This Month on ThisIsBracketRacing.com

The month of September brings a number of great features to the only sportsman drag racing driving school on the world wide web: ThisIsBracketRacing.com.  Here’s a brief update of the tools available to TIBR subscribers this month:

Ohlins Monthly Tutorial:
In the August Ohlins monthly tutorial column, Luke Bogacki turns his attention away from the finish line and back to the starting line for Part 2 of a two-part column entitled: “Tuning Our Starting Line Skills.”  In part 1, Bogacki focused on top bulb skills.  This month he dedicates the discussion to Footbrake and No Box competitors.

“Racers try to complicate bottom bulb racing, and we tend to assume that it’s harder than top bulb racing.  It’s not.  There’s just more opportunity for distraction.  Hitting the bottom is no different than hitting the top, you just get an extra second to get ready and two extra lights to let you know its coming.”

Guest Editorial:
This month’s guest editorial comes from 3-time NHRA Division 3 Driver of the Year and recent NHRA Top Dragster National Event winner James Monroe.  James provides his unique perspective to the TIBR audience as not only a highly decorated bracket, Super Quick, and Top Dragster competitor, but also a respected figure in the high performance industry.  In addition to his on-track exploits, James is the owner/operator of KillerRons.com, where he specializes in fuel injection systems and tuning, and provides variety of racing related products and services.

“I have been fortunate enough to have had some measure of success within my racing activities over the years.  The compliments my competitors offer that are the most rewarding  are the observations that go something like we  “….never seem to make mistakes” and “….have a great race team”.  This, I believe, is due to the fact that we never stop making efforts to continually improve even in the smallest ways.  The goal of this editorial is help you identify areas of improvement and offer steps you can take to improve your driving, the race car, and your processes from the garage to the finish line.”

JEGS Q&A:
The JEGS Question and Answer Forum will continue to be featured throughout the month of June and beyond.  The current question comes from TIBR subscriber XChamp1317, who asks:

“When the conditions (weather or track or both) are iffy how do you get rid of the appropriate ET when holding .03 PLUS to a faster car? If I know I had a great light (in my mind), hook and hit my shift points how do I get rid of and close the door on a much faster car who either did everything right or is holding as well? I can burp it (.01 to .02) or scrub the brakes but when the other stocker is a second quicker and 15 to 20 mph faster it is hard to close the door when I am holding a comfortable margin as if I were leaving second. Thoughts?”

Read Luke Bogacki’s detailed response on ThisIsBracketRacing.com.

Tech Talk:
This month, a new “Tech Talk” feature will post centered around the use of aluminum engine blocks in bracket racing.  The story will come from TIBR’s own Luke Bogacki, as he recently made the switch to an aluminum motor (after vowing he would never), along with some insight from the industry leaders at BRODIX Cylinder Heads.

American Race Cars Member Forum:
Various topics are discussed constantly within the American Race Cars forum.  Luke Bogacki and other guest instructors constantly post “situational” exercises, in which they detail several variables and scenarios from a real round of competition and challenge subscribers to develop the best possible strategy for that round of racing.  The instructors then come back and detail the approach that they chose, how the round actually transpired, and what approaches may have made for a better outcome in that particular round of racing.

Moneymaker:
TIBR subscriber Chuck Morris presents our latest feature, titled “Moneymaker.”  Chuck posted his first blog in July, and it’s already gained great popularity among members.  In his monthly review, he depicts his trials and tribulations of racing on a strict budget with the necessity of making a profit.  Add in Chuck’s self deprecating sense of humor, and the column is a great read!

“Now on Sunday I went and visited the list of “don’t do that”. It’s a list compiled from times when I have called my mentor Bud after losing in the dumbest fashions possible and the only response he can give me is “don’t do that.”

BTE Power Rankings:
The BTE Power Rankings remain tightly contested, as the top continued to earn points and swap positions throughout August.  As of September 7, Gary Williams still holds a slight lead, as he has most of the season despite failing to earn a point in the month of August.  Gary leads second place Todd Ewing by just 7 points.  Jason Lynch is in third place with 98 points, trailed by John Labbous, Jr. (80 points) and Edmond Richardson (77).  Stephen McCrory continues his ascent to the top of the standings, checking in for the sixth position with 73 points.  The remainder of the current top ten includes Peter Biondo (72), Steve Furr (68), Tommy Plott (65), and Troy Williams, Jr. (56).
 
Auto Meter Schedule:
As always, subscribers can find the biggest races in their area and across the continent each weekend on the comprehensive schedule presented by Auto Meter.  The schedule includes any bracket-style event that features a winners purse of $5,000 or more, along with all NHRA and IHRA divisional, national, sportsman national, and ET finals events.

To access these great features, log-in and subscribe to www.ThisIsBracketRacing.com today.  Annual subscriptions are $119, or new subscribers can purchase a 3-month trial subscription for just $45.