When Worlds Collide: Drag Racer Versus Roll Racer

When Worlds Collide: Drag Racer Versus Roll Racer

It’s no surprise that drag racers, and roll racers don’t see eye to eye. While the drag guys are all about “going from a dig,” the roll race crowd wants to make a hit from 40 mph or higher. So what happens when these two worlds collide?

The guys at Street Car Takeover decided to give it a shot on June 20th between a turbo LS-powered Mustang and a Dodge Viper. The car owners had been “talking” back and forth and came up with the idea to race at the Texas Motorsports Park in Ennis Texas. The rules were laid out by Street Car Takeover’s Justin Keith, owner of SCT.

Dig vs. Roll Rules

  • Viper leaving from 60mph at the starting line. Radar enforced. Drivers agreed on a 2mph buffer.
  • Viper lane (left) will be staged with a cone.
  • Mustang lane (right) will stage upon getting a thumbs up when Viper is coming.
  • Mustang is going to leave once he sees Viper at his door.
  • The timing system will be on, and win light at the end of the track on scoreboards will determine the winner.
  • We will have someone filming at the starting line to watch for a false start, radar to make sure the Viper stays at 60mph.
  • Staging lights will go off in Vipers lane when he crosses the starting line.
 

We should also note that all standard SCT racing rules apply. This is an essential point that we will touch on shortly, which is where things get interesting.

With the Mustang on the line, the light goes green. This signals a couple of things for each driver. It’s time for the Mustang to hit the transbrake and wait on the Viper to make his approach. It also tells the Viper driver to start the sequence and get up to 60 mph before crossing the starting line which should take 6 to 8-seconds. However, things didn’t go as planned.

The Viper was late taking off, which kept the Mustang on transbrake for approximately 12-seconds. After the delayed start, the Mustang driver aborted the run because it took the Viper longer than expected to hit the line. With the Mustang shut off, the Viper makes it to 60mph and then blasted off down the 1/4-mile and, at this point, had the race won. However, as Viper approached the finish line, the driver loses control of the vehicle. The Viper whipped from left to right violently, crossing the center stripe.

With Street Car Takeover rules and every drag race that we have ever attended, it’s understood that if you cross the centerline, you lose the race as long as the competitor breaks the beams. After setting on the starting line for several minutes, the driver of the Mustang fired the car up, broke the beams, and drove down the track to win the race.

Keith said via Facebook, “The Viper lost due to crossing the centerline. Thank goodness he didn’t crash and got to drive it back on the trailer with nothing hurt. At our events, if you cross the center line you’re out in both drag and roll racing, we feel that’s pretty known common sense at our events. It’s listed under all of our rules for all classes on our website. It’s also standard at most tracks.”

While there has been some talk of a rematch, nothing has been confirmed at this time. We will keep you posted.

About the author

Brian Havins

A gearhead for life, Brian is obsessed with all things fast. Banging gears, turning wrenches, and praying while spraying are just a few of his favorite things.
Read My Articles

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