The sponsor rates are as follows:

$125 for 6 months or $200 for 12 months.

You must submit all the information to an officer. We will need the following:
Software version of logo
Contact person
Phone number
Email address
Physical Address
Short paragraph describing your business

Feel free to message any of the Officers/Admins about it!

You can download the Membership Application HERE (Right-Click, Save As).

If you do not have a PDF reader - HERE is a small one that you just run (Right-Click, Save As).

Be sure to fill it out completely (you can type in the fields) and email it to moderators@southtexasmustangclub.com.

OR

Fill it out, print it and get it to an officer at a meeting/hangout!

Contact the STMC Secretary. They have all of the member information. The STMC Secretary can be located HERE.

P.M. Nino - He'll take care of it!

Edit it yourself using some sort of imaging software such as Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop. If you have no software, you can do basic modifications online.

Resize your photos online HERE

Edit your photo online HERE.

Read this and see if it helps, if not proceed with this:


Three easy steps. Once you do them a few times, you'll get used to it!
1. HOST the picture or find one that's hosted.
2. Get the address to the picture that's hosted.
3. Post the address with the correct "code".


STEP 1: Here are the steps to HOST your picture:
First, find an online image hosting site. I use http://www.photobucket.com. It's free, fast and it provides you with links to copy/paste right into posts/web-pages.





Next, you have to upload a picture from your computer to the image server.




Finally, you have to copy the link to the picture and paste it into your post. (Remember, to use LOWER case tags, the STMC website is case sensitive)





STEP 2: Here are the steps to find your hosted image's code.
Most of the time, if you host the picture using an online service (photobucket or imageshack), they provide links for you to "copy/paste".

If you find a picture you want to use and it's already hosted (online):
Right click the picture and select "Properties". You should see an address or "url". This is what you want to copy. It will usually end in "xxxx.JPG, xxxx.GIF or sometimes xxxx.PNG.


STEP 3: The last step is to use your hosted picture's address in the code for the website.
Enter the code into your post, signature, PM...whatever.

[ img ]http://www.yoursite.com/photos/photo.jpg[ /img ]

Be sure the stuff in the brackets is lower case in the brackets and has NO spaces!! I had to use spaces so that the code will show up for this tutorial. Also, be sure that "Enable Xoops Code" is checked (located just above the message submit button)

Edit your profile - look for a section that says "ALWAYS ATTACH MY SIGNATURE" and make sure it's set to "ON".

If that doesn't fix it, check your tags, make sure you used the correct slash ("/" not "\") and make sure the letters are all lower-case.

If all else fails, PM the webmaster.

The Starting Line

The starting line is composed of two pair of photocells, one for each lane. The photocells detect your car when your tire interupts the light beam that crosses the lane. Tracks used to use bright lights and photocell receivers, but now many tracks are using the Compulink timing system which uses infrared beams. These beams are much better for drag racing. Drivers used to paint their wheels or put shoe polish on them to dull the bright, reflective surface. The old lights and photocell combination would sometimes pick up reflected light from the wheel, and then not "see" the tire. The infrared beams have no such problem. The timing system down the track uses a system of beams and reflectors, too. When the beam is complete (ie, the beam is reflected back to its origin), nothing is blocking it. When the cycle is broken, the beam has been interupted, and thus a tire has been sensed.



The two photocells are linked to the Tree: the Pre-Stage, and the Stage lights.

When the car inches forward and blocks the first photocell, the Pre-Stage light comes on, indicating that the driver is close to the starting line. Most tracks have a rollout, or distance between the Pre-Stage and Stage beams of 6-8". The driver can now nudge the car forward until the car blocks the Stage beam, thus lighting the Stage bulbs on the Tree. This means that the driver is on the starting line, and is presumably ready to go. The driver also has the option of deep-staging, however, which means he bumps his car forward even more until the Pre-Stage bulb goes out. This means that his tire has just left the Pre-Stage beam.

I found this and thought it would be helpful for the new folks who have never been to the track.

You are going to need a helmet if you run 13.99 or faster.

When you get to track, open hood and let her cool down from trip.

You will now have to register and bring car to the "Tech-In" lane

Tire Pressure: STOCK TIRES = 50psi in front. This allows less rolling resistance. 25psi = rear. DRAGRADIALS = 12-15 psi.

