A Jr. Dragster or any kind of dragster doesn't swap lanes without disqualification; are you with me on that? A disturbing detail in "Right on Track" is that the Jr. Dragsters in this film make run after run, launching in the right lane and crossing the finish line in the left. It's troubling even to the uneducated eye.

Back to the drag strip. In a weird turn of events, Erica's car is leaking on the starting line with a visibly loose pulley. She launches anyway, and with a freak stuck throttle, heads for the top end sand trap, breaking through one barrier and nosing into the sand. Erica is airlifted from the strip after being cut from the wreckage with the Jaws of Life. She's okay, but she's a trooper and races back to the strip for one last pass to prove she can jump right back into a racecar. A friendly Pennzoil rep sees her gutsy attitude and bestows a full sponsorship upon Erica and her sister Courtney for the following season.

Later in the film, Erica's car goes through a complete teardown after a maniacal father protests her for a "magic drivers aid" that would help Erica cut repeated .500 lights on the starting line. These scenes of rivalry are better fitted for an over-the-top, rabid, testosterone-laden Little League confrontation. In the final, Erica beats the bad guy and NHRA president Tom Compton (played by Tom Compton) hands over her Wally for the National Jr. Dragster Championship.

Obviously, this production missed the boat by playing up a non-existent bias against women, something I never saw during the 90's, let alone from my earliest memories of Shirley Muldowney -vs- Connie Kalitta -vs- Don Garlits in the 1970's. That period was more hype than one of those rip-roaring, sexist rivalries. If drag racing were a true bastion of bias against women, then why would women like Shirley have succeeded to become a three-time top fuel world champ? Do names like Peggy Hart, Barbara Parks, Shirley Shahan, Judy Lilly, Lucile Lee, Lori Johns, Etta Glidden, Arlene Johnson, Della Woods, Melanie Troxel, Cristen Powell, and Angelle Savoie mean anything? I know how important women are in all parts of drag racing; how did the producers of Right on Track miss this?

Drag racing has led all forms of motorsports in providing wide-open doors to women. What is clear is that virtually none of the writers, producers, or the director attended a drag race on any level with any regularity. Their total lack of understanding of the spirit of drag racing is clear. I'm not sure who got the idea that 1990's drag racing was a crusade for equality for women, but they got it wrong.

Yes this is hoaky, but it's a motivational story, it's for kids, and if you want to watch it you'll see all the errors, clichés, and mistakes. Make your kids or grandkids watch it -- it just may get them even more interested in drag racing.