Bracket racing

Bracket racing is a form of drag racing that allows for a handicap between predicted elapsed time of the two cars over a standard distance, typically within the three standard distances of drag racing.

Goal

The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver and car rather than on raw speed, which in turn makes victory much less dependent on large infusions of money and more dependent on mechanical and driving skill. This includes reaction times, shifting abilities, and ability to control the car. Therefore, bracket racing is popular with casual weekend racers, some who even drive their vehicles to the track, race them, and then simply drive them home.
This format allows for wide varieties of cars to race against each other. While traditional drag racing separates cars into a wide variety of classes based on power and weight, bracket racing classes can be simpler and can accommodate any vehicle with basic technical/safety inspection. Race events organized in this way are sometimes called "run-what-ya-brung".

Format

Dial-in

Each car chooses a dial-in time before the race, predicting the elapsed time the driver estimates it will take their car to cross the finish line. This is usually displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the "Christmas tree" starting lights accordingly. The slower car in the race is given the green light before the faster car by a margin of the difference between their two dial-in times.
In principle, if both drivers have equal reaction times and their cars run exactly their posted dial-ins, both cars should cross the finish line at precisely the same time. In reality, this is an extremely rare occurrence. Measuring devices both at the start and at the end of the track post times down to 1/100000 of a second, which makes tied races almost impossible.
Some forms of bracket racing have cars classified by type, and the dial-in time is based on the type of car that is entered.

Reaction time

When a car leaves the starting line, a timer is started for that car. The difference between when the green light comes on and when the car actually leaves the starting line is called the reaction time. If a driver leaves before the light turns green, he/she is automatically red-lighted and disqualified for that round unless the opponent commits a more serious violation. Depending on the Christmas Tree being used, either the first car to redlight, or more recently with many events with TruStart, the driver who has a worse red-light foul, is provisionally disqualified. In a TruStart system, no red lights are shown until both cars have left the start line. If one or both cars commit a red light foul, the computer determines which car left earlier in relation to the green light, and only that lane is shown a red light.
Sometimes, people incorrectly refer "reaction time" to the unrelated 60 foot takeoff time. The reaction time is merely an indication of how fast a driver reacted compared to when the green light came on. The 60 foot takeoff time is an indicator of how fast the vehicle started moving at the beginning of the race, regardless of the driver’s reaction time. If the driver launched the car with too much power for the available traction, he will have wheelspin and correspondingly will have a longer time to cross the 60 foot barrier if he were to drive with more finesse.

Breaking out

Breaking out is when a racer manages to cross the finish line in less time than the one he dialed-in beforehand.

If only one car "breaks out", it is disqualified and the other one wins by default.
If both cars break out, the one closer to the dial-in time wins.
A foul start, crossing the boundary line or wall, or failure to be at post-race inspection override any breaking out violations.
Not all bracket racing classes have breaking out.
Based on a driver's competition licence or a chassis certification, an absolute limit may be imposed. A car going faster than the absolute limit may be automatically disqualified.
Absolute Breakout

An absolute breakout that is imposed based on the licensing of the vehicle and/or the driver. Unlike a standard breakout, where a driver can win in a double breakout and red light fouls override breakouts, an absolute breakout is an immediate disqualification and loss of all points earned at that event. Violations involving absolute breakout include:

A car goes faster than the legal certification limit of the chassis. Examples include:
* A Top Dragster or Top Sportsman car goes faster than 5.999 seconds or 3.659 seconds. While 6.100 seconds is the NHRA breakout rule, the absolute breakout is 6.000 seconds.
* A full bodied car that is certified for 7.50 seconds goes faster than 7.49 seconds.
* A stock sedan with just a standard three-point harness goes faster than 11.49 seconds.
* A vehicle goes 150 mph or faster in the quarter-mile and does not have a parachute, required for cars that speed or faster.
A driver goes faster than the legal limit of his competition licence. Examples include:
* A driver's competition licence only is for cars 7.50 to 9.99 seconds, and his car goes faster than 7.49 seconds.
* A driver's competition licence only is for cars slower than 10.00 seconds, and his car goes faster than 9.99 seconds.
* A driver's competition licence in Super Street, Super Stock or Stock is for cars slower than 10.00 seconds with a terminal velocity limit of 135.00 MPH, and the car is faster than 9.99 seconds or goes 135.01 MPH or faster.
In Junior Dragster, a driver goes faster than the absolute limit imposed by his competition licence or exceeds the intermediate warning twice.
* Drivers age 5 cannot be faster than 20.00 seconds in the eighth mile during their solo passes.
* Drivers 6-7 are restricted to 13.90 in the eighth mile, with a warning at 13.70, with an absolute limit of 13.50.
* Drivers 8-9 are restricted to 11.90 in the eighth mile, with a warning at 11.70, with an absolute limit of 11.50.
* Drivers 10-12 are restricted to 8.90 in the eighth mile, with a warning at 8.70, with an absolute limit of 8.50.
* Drivers over 13 are restricted to 7.90 in the eighth mile, with a warning at 7.70, with an absolute limit of 7.50 and 85.00 MPH.
* Drivers in Jr Comp are restricted to 6.90 in the eighth mile, with an absolute limit of 6.70 and 110.00 MPH.
* Drivers who exceed the absolute limit are subject to further NHRA discipline in addition to disqualification and loss of all points from the event meeting.

