Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Just curious how many slow/fast S/SS (or bracket racers) have had a huge handicap difference. I might have one of the best stories.

From Quaker City Raceway, in an all-run Wednesday night bracket race.

‎10:38 pm 23/JUN/2004 quarterfinals
Me, HF/SA Sunbird My opponent, Super Pro dragster
Left Right
car # 18 #323
Dial 18.24 8.35
R/T .021 .047
60' 2.486 1.200
330' 7.393 3.444
660' 11.499 5.331
MPH 59.52 129.69
1000' 15.001 6.923
1/4 18.229 WIN>> 8.371
MPH 70.53 159.59

Left 1ST .0587
Right MOV .0327

On the brakes, lost, took the stripe too much. Fun race though. 89 mph difference against a black dragster at night. I'm lucky I didn't take double that much stripe. LOL!

Any other good stories like this?

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Mike - great light on his part considering he had time for a cigarette and a Coke before his green came on -- waiting 20 bulbs worth ............you on the other hand - well he had to be going more than twice your speed .......a little tough to judge - hard loss for you after a even better light ..........Soon we'll have races like this in Stock between the CJ's and many of the lower classed cars .They are very entertaining to watch ..............Come to think of it we already have .........isn't that right Eddie ! ! !

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Geez Mike -- All this time I thought Cross-Talk is when you and the Mrs. were having a discussion and one of you is pissed ....................

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Hey mike it has been a lil while back about 4-5 years now .. We had a gamblers race at noproblem an i was in at a 9.30 et an the heavy hitter in the other lane was a geo storm at a 21.20 et ... An yes sir i was tired of waiting.. How bout that one for the books!!!!!!!! He broke out an i won 9.320 on a 9.30......

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Years ago at our local track I was running my pickup in a jackpot race where there was no ET breaks. I was running I think 18 seconds or so. I was paired against a 8 second dragster. When we were both staged he got on the trans brake at wide open throttle. Needless to say you can figure out what happened. I don't think he moved 10 feet after he let go of the button. That cost him a trans.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

At US 131 Dragway, in the spring several years ago. Before regular racing started they had gamblers races and the winner of the box class ran the winner of the no box class for all the cash. This night it happened to be 650.00 cash. I won the box class with my red 10.50 et Cutlass and ran an 18 second old pickup for the loot. Once I left the line I thought there was no way I would catch someone half way down the track.....the good news is he cut a terrible light and I passed him and slowed down and took the win light. Now for the bad news, MY WIFE CAME ALONG THAT NIGHT and pocketed the 650 cash....really.

I wear the pants in my family, except my wife tells me which ones to wear....

Phil

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Jack, yeah .045 wasn't bad, even with a delay box. When we left, I noticed his top bulb was on same time as mine. I think it was something to do with Cross-Talk, whatever that is. His dial-in on the time slip was 8.35N (maybe the N means no cross-talk--not sure). I figured he set up for a soft light, figuring I was one of those "non-driving sport compact aces". 89 mph difference at the strpe. I think the car rocked like a boat when he went by.

Boo-boo, as one who has always been on the "leave first" end of large handicaps, what's it like sitting there that long?

Bob, it amazes me the number of drivers who get on the two-step/transbrake right away, even when giving up large spots.

Phil, but who wears the firesuit in your family? Is your wife's name DeLana, by chance? LOL

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Last year at the Ashcroft BC national open, my car h/sa chevelle dialed at a 12.40 or something and Peter Willie and his ss/ah cuda dialed a 9.30 i think, I will have to go into the archives for the actual numbers. My reaction was .017 and his was .35 I think, I watched him in my side view mirror what seemed like all the way down the track before I saw his huge wheelstand. I took the stripe with some brakes to spare, the p.a. was silent.......I guess I wasnt favored to win, fun race though. It rocked my car at the top end also, I didnt think heavy cars like mine could move like that

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Back in the '60s, I ran at the old AHRA track (Fresno Dragway) at Fresno, Ca. They ran elims four cars at a time, two v8 Mustangs automatics on the left side and a '54 Chev stocker against me on the right. Now AHRA ran using car spots (15 feet per car) and the Chevrolet had a 27 car spot with the Mustangs at 14, and my '63 Falcon ,260 2BBL ,stick @ a13 spot. The starter was 250+ feet down the track, standing between the lanes, using a two flags, green a race and red a foul start. How he could judge my launch from that distance was a guess. He gives us the green flag and away we go, I caught the street Mustangs by second gear, but by now the Chevy was moving left into my path and as I passed him I had to miss the starter, who had nowhere to run to, and stayoff the centerline. We ran there many more times, but as I recall only two cars at a time.