Enter Staging lanes and wait for your turn

RELAX. Be comfortable. EVERYBODY has a "1st time"

When it's your turn, wait for the "green light" or for the operator to tell you to pull into water box. As you are rolling up to the water box, go around it if you can and back up into it. Unless you have skinnies on the front, you will bring water up to the start and it will drip off the front tires. If you can't, don't worry. Drive thru it. When you're lined up, give the tires a small spin. IMPORTANT: After "licking" your tires in the water box, pull forward a few feet and do your burnout there - where it's dry. If you do your burnout in the water box, you'll fling water into your wheel well and when you're staging, it will drip down onto your tires and the track. You don't want that!You dont have to go nuts here a good smoking will do. I would burn till I see smoke then, maybe 5 seconds longer in Second gear. This will be difficult without line lock. You will have to use first gear if your using the brakes. Also,If your tires are Brand new, I would drive around on them for a day. You need to scuff them in. You will not get your best 60ft's the first time out with them unless they are scuffed in. A heavy Burnout will be necessary.

Pull up and watch the yellow lights.Pull up to the first yellow and stop. Now slowly move forward till second yellow comes on and stop. You are now staged and ready.

VERY IMPORTANT! You new Guys get this wrong all the time. Reaction time means nothing if you are just trying to get your best ET. The timer Does not start till you move and brake the first laser beam. You could wait for an HOUR and you would still get the correct ET. Reaction time is for racing your oponent or in a class. You do want to try and go right on the green. You will red light if before, but this does not affect your ET. I usually wait to the fourth yellow comes on then I go.

Street tires should let you launch between 2000 and 2500. ET Drag Radials will let you between 4500 to 5000.This will vary from car to car and track conditions. Standard, hold clutch in, and rev motor to desired RPM. Automatic, press brake and hold down gas to give the car "load" or to get it rev'ing JUST before the tires squeal. This is called "STALLING".

If you are realy looking for best times try and go on a day that the track is treated. You will do your best on this day. You'll see the track operators spraying stuff and "mopping" the track starting area in between runs.

60 FT Numbers are your most critical tunning info. Every
tenth in the 60ft will yield 2 tenths in the Quarter. Try and get your 60ft's down. Most are around 2.0 with stock tires. 1.5's is what we are trying to get into or past.

Find your max RPM HP table on your dyno sheet and that is were you want to shift at. Try to get your shifts down smooth.

Hope that helps!!

The Timeslip
After you make a run, the guy in the little booth (ET booth) after the turnout at the

end of the track, will hand you a piece of paper with numbers all over it. This paper is called the timeslip.

The timeslip provides a wealth of information

about a run. It tells you how well you launched, how quick and fast you went at various points on the track, and what your final ET and mile per hour were. And

if you were drag racing an opponent, the timeslip tells you how he did, also.

Lane
Shows which lane you ran in.

Car Number
Cars

are assigned a number and marked on windows.

Dial-In
This is the elapsed time you think your car will run.

Reaction Time
This

tells you how quickly you reacted to the green light on the Christmas Tree. If running a Full Tree, it is set as .500 second. You want your RT to be at or as

close to .500 as possible. If you react faster than that, you've just redlighted.

60, 330, 660, 1,000 ET, and MPH Times
These figures give you

elapsed times at the 60 foot, 330 foot, 660 foot (1/8 mile), and 1,000 foot marks. You also get the mile per hour figure.

1/4 and MPH Quarter Mile ET

and MPH
These are your finishing elapsed time and mile per hour numbers. When it comes to bragging rights, these are the ones that count

Keep in mind that these are only partial listings of rules and you should be

aware of all rules, guidelines, and requirements set up by the official IHRA sanctioning

body.

___________________________________________________________________________

ALL DRIVERS MUST:

be at least 16 year of

age.

possess a valid official driver's license.

be of sound mind and body to properly operate vehicle. NO ALCOHOL OR ILLEGAL DRUG USE BEFORE OR

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO OPERATE VEHICLE.

abide by and agree to follow all safety rules established by IHRA and this track facility.

be wearing proper

attire for racing. (need to be wearing minimum of pants, shirt, closed toe shoes) NO SHORTS, NO SKIRTS, NO SLEEVELESS SHIRTS, NO SANDALS

REGISTER AND SIGN

IN WITH SAFETY INSPECTION OFFICIALS BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO RUN ON TRACK

___________________________________________________________________________

ALL

CARS regardless of run time MUST:

have battery tied down and secured. if battery is relocated, must have an electric cut off switch on rear of vehicle,

properly labeled.

have catch can for radiator.

have exterior functioning door handle to driver's side access.

have properly mounted and

functioning safety belts.

have at least one properly functioning taillight.

have all wheel lugs in place.

not have any leaking of fluids i.e.

fuel, radiator, oil, etc.

have neutral safety switch properly working.

all drivers in convertibles must wear helmet.

if running nitrous oxide

system, be sure to inform inspecting official. System must be complete and properly installed.

if fuel cell is added to car, must be proper fuel cell,

properly vented, grounded, and be mounted such that top of cell is not higher than top of rear tires.



