[17CamaroZL1]

Sounds like you've been given good advise. Your original post is pretty much spot on for a prepped dragstrip. One small change I'd suggest, simply because of simplicity, is if you're going to run in Sport Mode, instead of doing the hold until all off, simply do a quick double tap of the TC button. You should see a message on the dash that says Competitive Mode Active. This gives you the same results as holding until all off and is much faster to do. That's what I do at the strip. This mode also has a very simple launch control available if you want to try it. Simply stand on the brakes good and hard, smash the accelerator to the floor real quick, and the RPM should level out around 1200 (if I remember right). I've only tried this on some backroads a few times and it seems to roll into the throttle a little slower than the custom launch control and spun less, so it might even work for your half mile event. You could always hit the TC button right after your launch to turn all the nannies back on in case you need them during the remainder of the pass.