What Does “Drag Racing” Mean?

Drag racing is a type of race that pits two vehicles against each other in a test of rapid acceleration and speed. Usually drag races are held on a straight strip or a track. Both vehicles start at the same point and are completely stopped when the race starts. The vehicle that can accelerate fastest usually wins, but if one vehicle is considerably faster than the other, it’s possible for them to make up for a slow start. The thing is that most drag racing is done on very short courses, so you don’t have much of a chance to catch up or make up for any deficiency. In professional drag race tournaments, many cars compete against each other, but only two at a time. When two cars race, the loser is eliminated and the winner moves on to race the next competitor. The racers line up on a specially designed light beam which ensures that the front tires of both cars are exactly the same length from the starting line. Then the racers are moved forward and “staged” exactly on the starting line. At that moment, the series of lights that indicate the start of the race are triggered. These lights are called a “Christmas Tree” because they involve a lot of colors and blinking. There are seven lights in all on each side of the Christmas tree. Drag racing is pretty complex until you’ve watched a few races. The other kind of drag racing, which you see in movies but is illegal in real life, is street drag racing. This is when two cars race each other just to prove that one is better than the other. Because it’s highly dangerous to race in this way on streets where there are other cars, people, and obstacles, drag racing on the street is illegal.