Five lights stand between you and the quarter mile. Learn every one. Find the parts that make each second count.
Pre-stage means your front tires are 7 inches from the beam. You're in the groove but not committed. This is where composure lives.
Both beams broken. The timer arms. Deep staging — rolling an extra inch forward — can cut a better light, but leaves no margin for error.
Three ambers drop 0.500 seconds apart (sportsman tree). Your reaction window is measured from the last amber to your launch. Science, not luck.
Green lights. The clock starts when your front tires break the stage beam. RPM at launch, transbrake release, tire spin — every variable matters here.
You left before green. Automatic DQ in bracket racing. Breakout rules, disqualification procedures, and how to read the timing slip after a red light.
Everything from beam height to dial-in strategy. The complete technical breakdown of every light, every rule, every tenth.
Every light on the tree connects to parts in the vault and technique in the knowledge base.
Line locks hold the front brakes while you build RPM. Essential for consistent pre-stage and stage technique on cars without a transbrake.
A transbrake locks the transmission in first and reverse simultaneously, letting you build full boost or RPM against a stopped drivetrain. The launch weapon of bracket racing.
A delay box lets you preset a reaction time delay — you hit the button on yellow, the box releases the transbrake exactly N milliseconds later. The secret weapon of consistent bracket racers.
On green, every misfire costs. A high-output ignition — multiple spark discharge, rev limiters, launch control — keeps power clean from idle to full pull.
Red light means you fouled. In bracket racing, a foul start is an automatic loss regardless of ET. Know the rules before you burn the burnout.
The complete ThrottleVault drag racing knowledge base — staging, reaction time, dial-in, bracket strategy, and technical specs for every class.