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James McNeal races for NHRA championship
By Krista Goerte
Published November 14, 2009
Paris resident James McNeal races his alcohol-fueled dragster today at the National Hot Rod Association Summit Racing Series National Championships in Pomona, Calif.
McNeal, 44, beat out about 8,000 racers overall to become one of seven division winners to earn the right to race a dragster at the championships.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity,” said McNeal, who is a five-time Paris Dragstrip champion. “I’m very excited.”
McNeal told The Paris News Saturday afternoon his car was doing well and he was ready for the race.
“It’s about what I expected, but a lot bigger,” he said. “We’ve had a great time.”
McNeal was expected to participate in a pre-race ceremony at 9:30 a.m., and his first round is set for 4:30 p.m. (7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. C.S.T.). The finals will end about 4:30, he said.
After a win in Division 4 at the NHRA Summit Racing Series Finals in Dallas against more than 200 dragsters, McNeal is the representative for Division 4, which covers Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
He sewed up the Super Pro title in Dallas, racing for Paris Dragstrip, then beat out Pro title winner for the right to compete in the championship race in Pomona.
McNeal is competing in E.T. bracket racing — a handicap race of sorts where consistency is key rather than having the fastest car.
In a very simplified explanation, during bracket racing, the driver will take one or two timed “free passes” down the track to get a feel for the speed of the car. With those times, the driver will then “dial in” or set the anticipated elapsed time at which he thinks his car will run during the race. With two racing at a time, the racer closest to their set “dial” time wins.
Bracket racing allows virtually any two cars to race against each other, regardless of speed.
A “break-out” and “red light” are also factors in drag racing.
A driver “breaks out” when his actual time is faster than the pre-determined “dial in” time, which is grounds for disqualification. If both drivers break out, the winner goes to the driver with the least break out time.
A “red light” is basically a foul start. If the driver takes off before the “Christmas Tree” (the starting light sequence) has gone to green, they are said to had “red lighted” and are disqualified.
After a near even launch with 19-year-old Austin Williams in the final round of the Super Pro division in Dallas, McNeal scored with a 4.83 on a 4.82 dial to Williams’ 5.14 on a 5.11 dial. For the next race, McNeal dialed down and and Williams dialed up.
McNeal faced Pro winner Lynn Doty for the division championship and won on his opponent’s foul start, sending him to Pomona.
Owner of Precision Automotive & Transmission in Paris, McNeal has been racing for 25 years, but this will be his first trip to the national championships.
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