Motorsports 101: What Makes a Good Burn Out?
27 March 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Five-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Joe Amato, driver of the
DynoMax/Valvoline/Keystone Automotive dragster, explains what goes into a
good (and crowd pleasing) burn out before each run down the quarter-mile.
"In the old days, with small fuel pumps, you could control it just by giving it a little gas. Now, there's so much volume of fuel in there, you can't do that. So, you just floor it against the throttle stop, which just about cracks the throttle. You want to roll through the water (on track to clean tires) up a little bit, but you don't want the engine rpm too high, because the higher the rpm goes, the thinner the tires get. You want to try to control the drift because, the minute you punch the throttle, the car feels like it's on ice. So, you want to try to get a burn out that's straight in the tracks you want to run and then carry it out to the Christmas Tree and then get off the gas and try and stay straight in the groove, stop, and back it up in the same tracks.
"Bascially, the burn out heats the tires, heats the clutch, gets the motor temperature up. The key is to do it consistently every time. You want to get the same amount of heat into the clutch. You don't want to ride the brake. You just have to repeat each thing you do so everything is the same every run. That way there's the same amount of fuel in the tank, it helps the balance of the car, so you time what the other crew is doing and you know this guy is slower than we are and you adjust. If he's a little slower on the burn out, you'll start after he starts, or you'll go ahead if he's quicker. As long as you're within 10 percent, plus or minus, I think you're OK."
Text provided by Michael Knight
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