staging duel
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,653
Likes: 428
From: Melbourne Florida
Cruise-In IV Veteran
That is when both cars have lit their pre-stage bulbs but neither one wants to be the first to light their full stage bulbs...this is known as a "burn down"....there is no official time limit that I know of and there have been cases back in the day when it went on for minutes...sitting at the tree it had to seem like hours...lol..
I wonder if there has ever been a case where the competitors were DQ'd for refusing to fully stage?...anyone know?...
I wonder if there has ever been a case where the competitors were DQ'd for refusing to fully stage?...anyone know?...
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 416
Likes: 1
From: San Diego CA
That is when both cars have lit their pre-stage bulbs but neither one wants to be the first to light their full stage bulbs...this is known as a "burn down"....there is no official time limit that I know of and there have been cases back in the day when it went on for minutes...sitting at the tree it had to seem like hours...lol..
I wonder if there has ever been a case where the competitors were DQ'd for refusing to fully stage?...anyone know?...
I wonder if there has ever been a case where the competitors were DQ'd for refusing to fully stage?...anyone know?...
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,175
Likes: 86
From: State of Confusion
Steve Carbone & Don Garlits had a celebrated Top Fuel burn-down at the U.S. Nationals in the early '70s, and although no known video exists, witnesses claimed they sat for almost 3 minutes with the top bulb lit, neither willing to go-in first:
now-a-days, with the cars burning-off so-much fuel at-idle (if they'd burn-off TOO-much fuel, they might lean-out and erupt during the run, or lose nose-ballast and go into a wheel-stand ), Rick Stewart is prone to either forcing the cars in, or shutting them off, backing them up, and running a few more pair of cars (think Doug Herbert mauling Clay Millican's crew at Maple Grove a few years ago ).
In bracket-racing, it is pretty-much up to the individual track's policy and patience.
Not-much, it is usually just playing mind-games with the opposition, a form of 'one-ups manship', making your opponent do something he may-not want to-do.....
now-a-days, with the cars burning-off so-much fuel at-idle (if they'd burn-off TOO-much fuel, they might lean-out and erupt during the run, or lose nose-ballast and go into a wheel-stand ), Rick Stewart is prone to either forcing the cars in, or shutting them off, backing them up, and running a few more pair of cars (think Doug Herbert mauling Clay Millican's crew at Maple Grove a few years ago ).
In bracket-racing, it is pretty-much up to the individual track's policy and patience.
Last edited by Glensgages; Apr 16, 2007 at 12:52 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 90,675
Likes: 304
From: SE NY
Cruise-In II Veteran
Is there a disadvantage to staging first? Having to spend more time heating the engine at launch RPMs or something?
- Some of the guys like to launch with a "cool" engine so making them wait at the line is a disadvantage to them.
-Some guys (like me) come up on the converter so making them hold that stance can cause heating of the fluid.
-And of course there's the "mind game" aspect; anything that causes the opponent to break concentration is to your advantage.
But, since we are all "Vette guys", I so not play that game at ECSCCC events, not that I never have over the past 10yrs of racing...
At our events, once the opponent has pre-staged, I begin my creap into the staging beam.
