Before each race the drivers are allowed to perform a burnout, which heats up the tires and lays rubber down on the starting line therefore improving traction. Each driver then lines up at the starting line and stages their race cars. Races are started electronically by a system known as a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree consists of two columns of lights that run vertically for each driver. In each column, the top two lights are small amber lights or since April 15, 2011 NHRA is now using a tree that has two halves of an open blue circle split with a bar in the middle and is connected to light beams on the track, which when broken by the vehicle's front tire(s) indicate that the driver has pre-staged (approximately 7 inches from the starting line). When the second 1/2 of the blue circle lights up (fully staged) the race car is ready to start.

Below the staging lights are three large amber lights, a green light, and a red light. When both drivers are staged, the tree is activated to start the race, which causes the three large amber lights to illuminate, followed by the green light. There are two standard light sequences: either the three amber lights flash simultaneously, followed 0.4 seconds later by the green light (referred to as a Pro tree), or the ambers light in sequence from top to bottom, 0.5 seconds apart, followed 0.5 seconds later by the green light (referred to as a Sportsman tree, or full tree). If the front tires leaves from a stage beam (stage and pre-stage lights both turned off) before the green light illuminates, the red light for that driver's lane illuminates instead, indicating disqualification (unless a more serious violation occurs). Once a driver commits a red-light foul (referred to as red-lighting), the other driver can also commit a foul start by leaving the line too early but still win, having left later. Should both drivers leave after the green light illuminates, the driver who leaves the starting line first is said to have a hole-shot advantage over the other racer.

Several measurements are taken for each race: reaction time, elapsed time, and speed. Reaction time is the period from the green light illuminating to the vehicle leaving the starting line. Elapsed time is the period from the vehicle leaving the starting line to crossing the finish line. Speed is measured through a speed trap covering the final 66 feet to the finish line, indicating the approximate maximum speed of the vehicle during the run.

In most professional classes whoever gets to the finish line first wins the race. Sportsman racing on the other hand is handicapped meaning that the slower race car gets a head start using an index (a lowest e.t. allowed), and cars running under (quicker than) their index "break out" and lose the race. The slowest cars, bracket racers, are also handicapped, but rather than an index, they use a "dial-in". A "dial-in" is a time the driver estimates it will take his or her race car to cross the finish line, and is generally displayed on one or more windows so the starter can adjust the starting lights on the tree accordingly. The slower race car will then get a head start equal to the difference in the two dial-ins, so if both race cars perform perfectly, they would cross the finish line dead even. If either car goes faster than its dial-in (called breaking out), it is disqualified regardless of who has the lower elapsed time; if both race cars break out, the one who breaks out by the smallest amount wins. However, if a driver had jump-started (red lit) or crossed a boundary line, both violations override any break out (except in some classes with an absolute break out rule such as Junior classes). This eliminates any advantage from putting a slower time on the windshield to get a head start. The effect of the bracket racing rules is to place a premium on consistency of performance of the driver and car rather than on speed alone. Victory goes to the driver able to precisely predict elapsed time, whether it is fast or slow. This in turn makes victory much less dependent on large amounts of money, and more dependent on skill. Therefore, bracket racing is popular with casual weekend racers.

Many of these weekend racers will drive their vehicles to the track, race them, and then simply drive them home. Most tracks do not host national events every week, and on the interim weekends they will host local races for the weekend racers. Organizationally, however, the race tracks are run according to the rules of either the NHRA or the IHRA. Even street vehicles must pass a safety inspection prior to being allowed to race their cars down the track.

In the standard racing format, the losing car and driver is eliminated from the contest, while the winner goes on to race other winners, until only one is left. Bracket racing has been viewed as the main cause of the loss of public interest in drag racing. People do not understand why the slower car wins or why somebody needs to hit the brakes to avoid going too fast. Many local tracks have also complained that bracket racers will also go out of their way to spend as little as possible while at the track by bringing their own food, beverages, fuel, and supplies; thus, making it more difficult for tracks to make money on these events. This causes gate prices to rise and tracks losing interest in having such events.

The era of Race Cars

Race cars range from the everyday car to the professionally driven top fuel dragsters. Speeds and elapsed time differ from class to class. On average, the street car will cover the 1/4 mile in 12 to 16 seconds. On the other hand a top fuel dragster will race down the track in less than 4.5 seconds reaching speeds of over 300 mph. Organized drag racing started in the 1940's and in the early 1950's drag racing was organized as a sport by Wally Parks through the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association). The NHRA was formed to discourage street racing in hopes of getting people out to the track instead of the high risk associated with racing at high speeds on back roads.

