The Thrill of The Burnout

The Thrill of The Burnout

If you have ever watched a drag race, then you have seen these done over and over. Guys love it. Girls love it.

What is this “it” I speak of? It is called the “burnout.”

This move involves rolling the car through a small concrete area, usually called “the water tray” or “water box,” and then suddenly accelerating so the rear tires gather water and spin fiercely. This creates a large amount of smoke and at the same time, heats the tires and applies rubber to the track.

The burnout is done for better traction as well as for show. Before each race pass, every driver is allowed to perform a burnout. Afterward, they line up at the starting line and get their cars into position for the beginning of the race.

When doing a burnout, it is critical that the driver have control of the car because of the risk of the car weaving back and forth – leaving the grooves on the track and doing what I call “getting sideways.” It can get pretty crazy if this happens. Burnouts give me some of the best chills, and all I want to do is let out a huge roar as loud as I can – I then have to take a moment and shake off the goose bumps. It is a truly amazing feeling.

Recently however, the burnout has taken on a different role in a drag race; at least from where I sit it has.

Teams are kicking it up a notch by adding dyes to rear tires to change the color of the smoke as the driver is performing the burnout. By adding a small amount of blue food coloring or whatever color you want, you can change the color of the smoke produced during a burnout. I have seen blue painted dragsters do a burnout and the color comes out blue to match as the tires are smoking. I’ve seen red smoke on red cars, yellow smoke on yellow cars – all sorts of different colors for the different styles of rides that roll through the burnout tray.

The team has the knowledge and expertise to change anything on the car to make it go faster or do a wheelie, so why not add a little color to the smoke for some extra excitement? The crowd loves a good show, especially when it is one of their favorite drivers or cars about to race.

But what if the burnout was a major part of the event? What if your favorite track had a burnout competition?

Well, you will be happy to know that there is such a thing and it is gaining popularity. The NHRDA (North Eastern Diesel Nationals), held at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, PA is one of many events where there is an actual event for nothing more than the burnout. There, you will see hot rods of all makes, models, and powertrains compete for the crown trophy of “Best in Class” and “Best in Show” in the Burnout Competition. There are awards for the longest burnout and the loudest burnout – this is a day where the sky will be filled with smoke that can be seen for miles!

Another burnout contest is Waterfest, held at Raceway Park in Englishtown (or “E-town,” as it is often called), New Jersey. Here, they use water cooled high performance engine powered cars, like Volkswagen and Audi, and have a “sit-n-spin” contest. Most of the entrants will burn the tires right off of the car in order to produce the biggest smoke plume. It’s pretty exciting stuff.

For those of us who are die-hard drag racing enthusiasts though, we will stick to the hard core action of the old school burnout. For us, we get a big rush when we see our dragster fire up that 8000HP engine and roll it through the tray, then drop the hammer and let the smoke fly for as long and as loud as it can. Why? Because we have a race to win and we need the traction.

About the Author:

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