Examples:

Race	Dial-in	Race Time	Reaction Time	Outcome	Reason
Race 1
Driver A	16.0	15.8	0.086	Broke Out	Racer A broke out.
Driver B	15.6	15.9	0.219	WINS	Did not red light, nor broke out.
Race 2
Driver C	16.1	16.0	0.280	Broke Out	Racer C is closer to the dial-in time.
Driver D	15.5	15.2	0.005	Broke Out	Racer D broke out with a wider margin, so he loses.
Race 3
Driver E	14.9	14.9	-0.020	Red Light	Red light overrides any break out violations.
Driver F	15.8	15.7	0.205	Broke Out	Break outs are irrelevant once Driver E triggered the red light violation unless Driver F crosses any boundary line, fails to present his car for inspection after the run, or in some classes, breaks out with a time faster than the absolute limit for that class. Red lights overturn break outs, but boundary line violations overturn red light fouls. Absolute break out violations overturn all.
Race 4
Driver G	15.8	15.4	-0.005	Broke Out and Red Light	Opponent crossing boundary line overturns both a foul start and breakout.
Driver H	14.5	DQ-CL	0.200	Boundary Line	Crossing the boundary line is an automatic disqualification and is worse than a red light or breakout.
Race 5
Driver G	12.5	12.50	-0.005	Red Light	Both cars committed a red light foul, only this lane is tagged under the 2016 TruStart programming, as the reaction time was worse.
Driver H	13.2	13.21	-0.002	WINS	Though the vehicle left first and would be tagged with a red light, under 2016 TruStart programming, the green light is shown to the driver at first. As the opponent's -.005 for the later start is worse than a -.002 reaction time, the red light is subsequently shown to that lane only.

This eliminates any advantage from bending the rules by putting a slow dial-in time on the windshield to get a head start. However, some racers will purposely dial a slower time and then let off of the throttle or use their brakes near the end of the track in an attempt to use strategy to win the race rather than relying on the car to run the dial in.

Bracket Racing Strategy

Bracket racing boils down mainly into one thing; putting up the best "package". The best package is technically the winner in every drag race. A "package" is : package = drivers reaction time + deviation from the dial-in.
For example:
Driver A has a reaction time of 0.025 and his car runs 9.653 on a 9.64 dial in. His package = 0.025 + = 0.038
Driver B has a reaction time of 0.005 and his car runs 10.684 on a 10.66 dial in. His package = 0.005 + = 0.029
In this scenario driver B wins despite his car running further off the number. But we can deduce even more than just that he won; we can see that he won by a = 0.009 finish margin which is about 22 inches at about 140 mph.
The formula used to calculate the margin of victory is :
17.6 * finish margin * behind vehicle mph = finish margin in inches
Professional bracket racing has evolved over the years into a drivers' sport. It used to consist of trying to get a good reaction time then hoping the car ran near the number. Drivers would avoid breaking out like the plague, dialing their cars 0.01 faster than it had ever gone before.
Now it has turned into a chess match between two drivers, guessing each other's next move. The race starts in the staging lane where drivers get ready to race, and decide what dial in to put on their cars. This is arguably the most important part of a bracket race: making sure of being able to "run the number". In other words, drivers make sure they can go as fast as their dial in says they can. Everyone has a different strategy, but any strategy has its flaws and can be beaten; that why the best strategy is one that includes many different strategies and cannot be predicted.