In early 1964, the Chrysler Corporation found a local drag racer by the name of Dick Landy out of California and gave him a Dodge 330 to enter in the Super Stock division of the NHRA. Dick eventually figured that he could get more traction if he modified the chassis of the car, moving the rear end of the race car and front wheels forward. The look of the car was significantly altered, thus earning the nickname of "funny car." Chrysler produced five of these cars, and the first funny car made its competition debut in Phoenix in early 1965 at an American Hot Rod Association event. The AHRA was the first sanctioning body to recognize a formal funny car division.

The Funny Car evolved from an altered chassis super stock to a supercharged nitro burning force on the strip. Manufacturers started developing lighter-weight chassis, larger air intakes and experimented with various fuel combinations to increase the speed of the race cars. All the while, the division grew in respect and popularity, and before long sponsors took notice and started giving fuel to establish race car drivers as household names with all the racing fans.

The 1970s saw a major increase in popularity of drag racing, which included the Funny Cars. Design of the race cars had changed slightly exposing the intakes out of the hoods. Drivers at this time also wanted to win a lot of races to become popular in hopes of establishing a fan base.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Funny Cars began to stray from looking like their street car brothers and more like high-tech race cars. Big name sponsors were pouring money into the sport and began to use drag racing as a major source of mainstream advertising. Race car drivers like, Kenny Bernstein was the most noted Funny Car driver of the era, breaking the 260 mile an hour mark in 1984. That is until John Force broke into the circuit winning his first championship in 1990.

Now the speed and engineering of the Funny Car class has advanced the competition in the sport while increasing the engine output to over 7,000 horsepower. Speeds have gotten so fast that when launching the car it will create a positive force of nearly four times that of gravity. When both parachutes deploy to stop the car, it creates a reverse force seven times that of gravity. A top fuel race car can be heard over 8 miles away and can generate a reading from 1.5 to 3.9 on the Richter scale. Race cars today continue to develop, and the NHRA is only second to NASCAR when it comes to popularity.

Race Car Classes

There are hundreds of classes in drag racing, each with different requirements and restrictions on things such as weight, engine size, body style, modifications, and many others. NHRA and IHRA share some of these classes, but many are solely used by one sanctioning body or the other. The NHRA has over 200 classes, while the IHRA has far fewer. Some IHRA classes have multiple sub-classes in them to differentiate by engine components and other features.

There are currently only 5 pro classes in North America, which are:

• Top Fuel Dragster: The rail dragsters, or "diggers", the fastest class - up to 90% nitro-methane fuel is used.
• Top Fuel Funny Car: Nearly as fast as the diggers, the "floppers" (marginally) resemble actual cars.
• Pro Modified Race Cars: Some engine restrictions, very high power. Cars can run superchargers, turbochargers, or nitrous oxide. Race Cars running blowers are limited to 527-cubic-inch (8.64 L) while cars with nitrous can run up to 740 cubic inches.
• Pro Stock: "Door-slammers" must maintain a relatively stock appearance. NHRA engines can be no more than 500-cubic-inch displacement while MMPSA cars can run a maximum of 820 cubic inches, referred to as a mountain motor. Both race classes require the motors to be naturally aspirated.
• Pro Stock Bike: Heavily modified motorcycles.
  In addition to the professional classes, these are some other popular classes:
• Top Alcohol Dragster
• Top Alcohol Funny Car: In the IHRA, Alcohol Funny Car is the fifth pro category, replacing NHRA's Pro Stock Bike.
• Competition Eliminator
• Outlaw Series: NHRA engine 2800 pound car where they used Alcohol or +- 116 octane race gas
• Pro FWD
• Super Comp/Quick Rod
• Super Gas/Super Rod
• Super Street/Hot Rod
• Super Stock
• Stock
• Sport Compact
• Top Sportsman (NHRA and IHRA)
• Top Dragster (NHRA and IHRA) In NHRA, these two classes are sometimes run together as Top Comp
• Top Fuel Funny Bike (high performance 5 second bikes)
• Nostalgia Super Stock
• NHRA and ANDRA Summit Racing series Super Pro, Pro, and bike.
• Junior Dragster: Racers between the ages of 8 and 18 may race a half scale version of the sport's fastest car, Top Fuel Dragster. Juniors run as following: 12.90-slower for 8-9 year olds, 10-12 year olds at 8.90, and 13-18 year olds 7.90 and slower at a top speed of 85 mph. These cars race at 1/8 mile or 1/16 mile.
  NHRA new class for Juniors is JR COMP running 6.90s at a top speed of 110 miles per hour (1/8 mile or 1/16 mile).

A complete listing of all classes can be found on the respective NHRA and IHRA official websites.