Before you even begin modifying your Probe, a night at your local track will give you an idea of what you are starting with. Not only that, but it will also give you a nice shot of incentive to get the mods done! Once you begin making upgrades to your car, visiting the track often will give you an idea of how you and your car are progressing.

Although there are many types of auto racing, the most common, and easiest to get in to for "everyday people", are drag racing and Autocross. Autocross, or Solo II as it is called, is done on a track that consists of a variety of turns and obstacles (such as slaloms), and requires that both the driver be skilled and that the car be very agile. Most tracks are setup in very large parking lots and cones are used to simply lay out the course.

Drivers race against the clock, not each other. As with all motorsports, there are different classes depending on which mods you have done to your car. The Probe's excellent handling and decent stock horsepower rating make it perfect for the Stock class. For more information on the Solo II racing, check out the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) homepage. Also, make sure to read the Autocross FAQ, a great source of information for those interested in giving it a try.

Also check out Mark Noeltner's Autocross page. You haven't seen a Probe driven hard until you've seen these photos! Make sure that you look at all of the photos.....just to tempt you, most of their titles start with the word "Smoke"!

Most drag strips have at least one night per week in which the track is open to the general public. These nights are usually referred to as being for tuning and testing, but whatever it's called, you get to race! If you haven't ever gone, I suggest that you do. There really is no way to describe the rush you get after you finish flying down that short 1320 feet!

After a little practice, it is only a small step to weekly Bracket races (aka ET or Dial-in) and the increasingly popular Drag Wars. ET racing has become the way to drag race.

Automatic owners, listen up: Thought that because you have a Probe with an automatic transmission, you would never win a race? To win bracket races, you need to be able run the same ET, every time. Automatics are perfect for this. There is relatively little wheelspin and the shift speed and points are identical for every run.....in other words, very consistent.

Though many drivers still want to go as fast as possible, the key to winning in Dial-In, is in consistency, not speed. Basically, after you run a few times, you will come up with an average ET time. Now when you race, you will "dial-in" the time that you are most likely to run without going faster than it! That's the key....if you go faster than your dial-in time, you breakout and if the other driver runs his time or slower, even by 10 minutes, you lose.

Now, who ever is dialing-in the slower time leaves the line first. The amount of the head start is the difference between the two cars' times. All else being equal, both cars should reach the finish line at the same time. This rarely happens though, be it the car, the driver, the track, the weather, or a mis-chosen Dial-In time. Whoever runs closest to their dial-in time wins the race. If both cars breakout, the car with the least difference wins.

Simple, huh? Well, it certainly isn't as demanding as an Autocross event, but by no means is it easy. There are a lot of tactics involved and relatively little time to implement them. Even though you are running against yourself and the clock, the fact that there is another car on the track with you, and it's relative location to you, plays a role in determining what your strategy should be.

Read the Guide to Bracket Racing. This is a great source of information for anyone considering Bracket Racing or Drag Wars. It covers everything from choosing a correct dial-in time to effects of weather and how to use your opponent's car to judge your own car!

	Even if it never gets that far, drag racing is an excellent way to see how mods that you have made effect your Probe. After each race, you get a time slip which tells you pertinent information about the race that you have just completed.
Using that information, you will be able to see if a particular modification has helped or even hindered your Probe or if just the way you drive it has improved!

Make sure that you stop in and see the time slips from my runs down the track before you go! I shouldn't be selfish and show only my times, should I? Send me your times and I will post them in the new Probe Timeslip Registry!

This site is made possible by Geocities.