I could never drag race professionally I think. I get too worked up. I get such a rush that my heart feels like it is going to come out of my chest. I ALWAYS have to pee before a run... ALWAYS. I then go and sit in the car for a little while and try to calm down and think about what I'm going to do on this run. Normally, I second guess myself on whether or not I fully latched my hood, so I jump out and re-check it. I take deep breaths like Mr. Miagee (sp) from the karate kid said... in de nose, out de mouth. Then I make sure the heater is off, the radio is off, the pass seat is all the way back (if its in there), I check my gauges for water temp, oil pressure, etc. I pull up and watch where the guy in front of me burned out and where he launches from. If he has ET street or a similar sticky tire, I try to line up where he did, if its a FWD car, I stagger his tracks to avoid a wet spot on the track. I then pre-stage and very slowly stage. I bring the RPM's up to my launch point, and then wait until the third yellow pops... then I'm off. 1-2 and 2-3 happen so quick that I often forget to even look at the tach, I shift them more on feel than anything else. The as I'm winding out 3rd I think "you dumby, you forgot to look at the tach!" so then I concentrate nail 4th pushing the accelerator THROUGH THE FLOOR. The finish is coming up... I stay in it through the beams then slow down. I usually know immediately if I should get my hopes up or not as to whether it was a new best... I'm normally right too!
If I race often, the nerves go away. Last night I drove my dad's car and I thought I was going to have a heart attach. I ended up botching the launch and I missed 4th, I also didn't look at the tach on the 1-2 and 2-3 shift... DOH! I'm getting rusty since I've only run my car twice this year.
When I try to make adjustments to my technique, I just mess up. How do you guys do it? Are you guys just relaxed and laid back or do you get yourself psyched up?
