Drag Racing A drag race is an acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles over a measured distance. The losing driver in each race is eliminated, and the winning driver progresses until one driver remains. There are also other variations on the tournament style ladders with round robin and losing car B ladder eliminations as examples. This is a drag race between two vehicles with no starting line handicapping. Bracket Racing Bracket racing is a race with one vehicle given a handicap over the other.
Cars run against a self-declared time or index.
If both vehicles break out, the one that runs closest to its declared time is the winner. The slower vehicle will start sooner with the difference in time dialed into the Christmas Tree. This is a starting line device consisting of two sets of amber, green and red bulbs. The top of the tree has lights for pre-stage and stage. When the stage lights are lit, it indicates that the vehicle is ready to race.