Finish line beams

How far off the ground are the beams at the finish line? Does it vary from track to track?

 

Beams

I was pretty sure 6" but I wanted to check with my Uncle who is a manager/ owner of an NHRA Track.( Not a national event track) and he thought the spec range to set them up was 5" to 6" high for the finish line lights. That is the reason there is overhang length limits to each class because you are tripping the finish line with the nose not the wheels.

 

Thanks I have seen some rather curios things hanging on the front of some the local competitors cars.

 

Class in session

That's why they are there. Perfect example is ADRL and NN/FC, rules allow for a 40" overhang, and the short body guys can actually lose because the finishline has nothing to do with the front wheel.
The "period correct" nostalgia guys are bitchin that the long nose "stretched" bodies shouldn't be legal, but of course to do that, a late (safer)(unless "heat treated") model chassis has to be shortened to fit a "as it was" body, but if they let the long ones run, then the short body guys are forced to run a "mail box flag" on the front, if they plan to win.
This is what screwed up Pro/Comp, when the F/C's got 40" noses and the dragsters still had 30" in the rules. So NHRA dumped it, instead of actually thinking like the Aussie rulesmakers did by allowing 40" on dragsters also.

 

Bob I didn't think " NHRA " and "thinking" could be used in the same sentence. Seriously thanks for the information.

 

thought most including adrl pro mods is 45" overhang? and how much et gain and mph loss would you get out of say 7" overhang in a pro mod type car? just curious if any smart people could figure it out to see if its even worth it!

 

Lesson

I not up on ADRL rules, but it dosn't matter what class it is, it's about knowing the rules and how the game is played! (if you want to win and not worry about qualifing)
No need to worry about ET or speed, or mathematics, common logic and the understanding that you have to be smarter than a light bulb!
The car is staged with the front wheel at 2" beam height, the clock and win light is shut off with a beam height of 5-7" depending on the bumps and crown of the track.
Both guys leave with a near perfect .001, both run 6.00, the guy with a 2" shorter nose will lose by 1-15/16" every time. The guy with the 2" longer nose obviously has a shorter racetrack.
But yes, if your car is any short of legal, your ET will pick up peanuts in qualifing and may be the difference of making a tight show.

Bob
Meyer Race Cars / San Diego
2010 Our 45th Anniversary

 

bob, i have to disagree with part of that. i understand how the lights are set up. you say, (unless i'm not understanding) a shorter car will et better than a car that has a long wicker? thats not true. if you make back to back runs, one with say a 7" wicker and one w/o, IF (keyword IF) the pass with the wicker trips the finish line beams, you'd be quicker in et but lose mph over your previous run. unless i'm not thinking of something? and if in your example, 2 cars ran the same reaction time and et but the car with a 2" longer wicker would win by 1 15/16"? i dont agree and dont understand where you get that measurement. the car with the wicker may have run a 6.0 et but in reality it would have been slower w/o. so it would be a tie(but we all no theres never a tie in drag racing) so it would have to go out to thousands or ten thousands of a second. right? maybe i'm confused!!! but yes, i know a wicker would definately help, its common sense it would if rules allow it. i'm wondering if anyone actually tested with or without to see how much? lost of variables though.(length, how fast, 1/8mi vs 1/4mi etc etc.

 

O.C.; I'm a welder, maybe not a wordsmith........
I didn't think I said anything about a shorter car being quicker.
If there were no rules whatsoever for overhang, you could stage a car with a front chingus (beam breaker) that was 1319' long, leave with an .001 light, move 1' and the win light would come on as long as that piece was +3" off the ground at the startline.

"wicker" is a term for a add-on guess for a ineffective airfoil that drag racers screw on to something at the back when they're lost rather than research the problem. Don't get me started.....

 

40" noses

Hey Bob
Don't forget in Australia we also let Altereds come play in Top Alcohol, and they got a 40" nose too.

Keep smilin'

Geoff@dragsteraustralia

 

Geoff; the car Oakey now runs was the first dragster I purpose built for your 40" rules, boy did it take getting used to the look! All the rest, I built Aussie "bull bars" and loooong tip plates.
Also in building Shacks altered, I was amazed at your rule book diagram of how high and what placement the wing and tip plates had to be, it was a feat of engineering to be legal and not just a lookie-loo deal! Again, after all the b.s. we go through w/NHRA rules, you mates learn to make things very clear in the rule book. Good on Ya.

 

agree with ya there bob! guess i'm a truck driver and not a wordsmans! noone seems to have a technical word for the overhang but i've heard people say a wicker. either way, we both understand why its there and how it works. a 1319 wicker would look funny though, wouldnt it? but mph would clearly be lower!