Drag racing in Terre Haute Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drag racing in Terre Haute - Assignment Example Nonetheless, I felt that we should have done more research before going to participate in the sport but we were too keyed up to be bothered. I hardly slept Thursday night as I anticipated the next day’s turn of events. Come Friday night and we were all geared up with our own street cars to take part in the race. Our excitement was however dialed down when we had to read the rules concerning the race. Any slight error could lead to disqualification. It was here where I learnt that drag racing was a type of motor vehicle racing where vehicles usually compete in sets of twos to cross a finish line that was set. The race followed a straight course that was short over a distance that was measured. Some of my friends were a bit disappointed with this information since they had hoped it would be a race like that of the world’s greatest drag race which involved more than ten vehicles at a time. Some even opted to be spectators in lieu of actual racing. I learnt that before a race began, each driver was given the permission to perform what was known as a burn out. This allowed the tires to heat in order to put down the tire’s rubber at the start of the track which helps improve traction. Both drivers then lined up at the starting point. I also learnt that the races were all started using an electronic system known as a Christmas tree. It consisted of six light columns for each driver. Three were amber, one blue, one green and a red one. They were all connected to beams of light on the race track. There was the blue light which was split into two halves. A vehicle’s front tires were what would break the light beam and would light up the blue light’s first half, staging the vehicle at the starting point which would then light up the blue light’s second half. Once there was this staged beam from the first competitor, the Christmas tree was automatically activated. The opponent then had less