Preparing to race a street car at the track – Part 2

Greetings….in part one of our discussion, we touched base on what you needed to do in the days preceding your track day, everything from monitoring the weather conditions, to managing your fuel levels. Now, fast forward to the day before, or day of the event, we need to concentrate on weight reduction, and maintenance. For starters, if you plan on giving it a serious go, weight reduction can be as much, or as little as you want to take it. At a bare minimum, I would recommend removing the spare tire, jack, and all related items from the trunk of the car. Also, remove any loose items from the interior, and any big “piles of crap” from the cubby holes in your car (face it, we all have them) individually, these items don’t weigh much, but it is the collective whole you need to think about. Remember, every 100 lbs. of weight equates to roughly .10 of a second on the drag strip. Also, you can remove stuff like floor mats, and other related items (for the same reason). But in this case, the driver’s side floor mat in particular for one specific reason. In some cars, the floor mat can bunch up, and cause the accelerator not to have its full travel to the floor. That is like leaving a “Blackjack” on the table, and walking away.

Now, with having suggesting all of that, this is where the faint of heart might want to look away, and this will also determine how serious you are. At this point, you have removed all the easy stuff from the interior, and trunk. Now, you can leave it at that, or as I say “go big, or go home” When I race at the track, and I am going for a “personal best” I will remove everything except the driver’s seat. Even that, I have a lightweight alternative to install. This means I remove the entire rear seat, and the passenger seat. In most cars, that could equate to another 100 lbs. of removable weight. Now, if you look at the collective whole of your weight reduction efforts, you can see a significant difference. Factoring in the fuel load, and all you removed from the car, it is conceivable that you have removed 200 – 300 lbs. from the car. That is .20 – .30 of a second that was free. It isn’t that your car is producing more horsepower, but what your car produces is being used more efficiently.

Now is a good time to think about what you are going to take to the track with you. There are some items that I feel are a necessity to have:

-Tool Box with sockets, box wrenches (SAE and Metric), screwdrivers, pliers, wire cutters, etc.

-Hydraulic Floor Jack

-Jack Stands

-Jumper Cables (or a good Jump Box)

-Gas can with at least 2-3 gallons of fuel in it

-Quart of oil

-Torque Wrench

-Tire Pressure Gauge and a Tank of Air

These items will help you at the track if an emergency happens. You will at least have a fighting chance to fix it, and get your ride back on the road.

Something else to do at this time would be to go over your vehicle. Check all fluids, hoses, belts. Check the suspension, tires, and brakes. Basically give the car a thorough once over. If there are any issues, now is the time to find out, not when you are doing your burnout, or going down the track at wide open throttle. If anything is questionable, either fix it right then, or don’t race. The fact of the matter is that while racing is fun, it isn’t worth wrecking your car, or worse wrecking a competitor’s car. I’ve personally seen maintenance items cause an axle to shoot out of a car at the starting line; to having the brakes fail on an 8 second car, and causing an accident which took the life of its driver. Just be safe, and smart.

In our next installment, we’ll discuss what to do when you arrive at the track.