Hello,
I have not been to a drag strip in over 10 years, well actually 20 years if you count taking a muscle car there and boy did I embarrass myself ...
First of all, my car has a sunroof, I'm just under 6'0, all torso, no legs lol, and L and M helmets both leave me with no head room at all. Even reclining the seat all the way back and moving it all the way down doesn't help. Can't move too far back cause short legs
. Talk about having to drive in a really weird position. I also wear glasses which were basically on my forehead with the M size helmet
Since it has been so long at the drag strip I drove around the water box, and just casually took off from idle in touring mode running 13.9.
Ok cool, second run, sport mode, competitive mode on, launch control, spun for a good bit, felt power being cut, finally hooked, missed 4th gear since flat foot shifting confused me at the worst time, culminating in 13.7
Went back to the staging area and parked next to a guy with newer Dodge Challenger 392 with automatic transmission. When we compared time slips he showed me 13.8 and 13.3 which is odd because that car runs ~ 12.4 - 12.6.
As we were comparing notes I looked at my tires I saw a lot of sand & gravel which could explain why I spun with launch control engaged and I released the clutch quickly but did not dump or side step it. I also remember a puddle of water or two you basically have to drive through on the way back to the staging area. There was also water near the staging area which suggests that it rained that day.
I'm a bit puzzled as I originally took my 98 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 6M to the track decades ago and ran 13.8 for a ~ 13.4 car, also about a decade ago I took 2010 Subaru Legacy GT to the track and ran 14.1 which is what magazines achieved so I do have some driving ability but man I was so discouraged that I drove back home after only 2 runs and there were only 3 cars running so I could go back to back with no wait if I wanted to.
Kindly asking for help & guidance:
Was the track not prepped?
Sand & gravel on tires?
Should I turn off TC and spin the tires to clean them off quick?
Should I back into the water box, turn off TC, and do a quick burnout? Or drive right into water box and do the same thing?