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Calder Park Legal Off Street Drag Racing
Calder Park Raceway
Legal Off Street Drag Racing
Every Friday Night

Put your wheels to the test in explosive quarter mile action!

Every Friday night, thousands of Victorian drag racing enthusiasts and hundreds of participants head to the popular Melbourne home of motor racing to take part at Calder Park's Legal Off Street Drag Racing events.

Whether it's the stock standard family wagon, or a supercharged V8 street machine, Calder Park Legal Off Street Drag Racing is for everyone! Get a car load of friends, and get down to Calder Park Raceway for Legal Off Street Drag Racing at the grassroots level. Our helpful staff and officials will assist you with any questions that you may have on drag racing, and will advise you on the best way to race your vehicle.

With competitor costs below that of a one-hour kart ride ($55 per competitor), Victorian motorists simply bring their car, a helmet, their licence and wear fully covered clothing to take part. The spectator entry cost is $20 for a night of high speed entertainment provided by some of the city's most impressive street legal cars.

Two years since this community road safety initiative was introduced to Melbourne by Calder Park owner and promoter Bob Jane, these events take illegal drag racing away from public roads and areas, and into the controlled environment of a professional motor racing venue. These events also provide high performance vehicle owners with the opportunity to find out how fast their cars really are by racing against their mates or the clock.

Calder Park Legal Off Street Drag Racing
Every Friday Night – weather permitting
Gates Open: 4:00 pm
Racing: 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Competitor Entry: $65.00 (Incl. GST)
Burnout Competition Entry: $25.00 (Incl. GST)
Spectator/Crew Entry: $20.00 (Incl. GST)
Children 13 years & under get in for free!

Calder Park Racing Promotions Pty Ltd has a:
NO Glassware
NO Alcohol
NO Drugs
NO Animals, Policy
Food and refreshments available at the venue.

Who Can Compete?
Virtually anyone can compete in drag racing at Calder Park Raceway. Driver's/rider's are required to have a valid drivers license or an ANDRA (Australian National Drag Racing Association) Competition Licence, if required. Vehicles must meet basic roadworthy and safety criteria, etc for street meets, a three-point lap sash seat belt (as a minimum), an approved safety helmet, long sleeves and pants, shoes and socks (NO SHORTS, SINGLETS, T-SHIRTS OR THONGS). Refer to the following AHRC Safety/Licence Requirements for sedans and derivatives.

Motorcycle competitors need an approved helmet, leather jacket and long pants as a minimum (leather gloves and boots are compulsory).

Calder Park Raceway offers all enthusiasts a safe and controlled environment for Legal Off Street Drag Racing with a full safety team and ambulance on standby. All you need is a registered vehicle, helmet, license and a need for speed!

Burnout Competition
A burnout competition is conducted during every Calder Park Legal Off Street Drag Racing event, For those that have always wanted to screech their tyres in a cloud of smoke but were always a little hesitant, the burnout competition is the perfect opportunity to let yourself go!!

What is Drag Racing?
In simple terms a drag race is an acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles over a measured distance (usually a quarter of a mile ie 400m/1230ft) at a specially designed drag racing facility. These contests are started by an electronic device commonly called a “Christmas Tree”.

Upon leaving the start line (or staging beams), each contestant activates a timer which is stopped when the same vehicle reaches the finish line. The start-to-finish clocking is the vehicle's ET (elapsed time). Calder Park Raceway has a sophisticated “Compulink 3” timing system which also measures each contestants' ET at the 60, 330, and 1000ft mark, as well as their mph and km\h at the end of each race.

Legal Off Street Drag Racing Procedures (Drivers/Crew)
Legal Off Street Drag Race events at Calder Park Raceway can be entered by paying your fee and completing your entry form on the day of the meeting. The driver will receive a numbered entry form which must be filled out and signed before proceeding to the scrutineering area. Once a vehicle has passed scrutineering (ie basic safety and roadworthy standards check) the completed and signed entry form will be exchanged for a competitor pass (driver's wrist band) and a racing number will be allocated to your vehicle.

Under the Australian Hot Rod Club (AHRC) criteria, drivers are permitted a maximum of one-crew per vehicle, however if the driver holds an ANDRA no., a maximum of three-crew per vehicle is allowed. Crew members will also receive a pass (crew wrist band) upon entry. In Legal Off Street Drag Racing, you are permitted to service your vehicle in the pit area.

You are now ready to proceed down to the 'dummy grid' area and then through to the staging lane to make your first pass down the drag strip!

Burnouts and Staging
After proceeding towards the start line, you are ready for the pre drag burnout. Burnouts increase the heat and traction in the rear tyres to maximize their effectiveness when launching your vehicle off the start line. When your burnout is completed an Official will guide you to the start line. There you will see three photocells (or stage beams) which control the 'Christmas Tree'.

As you break the first beam with your vehicle's front tyres, the PRE-STAGE light is activated. This tells you that you have another seven inches (20cm) to go until you break the second beam, which activates the STAGE light.

The race cannot be started until you and your opponent, in the other lane, have both achieved the PRE-STAGE and STAGE lights.

When both vehicles are properly staged the Start line Official will activate the 'Christmas Tree', which will light a countdown of three amber lights approximately 0.4 seconds apart before the green light or 'go' signal is lit.

'Red light' Starts
The driver uses the amber lights as a guide to anticipate the green bulb coming on. However, if you launch too soon, a red 'foul' light shows. A red light or 'foul' start results for disqualification. This happens when the driver reacts to the Christmas Tree too quickly and drives their car away from the starting line (or stage beam) before the green or 'go' light signal is lit.

After The Run
After you have crossed the finished line, which is a little before the timing towers that display each lane's ET (sec) and speed (mph, km\h), start applying the brakes progressively. Don't react heavily on the brakes, there is ample braking area after the finish line. Track Officials at the end of the braking area will direct you to the return road (before turning off to exit the strip, make sure you know where the other vehicle is on the track).

If you have a problem and cannot stop, don't try to make the turn at high speed – continue straight ahead, there is ample run-off area ahead and Track Officials will be able to see you clearly. Proceed along the return road, at low speed, and you will end up at the dummy grid area, which will get you through to the staging lanes again.

At the dummy grid area you will be able to collect your time slip, as well as your opponent's.

Your time slip will show the following details:
Date
The time you made your pass
Your reaction time
Your ET at 60, 330 and 1000 foot intervals
Your ET at the finish line (sec)
Your speed at the finish line (mph & km\h)
You can now proceed to the staging lanes again for another pass!!!!!!!
Good luck, have fun & race safely...

For up-to-the-minute weather and motorsport information prior to an event, please call the Calder Park Raceway Weatherwatch and Info Line on 1900 937 445, or Calder Park Raceway on 61 3 9217 8800.