330 mph) and then back to 0 in 20 seconds can be obtained. Using twin drag parachutes, deceleration of up to 5 G can be attained, enough to cause detached retinae^[1]. The legendary Don Garlits, holder of multiple records (first 200 mph (320 km/h) run, first 270 mph (430 km/h) run…) had to retire because of a detached retina.

The faster categories of drag racing are an impressive spectacle, with engines of over 5 MW (6700 horsepower) and noise outputs to match (measured at 3.9 on the Richter Scale by seismologist Dr. Doug Brittsan), cars that look like bizarre parodies of standard street cars (funny cars), and the ritual of burnouts where, prior to the actual timed run, the competitors cause their car’s driving wheels to spin while stationary or moving forward slowly, thus heating up the tires to proper working temperature and laying down a sticky coat of rubber on the track surface ( which may have been coated with VHT Trackbite or similar to increase traction) to get optimum grip on the all-important launch.

The Blown Alcohol and Nitrous Oxide injected Pro Modifieds with their 1500 kW (2012 hp) motors are capable of running in the low six second range at over 370 km/h (230 mph). The IHRA Pro Stocks are just behind, running in the 6.3 second range at over 346 km/h (215 mph), while the NHRA Pro Stocks run in the high sixes at over 322 km/h (200 mph). Top Sportsman and Top Dragster, the two fastest sportsman classes, run a bracket style race and can range from high sevens at over 274 km/h (170 mph) to 6.4s at 210 mph (340 km/h). Super Comp/Quick Rod are either dragsters or doorslammers, but run with a throttle stop. Some cars can run as low as a 7.50 at around 180 mph (290 km/h) without a throttle stop, but use it in order to hit an 8.900 index. Super Gas/Super Rod and Super Street/Hot Rod run with a 9.900 and 10.900 index respectfully, but both run with a throttle stop.

Another class of car is the Sport Compact class. Compacts use their power to weight ratio to get performance. The FIAT Topolino was the first to be exploited this way, in the notorious AA/FA, or Fuel Altered, followed by the more conventional modified VW Beetle. A turbocharger or supercharger is very common, and often necessary to break the 12-second barrier. Cars have progressed rapidly though and can now even run 7 second quarter miles.

In 2001, the NHRA bought out NIRA and renamed it the Sport Compact category featuring such cars, and while Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru are very popular, the NHRA has also permitted General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler cars to participate in Sport Compact.

With NHRA rule changes in recent years making Pro Stock cars more compact, a change from an 8.2 L (500 cubic inch) V-8 engine to a modified factory four or six cylinder double overhead camshaft engine can easily convert a Pro Stock car to Sport Compact Pro Rear Wheel Drive car. The cars are separated by performance, and since 2003 categories have been split based on the car’s drive wheels. Ironically, almost all NHRA Sport Compact records for elapsed time and speed are held by General Motors and Ford cars, rather than the imports.

[edit] Drag racing strategies and methods

The various strategies used in drag racing begin with the car itself. Performance enhancements must comply both with NHRA/IHRA rules and restrictions based on the class the car is running in. Some common enhancements include the use of slicks (smooth, soft tires that grip the track), methods for introducing more air into the motor such as turbochargers, superchargers, and nitrous oxide (N₂O), specialized fuels (higher octane gas, methanol, etc…), improved suspensions, and a multitude of others.

[edit] The burnout

Example of a burn-out before staging at Hockenheimring, Germany. Note the amount of smoke

When approaching the starting line (also known as the staging area), most racers will apply water (formerly thought to be bleach by spectators but was always water in old bleach bottles) to the driven tires either by backing into a small puddle (the “bleach box” or “water box”) or having it sprayed on. The car then exits the water and does a burnout to heat the tires, making them even stickier. Some cars have a mandatory “line-lock” which prevents the rear brakes from engaging when the brake pedal is depressed (which can be toggled on and off). This allows the car to remain stationary (with the brakes applied) without burning up the rear brake pads while doing a burnout. Cars in street classes (which must be street legal) are the only exception to this pre-race ritual, as the grooved tires tend to retain some of the water.

[edit] Staging

After the burn-out comes the “staging phase”, where the cars pull up to the starting line. Each lane has its own string of lights on the “Christmas tree”, with two small orange lights on top. These are the “pre-staged” and “staged” lights. The two cars will slowly creep forward until the first (pre-staged) orange light is lit. This means they are very close to the actual starting line (a mere 7 inches). Then the cars will nudge forward until the second (staged) light is lit. This indicates they are at the starting line, this is the point where the driver will apply the “line-lock” to prevent the car from rolling while he uses the clutch and gas pedals. When both cars have lit both bulbs, the starter will engage the Christmas tree. If the racer moves too far the top bulb will go out and the driver is said to have “deep staged”. While some drivers prefer this technique, some tracks and classes prohibit it. An advantage can be had, by deepstaging, in gaining a quicker reaction time (RT) but at the expense of the elapsed time (ET) and MPH achieved at the top end of the track; there is also a higher risk of “red lighting” (the act of crossing the light beam before the green light has been lit) A loose etiquette is followed when staging. The driver to illuminate the first light will wait for the second car to light both bulbs before advancing to the staged light.

[edit] The tree

Once the competitors have both staged, the starter presses a button to start the race. There are two types of tree used. A sportsman tree, used for bracket and handicap racing, consists of each yellow lighting 0.5 seconds after the one above it. The green comes on 0.5 seconds after the last yellow is lit. If the race is a handicap race each side of the tree will have its own timing. A pro tree consists of all three yellows being illuminated at the same time, followed by the green 0.4 seconds later. This type of tree is used for professional and heads-up racing. It should be noted that some tracks run a Pro-style tree for bracket racing during special “Street Racing” bracket events.

