These days are designed to give people a chance to not only learn about bracket drag racing but to also to give it a go yourself.
They are also run to try and encouraged people to enter sportsman’s drag racing at any level.
After a classroom session you get full qualifying sessions and eliminations under RWYB rules.
My Day
I thought that after going to Santa Pod for 45 and never running down the track in anger that this would be a perfect chance for me to experience not only that, but also to have a small taste of competition.
I arrived at SPR about 8.30 am with the venue covered in ice and water, but with the sights and sounds of the support crew, vehicles and dryers I knew we would be fine.
We started by signing on and then Ian Marshall started to explain the day ahead.
If I’m being honest I didn’t think I would learn that much from the talk but Ian delivered a fascinating insight in to the world of bracket racing, covering not the just the basic stuff, but also the strategies, sciences and variables that can come in to play during a race meeting.
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Because of the poor weather we would have to start off running on the 1/8th mile but hopefully the track would be okay later for us to run the full 1320.
We covered things like staging and dial ins, Santa Pod had even gone to the effort to setup a Christmas tree in the room.
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After a couple of hours and when the track was dry we were taken on to the start line where Ian explained staging basics and techniques like deep staging on the real tree.
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I was chomping at the bit at this point to get started t at it my turn soon.
What a buzz finally getting to go down the track, I was excited and nervous.
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I dialed in an 11.00 flat on my first run on the 1/8th and run an 11.007, this is easy 
All the things I had promised myself beforehand that I would do on the track like shifting points went completely out the window though, it was just a blur.
2nd run was a bit quicker so for the 3rd pass I dialed a 10.80 and run a 10.803.
In eliminations I went 2 rounds and winning my first race was a blast but I just broke out again in round 3.
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What great fun this was but at the same time I also noticed I was starting to take it a lot more serious now and wanted to do better.
After a trip back in to the classroom we were told we could run the full 1320.
After 3 qualifying runs I was all over the place with my dials in’s and et’s and went out in the 1st round
To finish off the day we had a one shot qualifier and I was determined to do better. After a bad launch in qualifying I thought I was ready for round one and dialed in 16.48. After chasing the guy down I run a break out 16.4701
My day was over and my pocket full of timing slips suddenly felt like losing better slips, I was quite disappointed but had a great day and would love to do it again.
The dial in day certainly had its intended effect on me because after all these years of spectating and photographing drag racing I would love to have another go in something a bit more race ready.
When my circumstances change I will seriously consider getting something to have a go in, maybe even race.
I have always been a fan of sportsman’s drag racing racing but now I have an even better understanding and appreciation of it.
Finally I have to add that the way we were treated all day was fantastic, even though there was just a small group of us we were made to feel quite special.
Nothing was too much trouble and to see all the work and effort that went in to what was a freezing cold day was quite amazing.
It something I would recommend to anybody to do in the future so make sure you look out for the next one.
I would personally like to thanks Ian Marshall, James Forster, Darren, David and everyone at SPR that made this fantastic day possible.
Dave Smith from American Car Magazine in the Lexus with James Forster of SPR trying to stay warm in the middle.
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Nikki Skinner from Nitro FM
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Over winner on the Day Was Kirstie Tramm. well done Kirstie.
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Santa Pod's report on the day can be viewed below.
http://www.rwyb.co.uk/dialin.php
They are also run to try and encouraged people to enter sportsman’s drag racing at any level.
After a classroom session you get full qualifying sessions and eliminations under RWYB rules.
My Day
I thought that after going to Santa Pod for 45 and never running down the track in anger that this would be a perfect chance for me to experience not only that, but also to have a small taste of competition.
I arrived at SPR about 8.30 am with the venue covered in ice and water, but with the sights and sounds of the support crew, vehicles and dryers I knew we would be fine.
We started by signing on and then Ian Marshall started to explain the day ahead.
If I’m being honest I didn’t think I would learn that much from the talk but Ian delivered a fascinating insight in to the world of bracket racing, covering not the just the basic stuff, but also the strategies, sciences and variables that can come in to play during a race meeting.
We covered things like staging and dial ins, Santa Pod had even gone to the effort to setup a Christmas tree in the room.
What a buzz finally getting to go down the track, I was excited and nervous.
All the things I had promised myself beforehand that I would do on the track like shifting points went completely out the window though, it was just a blur.
2nd run was a bit quicker so for the 3rd pass I dialed a 10.80 and run a 10.803.
In eliminations I went 2 rounds and winning my first race was a blast but I just broke out again in round 3.
After a trip back in to the classroom we were told we could run the full 1320.
After 3 qualifying runs I was all over the place with my dials in’s and et’s and went out in the 1st round
To finish off the day we had a one shot qualifier and I was determined to do better. After a bad launch in qualifying I thought I was ready for round one and dialed in 16.48. After chasing the guy down I run a break out 16.4701
My day was over and my pocket full of timing slips suddenly felt like losing better slips, I was quite disappointed but had a great day and would love to do it again.
The dial in day certainly had its intended effect on me because after all these years of spectating and photographing drag racing I would love to have another go in something a bit more race ready.
When my circumstances change I will seriously consider getting something to have a go in, maybe even race.
I have always been a fan of sportsman’s drag racing racing but now I have an even better understanding and appreciation of it.
Finally I have to add that the way we were treated all day was fantastic, even though there was just a small group of us we were made to feel quite special.
Nothing was too much trouble and to see all the work and effort that went in to what was a freezing cold day was quite amazing.
It something I would recommend to anybody to do in the future so make sure you look out for the next one.
I would personally like to thanks Ian Marshall, James Forster, Darren, David and everyone at SPR that made this fantastic day possible.
DID-08.jpg (648.92 KiB) Viewed 7771 times
DID-02.jpg (103.97 KiB) Viewed 7771 times
http://www.rwyb.co.uk/dialin.php
