Filed under: Motorsports, Ford Click above for a high-res gallery from the Ford Racing Invitational I went into the Ford Racing Racing Invitational drag race this weekend with only a cursory knowledge of drag racing. Sure I was aware of all the usual suspects like Garlits, Prudhomme, Force and other famous names over the years. I knew about the kind of speeds they reached and I had a vague awareness of bracket racing and the need for consistency. But I figured "How hard can it be to go from a starting line and traverse 1320 feet in the shortest possible time?" Well, it turns out that it's a lot harder than you might think. If nothing else, I came away from this experience with with a vastly increased respect for successful drag racers. Let's start with a brief run down of the procedure. First up, before getting to the starting line you do a couple of burnouts to warm the tires in hope of getting some extra grip. On racing slicks this undoubtedly helps. Whether it actually helps with street tires is something about which we need to consult with some tire engineers. Once your tires are warm, you pull up to the line. This is where things start to get very complicated. Read on to learn more and check out the gallery below for shots from the day showing Autoblog and its peers doing their best on the quarter-mile. Gallery: Ford Racing Invitational 2008 Continue reading Ford Racing Invitational '08: The aftermath Permalink | Email this | Comments More...
