[ponyakr]

i read thru my "how to win more races series" this morning. there i said that wasn't nearly everything i knew about it. as i thought on this, i thought of something to add that mite be of help to some who may be just getting into bracket racing. it concerns dial-ins. tracks use different staging procedures. we've run across several. some just use 2 lanes & you run the car beside you. & each lane is given a certain lane for the race. but some draw or dial to see who gets which lane. some draw or dial to see who runs who. in this case you may run the car behind or ahead of you instead of the car beside you. sometimes the 1st car pulled gets lane choice, or they may have to run a specified lane. some tracks pull from 4 staging lanes, with varying methods of lane choice. some pull the 1st car aside to get the bye if there's an odd # of cars. some give the bye to the quickest car, or the best rt. all these things can be confusing to a beginner racer. there are enuff things to think about & concentrate on without getting distracted by staging lane drama. so, this may help. try to find a good pit crew member or friend to help you in the staging lanes. you need to know the dial-in of your oponent! you may not find out who your running til the last second. if using 4 lanes & your in the front row, you know you'll run another car in the front row or the car behind you. your helper can write down the dial-ins of your 4 possible opponents clearly on a piece of paper or chalk board big enuff for you to read when he holds it up to your ds window. if another car is pulled 1st, your helper can circle his dial-in & hold it back up to your window. but if you're pulled out 1st, you'll have to look for the dial-in after you get to the burnout area. sometimes this is e-z, sometimes you just can't do it. all may not be lost tho. some tracks may allow a pit crew member in the burnout area. if so, he can write it down in big numbers & show it to you. if not, you may still have 1 more chance. some modern timing systems display the dial-in for each lane on the finish line scoreboards. if this is the best you can do, so be it. but this gives you another distraction you don't need. try to get your opponents dial-in as soon as possible, so you'll know who's lites will come down 1st! if your the slowest car in the bracket, this info don't matter much. but if your like the vast majority, you'll fall somewhere in the middle. this info is even more important if your opponent is only very slightly slower than you. that means their lites will start down just before yours, which can be very distracting. you need to know in advance, so you'll know what to expect. if you run a track you're not familiar with, ask around & find out their staging lane procedures. this is just 1 of those seemingly minor things that can sometimes seperate winners from losers. 1 more thing--don't forget to use every red lite run as a time trial. if your opponent red lites, use it for a tt to help dial-in for next round. if you red lite, still use it for a tt. if its a buyback round, it'll help you dial in for next round. if it puts you out for the nite, still use it for a tt. if you run the same track every week, record all the info & it mite help you dial in next week. don't waste a pass by just letting off & puttering on thru. make every pass count. good luck!