___________________________________________________________________________

REQUIREMENTS FOR VEHICLE ACCORDING TO RUN TIMES:
(all requirements

for slower classes apply to faster classes)

14.00 or slower 1/4 mile (8.60 or slower 1/8)

see rules (ALL CARS REGARDLESS OF RUNTIME

MUST)

all drivers or riders in convertibles must wear helmet

drive shaft loop required on cars running with racing slicks

11.50 to 13.99

1/4 mile (7.50 to 8.59 1/8)

helmet required SNELL 90 or newer

drive shaft loop required

roll bar mandatory on all

convertibles

11.00 to 11.49 1/4 mile (7.00 to 7.49 1/8) or faster than 135MPH

roll bar with padding

steel valve stems on wheels

mandatory

SFI 16.1 5 point driver restraint system (2 year expiration)

SFI 3.2A/1 flame retardant jacket

properly secured fire extinguisher

required

all open bodied vehicles require arm restraints, SFI 3.3/1 gloves, helmet must be full face shield or wear goggles

10.00 to 10.99 1/4

mile (6.50 to 6.99 1/8) or faster than 135MPH

SFI 4.1 transmission shield required

SFI 18.1 harmonic balancer required

Aftermarket axles

required

entries with 2 wheel brakes or running 150MPH 1/4 (125MPH 1/8) require parachute

0 to 9.99 1/4 mile (0 to 6.49 1/8)

roll cage

mandatory (chassis certification required on 9.00 1/4 (6.00 1/8)

IHRA competition license required

SFI 29.1 flexplate and SFI 30.1 shield

required

entries running 150MPH 1/4 (125MPH 1/8) require parachute

entries running 8.49 1/4 (5.49 1/8) require dual master cylinder, (closed body

cars require fire system) require driver suit SFI 3.2A/5, neck collar SFI 3.3, all others require SFI 3.2A/5 jacket.

open bodied cars require SFI 3.2A/5

pants, SFI 3.3/5 gloves and SFI 3.3 arm restraints.

MOTORCYCLES

Motorcycles are no longer allowed to run at Edinburg International

Racetrack.

Drag Racing Definitions

Break-out or run-under
When a car runs quicker than its

dial-in, it is called a break out. That driver loses the race unless the other car breaks out by more than he did, (or red-lighted). This is called a

double-breakout.

"Cherry Picker"
A cherry picker is that guy that sits in the back of the lanes and purposefully tries to "pair-up" with whomever

he thinks will be the easiest win.

Delay Box
The "box", as it is usually called is an electronic device to aid the driver. The driver can dial a

number into the box, called the delay. Usually used in conjunction with a transmission brake and two-step, the driver can hold down a button mounted on his

steering wheel, activating the transbrake and two step, and then let go of the button the instant he sees the "first flash" of amber from the first bulb. The delay

box will then count the thousandths of a second dictated by the driver, and then release the transbrake and two-step.

The driver can adjust his reaction

times by changing the number on the delay box. The theory is that a driver instinctively reacting to an initial signal (the first amber) will be quicker and more

consistent than a driver that must train himself to wait for the third amber. This is indeed often the case, making the box a controversial (but legal) tool in

many classes.

Dial-in
A dial-in is your educated guess or prediction of your car's ET. Dial-ins are used to handicap cars in eliminations. When

two cars race, the two dial-ins are subtracted, and the slower car is given the difference in a head start. The head start is shown by the Christmas Tree coming

down in his lane first. The theory is that if both drivers have identical reaction times, and both hit their dials exactly, they will meet on the finish line at

exactly the same time.

Example: You made time trials with these ET's: 15.05, 15.07, 15.01. If you decide to dial-in at 15.00, and your opponent dials a

12.00, you will receive a 3.00 second head start.

Dumping
Purposefully lifting or hitting the brakes with the intention of letting your opponent

hit the finish line first, hopefully to force him to break out while you do not.