Fred

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

LOL Jack, that could be. As I understand it, when couple's get older, the only sex they have is "hallway sex". That's when they look at each other as they pass in the hall way and yell "Screw you!".

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

That's just special .........at least I feel better knowing there's a name for it ! ! !

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Hey Mike, back in the day..............Z/S and SS/DA Sherwood Allen and I at Cecil me @ 16.30 and him @ 10.60 nice head start....................

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Another 'back in the day' ...... I was running U/SA against Phil Cerrone SS/AA hemi Cuda at New England during a S/SS race. 15.16 vs 9.48! He went by me so fast I almost got out of my car because I thought I stopped!

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

2 years ago big bracket race at Pacific. I was driving my brothers bracket wagon running 13.80s @ 97mph. Paired with an alcohol dragster that ran 6.90 @ 195!!!! He sat on the full tree a bit, i took a huge stripe, but had it dialed way hard good for the 1st round win. Crazy!!!

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Back about 25+ years ago there was a guy from up north that ran a brown corvair in IHRA production superstock. He used to run some of the races at Darlington, Rockingham, and Bristol. I don't recall the E.T.'s but he got some pretty good spots. Don Jackson

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

I ran Harry Morgans Escort at the Gainesville divisional in 1999. He dialed 18.60 and I dialed 10.18. I have run Harry several times at IHRA eighth mile races where he dialed 11something to my 6.30/6.40's. I was 45 mph faster in the eighth mile and almost 60 mph faster in the quarter mile. It was always fun and the crowd (especially IHRA) loved it.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

1982 Racing at Napierville Qc, I ran my 1969 Chevelle aluminum headed 427BB in a king of the hill race(everybody runs) and I was racing a Toyota Tercel running on three cylinders I was dialed 10:95 and he was dialed 21:00 flat. He left what at the time looked like an eternity on me with a 7:o light(which I didn't know) and I left on 5O9 I never thought I was ever going to catch him until second gear where it look like he was stopped in the middle of the track, I had to shut it down because he ran 23:00 something. Now reflecting on this I just can't believe that I was part of that race, I kept thinking what if I had crashed into him at that speed. Just luck I guess. Claude

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

My son today running his Jr Dragster was dialed 7.94 and ran another jr dialed 18.55. Talk about a long spot, this is the 2nd time in 3 weeks we have run this car. We won both times.

Herb Jr

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Back in the 80's, I was driving Mr Bill's Escort at the Warner Robins points meet.
I had to run Corky Jordan's A/Stocker in the 3rd round . He had about 50 mph on me
(77 to 127). I took him across the stripe for by what I thought was a fender at the time, for a breakout.
It turned out by the math that it was more like almost a car length .

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Maybe not the longest spot but certianly one of the most entertaining was during the Cajun Sports Naitonals a few years when James Paul's SS/JA Mopar drew Vinnie Deceglie's A/Altered Corvette in the first round of the gambler's race. Paul was dialed somewhere in the 11s and Deceglie had about a 6.60 on the window. If I remember right, it was actually a pretty competitive race.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

I've been on both ends of the spot I was dialed 12.87 once and had to run truck dialed 24.00 won that one. A few weeks ago went to test and tune with my son to help him and ran my 2.2 auto S-10 ended up in trophy race later ran mustang first round dialed 11.15 to my 20.59 won that one too.
mike taylor 3601

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Mike,

Many years ago I used to go to Union Grove every week where they would have all run Wednesday night trophy races. I was in a 351M 2V LTDII which weighed in at a svelte 4,200 lbs. and dialed at a turtle like 19.20 something seconds that night. Made it to the final and had to run a low 9 second Vega tube chassis car. I remember his father coming up to me in the lanes and telling me to "stay in your lane because me son is going to be running over 140 mph." I guess he thought that at 60 mph and barely accelerating it might drift out of the lanes. I don't recall how red his son was on the tree, but it was by a bunch and he still just passed me at the line. The speed disparity was pretty big. I think the sight of that huge class 3 receiver and the 200 pound rear bumper kept him in his lane.

