Do you find yourself obsessively watching vehicle racing on TV or driving to the local racetrack? Do you love tinkering with vehicles out in the garage, getting oil on your hands? Does the sound of a super-charged engine get your blood pumping? Go to emission control for more information.

Well, maybe you’re the kind of person who would love to get into the hobby sport of Drag Racing. Here’s some insight.

Drag vehicle racer, Lorne Walters, worked on his drag vehicle for over two years, making it one of the fastest automobiles on the strip. He even competes against vehicles that have a higher rated horsepower than his 1984 drag racing street car that he picked up for next-to-nothing. He collected inexpensive, used parts for it for over a year, until he finally bolted it all together and cranked the ignition.

Since then, he has put a couple of seasons of driving and fine-tuning under his belt. He explained that it is not major changes that produce large leaps in performance but many tiny changes over time that makes the difference between winning and losing a race.

Removing the muffler increased his engine’s horsepower. Removing over three hundred pounds of non-essentials made the automobile lighter. Removing the belt-driven fan and replacing it with a battery-powered fan reduced the load on the engine. Changing from street tires to tires that get sticky when you lay rubber and heat them up increased his car’s traction. All of these changes increased his car’s speed.

When you’re counting your racing time in tenths of a second, each tiny change brings you closer to winning.

One of Lorne’s motto’s to live by is, “You can’t learn it if you don’t do it.” If you want to become a better and more successful Drag Race driver, you can’t just read about it or watch it, you must do it! The more you do it, and apply what you learn from the experience, the better you become.

Before he ever thought of driving his own automobile though, Lorne joined a pit crew for a stock car driver, which allowed him to network with other enthusiasts and also get into the thick of it. Once he got bitten by the race vehicle fever, getting behind the wheel became a driving obsession. Refer to emission control for more information.

Consistency is also one of the major keys to winning. In Drag Racing, it isn’t always the fastest vehicle that wins, but also the one who stays consistent in doing the tiny things right. Good race timing scores must be repeated often.

Lorne also learned quickly that when you’re on the strip, ready to go, you don’t hang around waiting to be “told” to go. Waiting for the tree of lights to reach green-for-go cost him 1.2 seconds. Which meant that his competitor, who exploded his engine’s horsepower into forward motion just prior to green, left the gate just as the tree hit green and was way out ahead of him. There is always a lag time before the vehicle will actually burst forward.

When Lorne started out with his own car, tagging along with a successful racer who knew the circuit and all the ropes placed him vehicle lengths beyond his competition. He also gained much of his knowledge by asking lots of questions, searching the World wide web for free information, and by hands-on experience.

Drag Racing is no longer a hobby to Lorne, it’s a passion – a passion that pushes him from race to race throughout the season.

Maybe this could be your passion, and like Lorne, you may get some or even your entire automobile sponsored by local businesses.

Not sure if you would like it? Some drivers are allowed to take passengers during certain parts of the day. Why not get to know one and go for a trial spin? Visit emission control for further information.

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