Comp Eliminator Class Offers Racing Fans Variety
The Comp Eliminator Class Offers Racing Fans Variety
Part of the excitement in watching a drag race is seeing the different cars that can show up at the track. This variety, while fun for you and me, has been known to cause headaches for some of the competitors and their teams.
The widest variety of cars competing against each other is found in the Comp Eliminator class, where just about anything on four wheels is allowed. In fact, the only cars that are not allowed in the Comp Eliminator class are the nitro-powered race cars.
Cars are classified into a number of groups and then divided into classes according to a power/weight ratio. Furthermore, cars with automatic transmissions have their own class, different from those with manual transmissions. These different classes are indexed to allow cars of widely varying configurations to compete against each other. During a race, the faster cars give the slower cars a head start based on very strict standards, and then whichever car makes it over the finish line first wins. This means that in Comp Eliminator, you could see a front-wheel-drive daily driver take on an alcohol burning, supercharged dragster, and the daily drive car could win depending on reaction time and/or driving skill!
To give you an example of how complicated the rules are behind this exciting racing, there are nine sub-classes of Comp Eliminator with 96 individual classes overall. Some of them include Gas Dragster, which has 13 sub classes, from A gas through D gas, using Pro Stock-type motors and bigger, and H gas, I gas and I/D gas, which are turbocharged. Each sub-class also has separate classes for manual and automatic transmissions. There is also the Econo Dragsters class, which limits cars to a single four barrel carburetor and automatic transmission set-up.
A popular class is limited to what are called Nostalgia Dragster, which (of course!) has two sub classes. These dragsters resemble dragsters from the 1960s, yet have modern technology that allows them to run in the high 6s with relatively small V8 engines, usually 380 to 410 cubic inches for most cars.
Then there is my personal favorite - the Fuel Altered. There are 37 different sub classes for this style. With front engine, open wheel altered, these classes have it all. There is A/A gas to L/A gas, A/AA to L/AA gas for automatics, and A/AP gas and B/AP gas for manual transmissions. There is AA/A and BB/A for blown gas cars and AA/AM and BB/AM for blown methanol cars. Don’t worry if all of the different names make your head spin – what is important is that they offer you more chances to see six second V8′s to low seven second turbocharged four cylinders cars screaming down the lanes.
Comp is a unique class that combines handicap racing with all-out craziness. Basically, the quicker you run against the time index, the higher you qualify. Some racers do this by using a time index computer, or “Throttle Stop,” installed in the car. This is when you input your time into the computer and then step up to the line. When the light goes green, you hit the gas and the car does the rest, leaving the driver to focus on keeping the car in the grooves. Other racers rely totally on reaction time and experience rather than trusting the throttle stop unit.
At most NHRA events, Comp Eliminator class racing is done between rounds of the professional drivers. However, there are events that are nothing but Competition Eliminator, and these events can be pretty exciting to watch. I encourage anyone who is an avid race fan to have a look at this very competitive class of racing.
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