Racer18J is exactly right. Organized bracket racing takes alot of skill to be good. To expand on what Racer18J posted there is an annoying little thing called reaction time. Reaction time is the time it take the rider to move forward after the light turns green. A perfect reaction time is .40. To get a perfect reaction time normally you would take off in the middle of the third yellow light, but not to soon because if you react .399 or lower you lose. Its called red lighting. If you win all your races you are the top eliminator and could take home some mod money. Top eliminator at Big River Sand Drags usually takes home $250-400 depending how many riders show up.

In my younger years I raced dirt bikes MX, and flattrack. Now that I'm older and fatter I do not think that I would be very competitive in either MX or flatracking so I'm dragging. It really doesn't matter if I'm dragging at a track or in a plowed corn field. Plain and simple, I enjoy dragging weither I'm winning or losing. Dunes are alot of fun too. When the time comes, and it will, I'll get me Griz and head for the woods. It's all for the fun of it, isn't it?

Jay

 

Sorry to intrude on your little debate here, but a utility guy who's more apt to "dragging" logs than quads has a dumb question for you. I may be a little confused here-You said something about being within 1/100th of a second, saying that you will pass the mark in say 4.59 seconds or SLOWER?, that if you do it in 4.58, you loose? Like I said, dumb question, but don't you race for fastest times, to win-in which case saying you can do it in "X" amount of time, and actually beating that would then win? Or is this more of a "test" for human reaction times, and how well you know your machine?

Sorry for the bother here, I'm just used to seeing a race with the winner being the fastest to cross the line. Or, in say a bench competition, claiming I'll lift 485. If I don't on three attempts, I blow out. If I break it, I add on, beat the next lift. (sorry, hoping to break 500 next week!)

Thanks for the time,

Mike

 

I agree, I can beat my friends kodiak with my rubicon, but if we switch bikes I can beat my rubicon while rideing his kodiak. he is 200lbs and i am 140 (and i reved his kodiak to the moon[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
just watched the movie, the fast and the ferious, good action movie

 

Cowboy, that is exactly the case. How well do you know your vehicle, how accurate are you at the lights. That is why its called bracket racing, if not the same guy would usally win at a track or in a class. Its all about consistancy. The one thing that was left out, is if both bikes run faster than dialed in at, the one that went quicker than he said looses. By the way this is called breaking out, so if you break out more than your opponent he wins.

 

you guys are weird. i race up sand dunes because it's fun. sometimes i win, sometimes i lose. i dont care about all that stuff. i just like to have fun. that's why i ride.

 

I second DrRod's feelings completely.
If I can't drag my toys, then I don't want them.

 

Cowboy,

The reason they came up with Bracket Racing is to even the field, so you got good close racing. Let's say you go to the Drag Races and they have 1 of each of these bikes, Raptor, Warrior, Atc110 and a Badger....Who is going to win? The Raptor...right! Why would you even bother to watch if you know who is going to slaughter the rest? So, what they do is give the slower bike a head start, this way the slower bike and the faster bike will be at the finish line at the same time. EX: The Raptor is racing the Warrior, we all know who will win on a straight up start, but let's give the Worrior a 4sec head start....now who will win? We don't know!

As for the time to get there, you have to tell everyone how long it will take you to get from start to finish (AKA Dial In). This is so they can give the slower bike the right head start (AKA Spot), so both bikes get to the finish at the same time.

The reason you can't go faster than what you say (AKA Break Out)is so it will be even at the end. EX: Say the Raptor is Racing the Warrior, the Raptor dials a 4.00, and the Warrior dials a 5.5, the Warrior gets exactly a 1.5 sec head start, this will make it even at the finish. If the Raptor rider lies (AKA Sandbagging) and says he can get there in 4.0 secs, but really he can get there in 3.0 secs, the head start will be off and the Raptor will win because the Warrior should have got a 2.5 sec spot instead of 1.5. This is why you lose if you go faster than what you say (dial), if you dial 4.0secs and you race and run 3.50 secs, you lied and got a .5sec head start(spot). If you know you are going to lose if you lie, you won't lie (sandbag).

If you are into drag racing, you should look into bracket Racing. It is really fun, and very competitive, and the best part is, the field is always even, you don't have to have the biggest fastest bike to be competitive and win. You can take your stock Warrior out and race a heavily modded Banshee and know you have a chance to win. Get good starts, don't miss any gears, or shift too early or too late and just get to the finish.

Anyone have any questions? See me after class. Class dismissed! LOL

 

BigGun, Racer18J-
Thanks for the info guys, I think I'm beginning to understand how that stuff works now! Basically, like they say in "Days of Thunder" (I love NASCAR)-You don't have to worry about getting beaten by another CAR, you have to worry about getting beat by another RIDER. Like if I was on my 'Cat with 27" 'Claws, towing logs behind me, and wanted to race your Raptor in this bracket race stuff, If I said I'd get there in like 20 seconds, he could do it in 4, I'd get like a 16 second head start, right? If I did it in 20, he was in 4.1, I win. Yet, if I do it in 19.9, he does it in 4.0, or even 4.1, he'd win. (Like I said, I'm a Utility guy, so you've got to use your imagination a little [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img])

So what happens then if BOTH racers "break out", and are exactly 1/100th off their claimed speed? Like if one says he'll do it in 4.59, the other says 3.5, but they actually do it in 4.58 and 3.4 -is that a "draw" of sorts, or do they re-run? I can't imagine it would happen very often, but what happens when it does?

Again, thanks for the info-I like the sounds of this bracket racing stuff-sounds like it really puts the pressure on the rider, rather than the machine. Like you said, what's the point of watching a raptor race that badger or warrior anyway-see how much dust they can eat on the way!

Best of luck,

Mike

 

Bracket racing in the sand is tough. Track conditions change sooooooo much during the course of a race that throws your ET's off.

Heads up hillracing in the dunes is pretty cool. You just never know what you are racing. You can race someone, pay attention and see how they fare against other people, and be a puss and not race anybody you know is faster, or you just go line up, race 'em see what happens, if you get your a$$ handed to you, line up again, he'll miss a start or shift sometime, maybe that will be the next pass and you'll be 50-50 for the day [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] You can get an idea of what you're up against by a quick look but you never know for sure...Sure you can spot the pipes, the aftermarket carbs, and longer swingarm, but what much else past that....You can't see my +4mm stroke or my aftermarket ignition system...that's the fun part...oh that's just a little 310 kit with a mild port job...Es-squeeze me, oh yeah that's right it's a 370R...silly me... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

 

Personally, I like drag racing and hill shooting because I'm a crappy rider and can't do anything else. Seriously.

Also, at least it is some sort of a benchmark. It's a lot more accurate measure of horsepower than racing through the woods.

This is a country where people thrive on speed. There's nothing like racing up a huge sand hill roosting the heck out of the slower guy behind you, even if the slower guy is often me.

Besides, drag racing is all us Banshee guys can brag about because everybody tells us about how their 400ex may be slow but it can beat through the woods at least.