Indianapolis: The Big Go

It's the biggest race of the year.

The U.S. Nationals. Indy. The Big Go.

Why is the atmosphere surrounding the U.S. Nationals so palpable?

The Big Go

This year marks the 59th running of the U.S. Nationals, and it is the 52nd consecutive year the event has been held in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Originally called "The Nationals," the Big Go was first held in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955. At that time, it was the NHRA's only national event.

Then, the event moved to Michigan's Detroit Dragway.

In 1961, the NHRA's U.S. Nationals found its permanent home in Indy at Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park).

The U.S. Nationals has a different setup than the other races on NHRA's circuit. The pro categories make five qualifying runs (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) instead of the usual four (Friday and Saturday).

Running eliminations on Labor Day, it is the only Monday event on NHRA's schedule. In fact, in 2004, the U.S. Nationals earned the title of being the longest-running Labor Day motorsports event in the United States.

Additionally, the Big Go is notorious for holding a "race within a race." In recent years, this event has been titled the Traxxas Shootout.

Eight drivers from both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories compete. Seven of the eight drivers qualify for the Traxxas Shootout by being the first drivers to win in the regular season. The eighth driver is entered into the shootout by a fan vote lottery drawing. (If a driver receives 35% of the vote, they will have 35 entries in the drawing).

When these drivers run in the shootout, each round counts toward their qualifying effort.

The prize? The winner in each category receives $100,000 and a huge (and heavy!) trophy.

According to Larry Dixon, a four-time U.S. Nationals winner, the race in Indy has become "the biggest, most prestigious race on tour."

Dixon explained how the U.S. Nationals earned the name "The Big Go": "Back in the day, it was the only race. It was the biggest, and you had to go."

It was where the big names--the legends--gathered: Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits...

Now, the Big Go is also the last regular season event in the NHRA circuit before the countdown to the championship starts. It is your last chance to secure a spot in the top ten. After eliminations in Indy, the top 10 to compete for the championship are set.

In short, drivers and crews bring their A-game to Indy. They want to win Indy more than (almost) anything.

In a TV interview, Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car, said when he was asked if he would rather win the championship or the Big Go, that it's something you have to think about.

I asked Dixon the same question. "That would be like choosing which kid is your favorite," he said. It's impossible. Indy is that big.

2013 Traxxas Shootout Winners

Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon
Funny Car: Jack Beckman

 

2013 U.S. Nationals Winners

Top Fuel: Shawn Langdon
Funny Car: Robert Hight
Pro Stock Car: Mike Edwards
Pro Stock Motorcycle: John Hall

Some information for this post was retrieved from the following:
Lucas Oil Raceway's website
Wikipedia

What is a Reaction Time?

First thing's first: what is a reaction time (abbreviated as RT)?

In drag racing, the reaction time is the amount of time it takes a driver to react to the green light on the Christmas Tree (which is an electronic device on the starting line that shows each driver's approach to the line--pictured below).

This is a picture of how the current NHRA Christmas Tree appears.

Picture retrieved from USA Today.

Measured in thousandths of a second, the reaction time often determines the winner of the race.

Larry Dixon, NHRA Top Fuel driver and three-time champion, said that a good RT is "vital to help the team win rounds, getting that head start" over the driver in the other lane.

However, it is important to not get too much of a head start, as a driver may red light. If a driver red lights during eliminations, they are automatically disqualified and lose the round.

So, what does a good reaction time look like?

My dad has always told me, "Getting a .000 light is basically a bad red light." Meaning, either the driver was too quick on the throttle or simply guessed on the light and got lucky.

"For me, I sleep well at night cutting .040-.050," Dixon said.

The next question for Dixon--if a driver knows they have a performance advantage over another, does that mean there is less emphasis on the RT?

Dixon said that he tries to be the same, regardless of the competition. Drag racing can be unpredictable, and it is important to remain as consistent as possible.

To test your reaction time, you can go here. My best reaction time in ten tries was .035. How did you do?