Footbraking in H/R

[70Dart499]

I was wondering if anyone has ever had any success footbraking in the IHRA Hot Rod Class? The reason I ask, is my car is perfect for the class ET wise, it will run 7.00 consistently but I don't have any electronics, and it's not in the budget for me to go to electronics right now. Hot Rod seems like it would be fun, but am I wasting my time without a t-brake and throttle stop?

[HR9121]

I do think its possible to be competitive footbraking, I had mares some hits with my old car at test & tune footbraking and was surprised myself at how good my reaction times were but were a little inconsistent. I think its doable but a little difficult. Danny Waters won a World championship in hot rod so maybe he could give you some pointers, he's on this site also.

[danny waters sr]

In 1991 i won two national events and finished 5th in the world...No transbrake , no throttle-stop,no e-shift all in a 3300# 69 Camaro on a 4 tenths pro tree(deep staging).
You should be fine on the 5 tenths tree now...........Go for it !!!!

[HR9121]

Oops, my bad big Danny. You should have been world champ is what I meant to say. Pretty impressive though.

[70Dart499]

Originally Posted by danny waters sr

In 1991 i won two national events and finished 5th in the world...No transbrake , no throttle-stop,no e-shift all in a 3300# 69 Camaro on a 4 tenths pro tree(deep staging).
You should be fine on the 5 tenths tree now...........Go for it !!!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I think I may try it. My car falls into the class with no extra work or tuning, so I really don't have anything to lose. I have raced on a pro tree a few times, and my lights were just OK, so I'll have to do some practicing on the tree first

[jmcarter]

Won a IHRA race several years ago foot braking and had the car dialed in by adding and subtracting weight, which won't significantly affect reaction times if you place the weight correctly. If you need to significantly change your ET you need one of the EZ plate systems, which are relatively inexpensive. Rolling in a little deep will help your lights if they are way off but doing it consistently is harder. Many change front tire diameter or take out some front end travel for tuning lights. Since you're in Plant City I'd hit some test and tunes prior to running the Bradenton race or whatever, don't expect to dial you and the car in during 2-3 time trials.

[70Dart499]

Originally Posted by jmcarter

Won a IHRA race several years ago foot braking and had the car dialed in by adding and subtracting weight, which won't significantly affect reaction times if you place the weight correctly. If you need to significantly change your ET you need one of the EZ plate systems, which are relatively inexpensive. Rolling in a little deep will help your lights if they are way off but doing it consistently is harder. Many change front tire diameter or take out some front end travel for tuning lights. Since you're in Plant City I'd hit some test and tunes prior to running the Bradenton race or whatever, don't expect to dial you and the car in during 2-3 time trials.

Thanks for the advice, but Doubt I'll try to run HR in Bradenton, becuase they are having a track bracket points race during the nitro jam, and Im doing decent in the points so far and I don't want to miss that. My plan is to spend some time trying things this year, and run D2 HR next year.

[Barney B]

I would go for it, like DW said it is .5 pro tree so you will be fine. Back when Moby d!ck was a minnow I finished #5 in div. 3 s/st .4 pro tree no deep staging aloud with my Plymouth.

BB never say never

[Patric Fox]

A friend of mine races Division One Super Street, 10.90 index, .500.pro tree with his foot brake bracket car , no transbrake or throttle stop. I will try to post a picture. It is not the easyest way to race, but he can make it work.

[Keith 944]

Originally Posted by Patric Fox

A friend of mine races Division One Super Street, 10.90 index, .500.pro tree with his foot brake bracket car , no transbrake or throttle stop. I will try to post a picture. It is not the easyest way to race, but he can make it work.

he seems to make it work very well...