And somehow I was once again able to keep it in my lane at a blistering 60+ in second gear pass to accept the huge trophy. Or maybe it was a coffee mug...

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Don, that was one brave (foolish?) dude!!

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Best one I remember was a Mission combo race years ago, they allowed Comp to run the combos and it was a T/SA against I believe an A/ED, something around a 7 second handicap. THe handicap was so large that you would have sworn the tree malfunctioned. Can't remember the names or the outcome but it was fun to watch.

Jim Caughlin

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Years ago at Stanton one of the Super Pro racers broke his car and they allowed him to re-enter in the slower barcket with his three wheeler. I was dialed somewhere in the mid-12's and he was dialed 35.?? I hope to tell you that was a long wait and he was a long way down the track before I ever even saw the first yellow.
By the way, I raced him in the third round so he had already won a couple of races.
It's an interesting sight bearing down on a guy on a three wheeler who's kneeling on the seat looking back at you.
And, I did win but it was a pretty close race.
Don

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

When my Duster was all stock I was in the No-Box class at 41 dialed 20:12. I had to race a blown SBC altered dialed 8:02. He went red and passed me in the lights going 165. I ran 62 mph myself.

I won the first Drag News Ring race at RT66 with the same car. I ran 19:707 on a 19:70 to the S/Pro winners 10:31 on a 10:36. I also treed him .035 to .106.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

1979 strato Rods dragway in NJ. 4 door ply.valiant 170 ci. dialed a 16:91 ran Clayton wrights SS/AA dialed at 9:85 both were dead on our dials got the light and win, when he went by me in the traps he blew my rt. rear door open, thought I was in a earth quake almost went in the grass.Have I ever had my doors blowen off? OH YEA.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Bob Benders Z/S VS Struse Smith & Welsh C/S at Maple Grove almost every week
in 1975

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

years ago i seen Brandon Huhtala C/A '97 Cutlass comp car testing at seattle in pro bracket and the same time Troy O SS/NA 1966 mailibu wagon was there testing in pro bracket to rd one they both were in back of the lanes pared for rd one Brandon was dial 7.75 ands i think troy was dial like a 12.0 Brandon want 7.75 and troy ran 12.01 backing into Brandon

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

wasn't Bob's a green vega ? I know Mike's car was green

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

On Sunday I had to run Mike Anderson in his Top Sportsman car in the final at Sumerduck. I'm dialed 8.25 in the stocker and he is dialed 4.92. Mike is .007 and dead on 7 at 140mph... I'm .017 and 1 over at 81.5mph.

Biggest chase I have been a part of yet. At the MPH cone I figured I was getting there by .02-.03, turns out I'm behind. 60mph gaps are a mother!

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

I once faced Dave Lebrun's A/SA Camaro, when I was driving a Y/SA Dodge Aries, at an NHRA points meet. The indexes were 11-something to my 18.20.

Some time later, in one of my street cars, I beat a 25-second diesel tractor during an Englishtown gamblers race. The round before, a 9-second street roadster crashed trying to chase him down.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

I've run Peter Wille in my ramptruck, 14.65 dial against his 8.90. Was wild watching his big wheelstand in my mirrors at half track but kind of hard to judge the finish line.

That was nothing compared to Anne vs the Pro Mod. She has a stock 80's VW Fox dialed in the 19's at under 70 mph and the 65 Chevelle from Montana was high 6's and 200 mph. Surprisingly it didn't spin her out as it flew past.

Re: Biggest handicap start you've seen/been a part of
 

Not my biggest split, but Just this past Saturday I had a Top Sportsman car.
His 7.94 to my 12.74, on the tree I was .021 to his .016 . I was dialed hard and the car was going to run dead on out the back. He didn't think he could get there and lifted a little early, I scrubbed .02 and 3.5mph, took a .017 stripe, He crossed at 161, I at 101.

Luck? Skill? Who knows, I'll take it !

Win Light for me :eek: