Event Coverage: Import Face-Off Milan

A few weekends back, I headed down to Milan, Michigan, for Import Face-Off.

.

I had never been to a Drag racing event, so it was interesting to see how things worked.

.

Drag Strips are one of the few venues for car events that allow burnouts, which was new for me.

. 

Although IFO is mainly for Import cars, the organizers allow anyone to run during the Test-and-Tune sessions.

.

I had seen drag racing on YouTube, but never in person. Sometimes, as it turns out, the car that reaches the finish line first isn't always the fastest. In fact, most Drag Race outcomes are decided in the first 60 feet.

.

All of the passes at a proper drag strip are controlled by the Tree. There are 7 levels of lights. The top level is the Pre-Stage, which indicates that the cars in each lane are at their starting position. As soon as both cars line up and brake the light beam at the line, it lights up the second stage, and the countdown starts, lighting up level 3, 4 and 5, with Green coming next. The bottom level is the red light, which indicates over staging or breaking the beam early.

.

But before all of that, the tires need to be warmed up (on 2wd cars.) That is done by a burnout, which heats the tires and softens the top layer of rubber.

.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back often for more content!!

-Phil