ET
Elapsed Time (ET) is the time between the car starting and it

reaching the end of the 1/4 mile. A car "starts" or triggers the ET timer by reconnecting the staging beam (ie, when it leaves the starting line). Starting the ET

timer is identical to stopping the Reaction Time (R/T) timer.

"Killing the tree"
This phrase is said to describe a driver that has been getting

consistently great reaction times. Also, "I nailed the tree on him" means that you had a much better light than your opponent.

Lights
Lights has

two different meanings, which are contextual. It can either refer to the starting lights on the Christmas Tree, or the top-end 'lights' or 'eyes', which is

talking about the photocells near the finish line (ie, the last 60 feet). "The lights came down..." refers to the tree, whereas, "I was ahead of him going through

the lights" refers to the top end.

Line-lock
A line-lock allows the driver to set the brakes on just one set of tires. Usually, racers put a

line-lock on the front tires in order to aid their burnouts. They set the brake, hold a button, and then release the brake pedal. The brakes will release on the

back, but hold the front brakes until the button is released. Some people try to simulate a transbrake by having four-wheel line-locks. This allows the driver to

hold the brakes with the button on the line, instead of his foot.

Reaction time (R/T)
Indicates how much delay occurs from the last Yellow light

being turned on and the car starting the Elapsed Time timer. The green light is turned on .500 seconds (.400 on Pro tree) after the last yellow, so a R/T value of

.500 indicates a "perfect light". A value less than .500 indicates the car started before the Green light, which is an illegal start activating the the Red light.

R/T values greater than .500 indicate how much delay occured from the Green light coming on to when the car started. The larger the delay, the greater opportunity

for an opponent to start before you and gain an advantage.

Red-lighting or "bulb"
A red-light occurs if a car starts before the green light comes

on. During competition, this will immediately give the win to the opponent. Racer's will often say, "He bulbed it away," meaning he lost because he

red-lighted.

Sandbagging
This is the practice of dialing-in an ET that is much slower than the ET's that your car runs so that you should always

hit the finish line first. In order to be an effective sandbagger, you usually must have a better reaction time than your opponent, and then hit the finish line

just before your opponent to avoid breaking out.

Stage and Pre-Stage
Each car is required to line-up their car at the starting line. The starting

line consists of a light beam which is about 1" off the ground. Once a car moves forward enough for its front tire to block the beam from reaching the other side,

the car is considered "staged". Once both cars have staged, the race can begin.

To assist drivers in staging, a "pre-stage" beam is also used. This beam is

located a few inches behind the "stage" beam. This lets drivers know when they are getting close to the stage beam.

Top-end
The finish line area:

this is where the bracket racer has to make his decisions as to what tactics he is going to use to try to win the race. Will he need to hit the brakes? Will his

opponent?

Transbrake A transbrake is a device which allows a car to remain stationary even when the motor is under power. It works by placing the

transmission in 1st gear and Reverse at the same time. Since both gears have the same ratio, but it opposite directions, the car cannot move. The transbrake can be

released with a button, which releases the Reverse gear. Although they make for powerful launches, transbrakes can be hard on transmissions.

Trap

speed
Trap Speed refers to a car's MPH measured during the last 60 feet of the 1/4-mile. By knowing the weight of a car, the trap speed is a good indicator

of how much horsepower an engine is making.

Two-Step
A two-step is an electrical ignition device that will "cut out" cylinders at random, after

the engine rpm tries to exceed a certain point. This is basically a rev-limiter. The driver can set the low-side rpm of the two-step to be his launch rpm. With

this, the driver can activate the two-step, and press the gas to the floor without over-revving the engine. You can recognize a two-step by the uneven Pop-Pop-Pop

of the motor. Release the two-step, and the motor is unleashed, the throttle already wide open.

The Starting Line



The

starting line is composed of two pair of photocells, one for each lane. The photocells detect your car when your tire interupts the light beam that crosses the

lane. Tracks used to use bright lights and photocell receivers, but now many tracks are using the Compulink timing system which uses infrared beams. These beams

are much better for drag racing. Drivers used to paint their wheels or put shoe polish on them to dull the bright, reflective surface. The old lights and photocell

combination would sometimes pick up reflected light from the wheel, and then not "see" the tire. The infrared beams have no such problem. The timing system down

the track uses a system of beams and reflectors, too. When the beam is complete (ie, the beam is reflected back to its origin), nothing is blocking it. When the

cycle is broken, the beam has been interupted, and thus a tire has been sensed.