[edit] The race

Several things are important on the way down the track in drag racing. The first is not to cross into the opponent’s lane, as this will result in disqualification. In case of a double disqualification in which one driver commits a foul start and the second driver crosses into his opponent’s lane, the driver who committed the foul start wins. Another important consideration is when to shift gears. Most drag cars are shifted manually by the driver, and there are optimum times for shifting that vary with each car. Typically, power will increase as the engine RPMs (revolutions per minute) increase, but only up to a point before power begins to taper off. The ideal time to shift is when the descending power curve for the lower gear crosses the ascending power curve for the higher gear. Most drag racers use a tachometer to judge shift points. In Fuel classes especially, “pedalling” the car (adjusting the throttle) to prevent loss of traction is often important and one measure of how good a driver is.

Strategies for crossing the finish line usually only involve bracket racing (see above). If one car has a huge lead, it may slow down before crossing the finish line to prevent a breakout. Especially in bracket racing, it is not uncommon to see the leading vehicle’s brake lights come on briefly before the finish line. The term “sandbagging” is used in races where the driver in a bracket race puts a slower “dial in” (the predicted E.T.) that he/she could run and then at the finish line tap the brakes lightly or lift of the gas pedal to reduce the E.T. to run as close as possible to the dial in.

If both cars break out, the car closer to their dial-in wins. In NHRA Junior Dragster racing, however, there is a maximum elapsed time where a car which is faster than the maximum permissible time is ejected from the entire race. This is faster than the official break out elapsed time.

[edit] Glossary

The Wheelie bar (foreground) and parachute (gray) on a Kenny Bernstein Top Fuel dragster

• Beam—starting line electric eye controlling “pre-staged” and “staged” lights
• Blow—supercharge; wreck. Said of an engine.
• Blower—supercharger (occasionally turbocharger); in ’90s, generally grouped as “power adder” with turbocharger and nitrous
• Blown—supercharged; wrecked. Said of an engine.
• Blowover—flipping of a car, due to air under car lifting front wheels. Commonly suffered by dragsters
• Breakout—running quicker than dial-in; also “breaking out”. Grounds for disqualification if opponent does not commit a foul start or cross boundary lines.
• Christmas Tree (or tree) — The series of lights that signal the approach and start of a race in addition to showing starting violations
• Dial-in—when bracket racing, drivers must estimate or ‘dial in’ the time in which they expect to run. Therefore two unmatched cars in weight and power can compete, by a handicap system. If one runs a faster time than dialed in, it is a breakout.
• Digger—dragster (as distinct from a bodied car or flopper)
• Doorslammer—Pro Stock, Pro Mod, or other car with doors, from the requirement to have working doors.
• Flopper—Funny Car, short for “fender flopper.” Coined by dragster crews in the late 1960s to separate Funny Cars, which had fiberglass bodies with fenders, from dragsters. Erroneously attributed to flip-top bodies of Funny Cars.
• Fuel—mix of methanol and nitromethane (“pop”, nitro); race class using it
• Fueler—any car running fuel or in Fuel class (most often, TFD or TF/FC)
• Holeshot—getting a significant advantage off the starting line. The other driver gets “holeshotted” or “left at the tree”. A “holeshot win” is any win in a heads-up class where a slower car beats a faster car because of better reaction time.
• Hook Up—Good traction between tires and track resulting in increased acceleration and reduced slipping or smoking of tires.
• Grenade—wreck an engine (the engine “grenaded”) due to internal failure. Distinct from “popping a blower”.
• Lit the tires—lost traction, causing smoke
• Nitro—nitromethane (sometimes incorrectly used to refer to nitrous oxide)
• Overdrive-The ratio between the revolutions of the supercharger to the revolutions of the engine, controlling amount of boost; see underdrive
• Oil Down-When a car’s engine or lubrication breaks during a run, leaving a streak of oil and other fluids on the track. This is punishable by fines, point penalties, and / or suspension.
• Pedalling—working the throttle to avoid lighting the tires, or as a way to sandbag; “pedalled” it, had to “pedal” it
• Pro tree—timing lights which flash all three yellow lights simultaneously, and after four tenths of a second, turn green.
• Put on the trailer—lost (got “put on the trailer”) or won (put the other driver on the trailer). From the obvious, losing drivers trailer their cars home.
• Quick 8 (Q8) Quickest eight cars in a defined race. Rules appear to can differ per location/race. Search for “Quick 8 rules” for more.
• Rail—dragster (as distinct from bodied car or flopper). From the exposed frame rails of early cars.
• Redlight(ed) a.k.a. bulb(ed)—jump(ed) the start, left before tree turned green. This is a loss unless a more serious (opponent crossing the center boundary line) foul occurs.
• Slapper bar-traction bar
• Slicks—rear tires with no tread pattern and softer rubber compound, for increased traction
• Slingshot—early front-engined dragster, named for the driving position behind the rear wheels (erroneously attributed to launch speed)
• Standard tree—timing lights which flash in sequence five tenths of a second between each yellow light before turning green. Traditional form, before introduction of Pro tree.
• Throw a belt-losing the drive belt connecting the engine’s crankshaft to the supercharger
• Top end—finish line of strip; high part of engine’s rev band.
• Traction bars—rear struts fixed to rear axle to keep rear axle from twisting, causing wheel hop and loss of traction; also called slapper bars.
• Trap(s)—the 20 meter (66 ft) timing lights at top end of race track to measure speed & E.T.
• Tire shake-violent shaking of the car as the tires lose and regain traction in quick succession.
• Wheelie bars—rear struts fixed to rear axle, which protrude out to rear of car to help prevent car’s front from rasing too high or flipping over on launch.