Bracket racing has even evolved to the point where there are some drivers who consider themselves 'professional' bracket racers. They travel to all the big money races, and are actually good enough to make a living at it. Bracket racing includes standard distances of drag racing, but with different methods and rules. .
A vehicle dials in and is able to perform a few timed runs; out of these trial runs the driver chooses which one he or she wants to go with as their reaction time. It is also the driver's estimate of how long it will take to get the car over the finish line. The slower car in the race gets green lighted before the faster car by a margin of distance in which dial times are chosen. If both cars have a reaction time that is equal, the cars then run the posted dial up. This would mean that both cars should cross the finish line at the same time. This is where measuring devices come in handy and make it impossible for this to occur. Measuring devices determine the time down to 1/1,000,000 of a second. A tied race is absolutely impossible due to this. .
The difference between when the green light actually comes on an when the vehicle actually leaves the starting line is called reaction time. A timer is started for the vehicle upon leaving the starting line. A driver will automatically be disqualified, "red lined", if he/ she jumps the green light. Disqualification is invalid only when an opponent commits a more serious violation such as; crossing the track boundary line, timing block, or touching the barrier. If the first driver commits a red light foul, by default, the second driver gets green lighted. Often at times people incorrectly refer reaction time to the unrelated sixty foot take off time. The reaction time is just the indication of how fast the driver, not the car, will react when the green light comes on. The sixty foot refers to how fast the vehicle reacts at the beginning of the race, not the driver.
