When to start slowing down

The other day, while talking to some friends, we got to the subject of slowing 200+mph cars down.

Parachutes being deployed before the finish

I mentioned how it is that sometimes we barely slow down in time, even though we have a very long shut down area. A fellow racer said that I should practise pulling the shut just before we cross the finish line. As he elaborated, this entails that as we are crossing the finish line, not only was the parachute handle pushed, but also the parachutes were deployed and would be in the process of opening up, hereby cutting down on the track length needed to slow down. Essentially, like the pro's do it.

The picture above illustrates this concept of trowing the chutes before one crosses the finish line. Here you see Jason Line, in the far lane, deploying his chutes while crossing the finish. To watch a short super slow motion video of how the parachutes open, please click here.

I've often seen the NHRA and ADRL guys do this but somehow I never thought about this as an option until that day. It is indeed the best way to slow down, however, I just hope that the bump at the finish line combined with the parachutes being deployed doesn't upset the car too much!

Moral of the story, listen to others for they may know more than you do, or at least remind you of something important!

Thanks for reading and see you at the races!

Photo credit: Jaylyn photography