Race weird if you wanna.

Bracket racers race the way they want to. Here's how some do it.

4/8/04

e bracket racers are a superstitious lot. Habitual too. Habitual as in "habits." We follow our habits as much as some follow the Gospel. Some of us also take our habits TO BE Gospel. Our Golden Rule: Let us never break our racing habits.

We are creatures of routine. We should be. Do everything the same, every time. Don't deviate. Be a robot. Be like a machine. The late Dave "the Fly" Edwards always told me, "Whoever makes the least mistakes wins a bracket race." Mistakes lead to losses. Do the same thing every time and you won't lose --- maybe.

But we are superstitious too. However, it takes more than a superstition to win a big bracket race. It takes mental preparation, physical strength, stamina for the long haul, luck, mechanical abilities, good parts 'n' pieces and then the following of our superstitions.

The Chicken Chokers. Terry Shubert and rabbit's foot.

And then sometimes, all it takes to win is a rub of your rabbit's foot for luck (lucky for you, unlucky for the poor rabbit, though), or a snack of cheese crackers instead of a Snickers before the next round. Sugar equals speed --- you don't want to be too speedy off that trans brake button. But conversely, if you're late in the reaction time department, maybe a bite of Bit-o'-Honey just might get you to the next round. It depends on your habits come Saturday morning before setting off for the track, and how you feel.

I've heard this time and time again from racers --- avoid the four "Big C's" when racing. No candy, Cokes, coffee or carbohydrates. Sugar and caffeine are to be shunned come Saturday afternoon at the track. It'll speed up your system, my knowledgeable bracketeers will tell you, causing everything from red lights to mental distractions. If you're hungry, eat some crackers. If you're thirsty, drink water. And learn what else to avoid, too. I once asked one of the Emmons boys of Louisiana Stock Eliminator fame what he avoided when preparing to race on a Saturday morning: "No aspirin. Taking aspirin will knock two-hundredths off my reaction time every time."

And no eating big, either. Footbrake bracket champ Jacob Rutledge, of Winder, Georgia, says he fasts through a whole day of racing. "I don't eat anything until I either go out or win," he said. Others do the same thing. Maybe it has something to do with sugar intake, or that big Cuban sandwich sitting in your belly taking forever to digest. Maybe eating big causes one to get drowsy. Whatever, I've heard lots of racers say they'll only eat some cheese crackers the whole day when going rounds.

I've got some foibles of my own. I won't race with anything in my pockets. No car keys, no coins, no nothing except lint. The drawback to that is I have to depend on the other guy to provide the coin in the event of a coin-toss for lane choice. But I can live with that. It's bad luck otherwise.

Oh, yeah, and I always get into a racecar from the left side. Just like a horse. And I always check my dial-in and their dial-in before staging. I once lost a race to a slower car because I had my delay box set wrong and left before he did.