The blue light on top the tree glows, telling you this is an elimination round. You bring your engine rpm up. Your opponents engine revolutions begin building and it starts roaring loudly like a primeval beast. He gets against his three-step, a device that limits rpm buy allowing cylinders to misfire randomly. The noise increases.
Intensity is present on the attitudes of crewmembers and spectators alike.
They lean forward to watch the all important launch. The starter hits the switch, and the yellow lights start down on your side of the tree, startling bright in the darkness, spaced at .5 second intervals. You dump the brake and floor the accelerator the instant you see the last yellow flash. You've got both your car's rollout time figured and your reaction time factored into the launch sequence. You never see the green light come on.