Auto Racing: general info, fwd car, wheelspin

Question
Hi Steve,
I have two questions to put to you; the first is, what, if any is the most desirable spin off the lights in a drag situation. The second question is..  when approaching a corner at high speed is it best to...  accelerate, step of the accelerator or brake.

Any knowledge u can give me on these topics would be greatly appretiated

Thanks
Jeff

Answer
Jeff-

  Well, ideally when the green light drops you won't have any wheelspin.  This is, of course, a pretty good stress on your drivetrain (especially with slicks) so you'll need to consider that as well.  As you minimize the tire spin you'll lower your 60ft. times and ultimately you're trap speed and E.T.s.  As for cornering, there isn't one right way to do it.  It depends on your car and how the suspension and drivetrain are setup.  On a FWD car (I'll assume all cars I list are fairly stock...making suspension modifications can make the rules change a bit), oversteer is usually pretty noticeable, so I'd go as far outside as I could, brake slightly, and then take the apex of the turn as close as I could before accelerating again.  On a RWD or mid-engine car, I'd do the same thing except I'd engine brake to slow it down without the brake pedal (you can do this by manually shifting to lower gears and without your foot on the pedal the engine will slow itself down), then as soon as I hit the apex and make sure the car's straight go full throttle out of the corner.  This is all also assuming that you've got good tires and have a good sense of the car in general.  Hope this helps.

Steve