The two photocells are linked to the Tree: the Pre-Stage, and the Stage

lights. When the car inches forward and blocks the first photocell, the Pre-Stage light comes on, indicating that the driver is close to the starting line. Most

tracks have a rollout, or distance between the Pre-Stage and Stage beams of 6-8". The driver can now nudge the car forward until the car blocks the Stage beam,

thus lighting the Stage bulbs on the Tree. This means that the driver is on the starting line, and is presumably ready to go. The driver also has the option of

deep-staging, however, which means he bumps his car forward even more until the Pre-Stage bulb goes out. This means that his tire has just left the Pre-Stage

beam.

Let's go back to the Christmas Tree. We said that each light was a half-second apart, and thus a .500 light was a perfect reaction time. The reaction

timer starts when the third amber lights, and stops when the car's tire leaves the starting line (ie, stops blocking the Stage beam). How does deep-staging affect

your reaction times then?

This question leads us to rollout. Rollout is the distance that your tire has to travel to exit the starting line. The starting

line beams are about an inch or two off the ground. If you measure your tire width that far above the ground, you will find that it is about 11-14", depending on

your tire height. Let's say it is twelve inches. This means that your car has to roll forward an entire foot before the reaction timer stops. This has two

effects:
1 You must react before you see the green-light, and
2 Your car effectively has a rolling start of one foot before the reaction

timer stops, and the ET timer begins.

Apply this knowledge to deep-staging. What effects does it have? First, what is your rollout? Your tire is in front of

the Pre-Stage beam now, so a lot of your tire is 'hanging out' in front of the Stage beam as well! This is distance that the tire does not need to pass through

the starting line, since it is already past it. Therefore, your rollout has decreased. What is your new rollout? Let's figure it out. How much of your tire is

before the Stage beam if you have the same tire as before? If the distance between the Pre-Stage and Stage beams is 8", then your rollout is 8"! What if you have a

Monster truck tire, and you are deep-staged? Think: all the extra tire is still in front of the Pre-Stage beam, and therefore is in front of the Stage beam. Your

rollout is still 8"! In short, since you have less rollout, it takes your tire less time to leave the starting line, and so your reaction times will be faster. By

the same token, however, you have less of a rolling start, so your ET will be slower than if you had staged normally.

You may still be wondering why you

have to react before the green light comes on. The answer comes in two parts. First, as we just mentioned, there is the rollout of the vehicle. Let's use Frank

Hawley's terms, and call this Vehicle Reaction time, or VRT. That's not all, though. You also have a reaction time as a human. If someone snaps his fingers in

front of your eyes, how long does it take you to react? Through experimentation, both in my college physics lab, and with the practice tree, I have determined that

human reaction time is roughly .21 seconds, plus or minus several hundredths for individual differences, and human inconsistency. Thus, we must also consider

Driver Reaction Time, or DRT.

In order to get good reaction times, we must understand the drag racer's worst enemy (besides himself), the

Christmas Tree. It seems simple enough, but the starting line is often the bane of many a would-be racer. You should be comfortable with the reaction times before

you worry about Top-End Tactics. Let's take a look at the anatomy of the tree, and then we'll take a look at the starting line to see how the two interact with

each other, and with the driver and his car.

The tree is made up of three major parts. At the top of the tree, you see two sets of double yellow bulbs for

each side of the tree (each lane). The top set is called the Pre-Stage bulbs. This is an indicator for the driver that he is approaching (and near) the starting

line. The second set is called the Stage bulbs. They indicate that the driver is actually on the starting line, and presumably ready to race.

The next

section is the three amber starting signals. In most bracket racing classes and Sportsman classes, these bulbs will light in sequence, a half-second apart. This is

called a Full Tree. Some classes, however, use a Pro Tree. A Pro Tree will light all three ambers simultaneously, with a four-tenths of a second delay between them

and the green light. We will concentrate just on the workings of the Full Tree.

The last two lights then, of course, are the green and red lights. The green

will come on after the amber bulbs if the driver has not left the starting line too soon. Leaving the line before the green light will result in the dreaded red

light... a foul start.

As we said earlier, a Full Tree counts down at half-second intervals. The cycle goes: Amber on, delay, amber off and next bulb on.

Here's the important part. The reaction timer starts when the third amber comes on. Since there is a half-second (or .500 seconds) delay until the green light

comes on, a .500 reaction time is perfect. (In the same way, the four tenths delay of the Pro Tree makes a .400 a perfect light on that one) Now, the reaction

timer stops when the car leaves the starting line. To understand this better, we must examine the starting line, and how it relates to the Tree.

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