In preperation for driving my car once it is completed, I attended Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School on February 16-17, 2010.

This course was a special experience which gives me so many points of references of not only how to handle big power but on how to set my car up before I even get into it. I now have an understanding of where I want certain components positioned so that they are easily accessible for my personal comfort, allowing me to focus solely on driving.

Before arriving at the Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida, I had a manual to go over which included memorizing the setup within the car. The car I was learning on was a Super Gas Firebird which has a 572 BBC from GM Performance under the hood. This engine was producing 700HP and would consistantly run the 1/4 mile in under 10 seconds.

On the first morning we started off with a classroom session that gave us the basic instruction needed before we headed out to the race track. Once we were on the track, Frank Hawley went over the procedures we would follow for doing our burnouts, lining up and staging the car. From there we got suited up in our race suits and then got ready to make our first runs. Looking at the run board, I was number seven out of 12 and I thought, at least I can see how six others do this first.

Now as much as I was looking forward to driving the car, the time to actually go down the track seemed to arrive faster than I thought. As much as I would like to say otherwise, I was really nervous. We had many things to do in sequence with Frank and his staff watching us every step of the way. The thought of forgetting something, the thought of making a mistake and the thought of the unthinkable, maybe I am really going to suck at this, ran through my brain. Those thoughts could all be felt in my stomach.

As I took my turn, I got in the car and put on the harness, my helmet, the neck collar and my gloves. I re-engaged the removeable steering wheel back to the shaft and waited for Jimmy to give me my blindfold test. I needed to know where all of the different switches, pedals, levers, buttons and shifter were so that in case of emergency, I wasn't 'trying' to find them. After passing that test it was time to start the car and I will say that the sound of 700HP was both comforting and nerve wracking at the same time. The rumbling of the engine, with me in the car, meant it was time to take the car on to the drag strip. The comforting part was the sound is music to me and I love hearing a throaty V8.

I drove over to the strip and went through the 'water box'. Now I have never driven on a drag strip before and I was suprised that a water box has nothing to do with a box of water. Another lessoned learnt. As I did my burnout I was a bit hesitant to really go all out and it actually took 3 more times before I really got the hang of doing a good burnout.

After the burnout I went to line up the car and that is something that I could have done better as well. When the car was lined up I was given the signal to stage the car. Once I was staged I engaged the transbrake and stepped on the gas pedal. The car reved up to 3600 rpm's and then the lights on the tree said go.

While the car was now speeding down the track, I was not prepared for the acceleration and I was still looking at where the tree had been. Because the car was lined up slightly pointing to the left, I headed to the left and because I was caught off guard by the fast acceleration, I took longer than normal to correct the car. While this seemed like a small matter it looked much different in the review of the video of the run. The first run was only 200 feet and it was now done. Once everyone did their first run it was time then to go see what Frank had to say about the runs.

Back in the classroom, Frank went through the runs in order and asked each of us what we thought of our own runs. The point was to discern how aware we were of what we were doing and how the car responded to our driving. After we made our assessments, we watched the clip to see how accurate we were. I was aware of what had happened and understadably, I had to repeat my 200' run.

On my second run I still had the nervousness except this time I was repeating the steps and they all flowed more smoothly the second time. While my burnout was still a bit wimpy, I lined up and staged the car much better. When I went to launch the car I actually red lighted but fortunately I still got a slip so the run counted. It was on my second run that I became aware that at the moment of launch, when I was being forced back into my seat, I had the reflex to close my eyes. I know that is something I need to be aware of so that I don't allow that to happen because it is crucial to see where I am going. Another run and a couple of more lessons learnt. Back in the classroom we again went over the runs and some of us had improved and some still struggled.

Looking at the run board, posted by the cars, I saw that I had moved up to a 600' run. Progress is a good thing and it started to feel better as I made another run. I started to focus more on where I would look at the end of the track. As I waited to make my run, I was told there would be a delay as one of the other cars needed to have a flat tire fixed. I chose to stay in the car and I put that 15 minutes to good use. I practiced all of the procedures as well as centering the car in my mind. I also took the time to relax and calm my mind. When I was cleared to do the run I was more than ready. My burnout still wasn't great but everything else was coming along. The run felt good and back to the classroom we went.

This time in the class was shorter as 80% of us were making the improvements and adjustments needed. A few people were struggling and Frank helped each of them understand what they were doing wrong. There was actually enough time to get in a fourth run that day so away we went.

I saw that I was up for a 1,000' run and I was thinking, "am I up for this?" The first three shorter runs were each better than the first but I still needed to get past the sensation of leaving the start line so quickly. I like driving fast but honestly, this was a feeling that I never had before.

Now I was set to do my fourth burnout. This time I set the brake pressure to 800lbs, depressed the line-loc button and floored it. This time I stayed on the gas pedal and roasted the tires. I knew I had done a great burnout when the car filled with rubber smoke. I lined up the car, staged it and prepared for launch. The tree being used was the pro tree so when the amber lights came on, I launched it. The time slip would later tell me that my reaction time was .098. When I got close to 1,000' I realized taht I had nailed that run. I could just tell that it was a really good run, the best of my four runs that day. I also realized that the launch was the only part that I needed to get used to. The speed was nothing, in fact the car handled so well that it didn't seem that fast at all. As I drove back to the pits, I had that smile on my face, the smile that others told me I would have, the smile taht could barely be contained by my helmet. Back in the classroom we reviewed the runs again and Frank said that mine was a fine run. I would have to wait until the next morning to see if I moved up to a 1/4 mile run.

To finish off the classroom session, Frank started a lecture that touched on the physiology and psychology of racing. This lecture was full of useful information that will be useful when the time comes to race. This lecture was concluded the next morning prior to going back out onto the track. As were in the class for the second half of the lecture, we could hear the cars being driven up to the pit area. Soon we would get to do this all over again.

Now it was time to go to the track and see what the run board had in store for us. I had progressed to do a 1/4 mile run and I was set for it. Once I was in the car and set to go, I worked on calming down and mentally preparing for this run. The burnout was good again and lining up became routine. The run was great and I noticed that my eyes were open the whole time. The one thing that I still need to work on is the reaction time as we were told that r/t was not the focus of this course. In fact on my 1/4 mile runs I didn't even look at the tree as I was focused on doing fullout runs. While that seems simple enough, there were a few students who had a issue with letting off of the gas at the same moment the released the transbrake button. While I was not one of them, pedal to the metal seems normal to me, I was still focusing on doing the runs. The time to work on r/t would come soon enough.

I enjoyed doing the 1/4 mile runs so much that I even chose to pay for an extra run. By the end of it all, I got in seven runs, three of which were 1/4 milers. I can't say enough how glad I am that I took the course and how much I enjoyed it. I have qualified for my NHRA Competition License and I am much more prepared to drive the car once it is ready. In the meantime, I will be preparing the DD Cobalt to go to the track so that I can start working on my reaction time. The project car can't get here soon enough.

Rod