RACE CATEGORIES AND INDEXES
There are a large number of different vehicle and race categories in drag racing. We change the race categories depending on the type of race meeting. We have three main types of meetings, but may not run every type each season. On occasion, we may have a special meeting with different categories. If so, a full list will be on the pit control office (in the pits, behind the VIP stand).
A class is a specific specification for a car/bike, including its body style, engine type/size and its weight. A class designation (such as A/D) is made up of two parts. The first (the ‘A’ in this example) is its power to weight ratio with the lower the letter, the heavier or less powerful it is – ‘A’ being the lightest most powerful combination, and H being the heaviest least powerful combination. A powerful engine in a heavy car/bike will have a lower letter than the same engine in a lighter car. If the letter is a double (eg AA) this means the engine has a “power adder” such as a supercharger, turbocharger(s) or NOS. The second part (the ‘D’ in this example) is the body style. A is an altered, D is a dragster, FC is a funny car, TS is a top street (street appearing), DB is a dragbike, PCB is a pushrod bike (like an old style Triumph or Harley). There are a few exceptions, and there are differences in the way different governing bodies make up the classes. Each class has its own national record for ET and for speed (mph)
A category or bracket is a group of vehicles that race together to produce one winner. Some categories are predetermined by the national governing body for example “Super Sedan”. A category can have cars that are classified (have a class) or that are specially build for the category. Specially built cars also have an identification system but this is much simpler. For super sedan there is SS/A for v8 cars, SS/B for six cylinder cars, and SS/C for four cylinder cars. Categories pre-determined by the NZDRA are Junior Dragster (for dragsters and funny cars, drivers between 7 – 18 years old), Super Street (for registered and warranted cars slower than 11.00 seconds), Modified (for altereds, dragsters and funny cars), Super Sedan (for street appearing cars), Supercharged Outlaw (for supercharged sedans, funny cars, dragsters or altereds) and Modified Bike (for street appearing bikes).
For some race meetings, Masterton Motorplex will create its own categories. For example, we often have “Import Street” for registered/warranted Japanese based street cars), Dragstalgia Hot Rod for hot rods older than 1948, Dragstalgia Muscle Car for muscle cars from 1948 to 1972.
All categories are assigned a number so the computer system can manage the racing, which is why you will sometimes hear phrases such as “C8” (which is Super Street). A list of the categories being run at the meeting is always on the pit control office (in the pits, just behind the VIP stand).
A bracket is another name for a category, but is often used to refer to categories that are based on ET. For example, there may be a series of brackets set at 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 etc. In each bracket race cars that are slower than the bracket name but quicker than the next bracket name. For example in the 7.50 bracket are cars that are slower than 7.50 but quicker than 8.50
- “Full Tree” means the yellow lights on the ‘Christmas tree’ count down one at a time, each light is on for 0.4 seconds.
- “Pro Tree” means the yellow lights on the ‘Christmas tree’ flash together at the same time. All three lights are on for 0.4 seconds
- “Heads up” racing means both racers start at the same time, first to the finish line wins!
- “Handicap racing” means the two lanes start at different times, with the slower racer getting a head start by the difference between the two handicaps.
- “DYO” means the racer chooses their own handicap and if they go quicker than their handicap they lose (called a ‘breakout’).
- “Index” is a handicap chosen by the national governing body based on the national record for the class of vehicle. Racers are allowed to go quicker than the index.
- “Qualifying” is usually run on Saturday. All the racers race every round, and racers try to get the highest qualifying position they can. There are no handicap starts for qualifying. A higher qualifying position means an advantage in eliminations as you usually race a racer that qualified lower. Also, the top 10 qualifiers earn points in the national championship series.
- “Eliminations” is usually run on Sunday and is the actual racing. For some race meetings (eg. Dragstalgia) some categories will have qualifying and eliminations on Saturday. All racers race the first round, and handicap starts are used. Only the winners of each race go through to the next round until eventually there are only two racers left in the final. If there is time, losing racers can come out and do practice runs, called “grudge racing”. The more rounds a racer goes, the more points they earn in the national championship series.
The categories for each of the main types of meeting are below:
TEST AND TUNE
Car Test and Tune
– All cars – competition cars (see next section for descriptions of competition cars) and street cars (a true entry level class for any registered and warranted car), no handicapping, no qualifying, no eliminations. Run against any car, no seeding | .400 Full Tree | Eligible Classes: All street cars and competition cars except Junior Dragster
Bike Test and Tune
– All bikes – competition bikes (see next section for descriptions) and street bikes (a true entry level class for any registered and warranted bike), no handicapping, no qualifying, no eliminations. Run against any bike, no seeding | .400 Full Tree | Eligible Classes: All competition bikes except Junior Dragbike
Junior Dragster Testing
– Scale replicas of dragsters (front or rear engine) or funny cars. Powered by a motorbike engine (up to 250cc) or a modified “Briggs and Stratton” (lawnmower engine, but highly modified). Drivers start at 7 years old up to 18 years | no handicapping, no qualifying, no eliminations. Run against any car | no seeding (Junior dragbikes must run separately | .400 Full Tree | Eligible Classes: All Junior Dragster, Funnycar, Dragbike
NATIONALS EVENTS AND MASTERTON MOTORPLEX FULL COMPETITION EVENTS
Group 1 – Qualify on elapsed time | Eliminations are heads up start | .400 Pro Tree
Top Alcohol – C1
– The ultimate drag racing vehicles in NZ. Dragsters, altered or funnycars. Cars must have at least 3,500 horsepower to be competitive in this category and the best have around 4,000 horsepower. Most of these cars run in the 5 second range, with the best running 5.34 seconds at 274 mph (441 km/h)! | Minimum 7.50 performance requirement | Eligible Classes: TA/A, TA/FC, TA/D, A/FD
Top Doorslammer – C14
– The ultimate in street appearing cars and the car must have opening doors. Wild engines usually in the 3,000 to 3,500 horsepower range. Most of these cars run in the 6 second range and the best are capable of high 5 seconds, although the 5 second barrier has not yet been broken in NZ | Eligible Classes: T/D
Group 2 – Index racing, qualify on elapsed time (quickest compared to their index) | eliminations are staggered start using index for each class (as specified by the governing body sanctioning the meeting). For the latest index refer to the NZDRA or IHRA website (as relevant) | .400 Full Tree
Competition – C2
– Purpose built race cars – dragsters (-/D), altereds and funny cars (-/A), nostalgia (-/N-) nostalgia fuel (-/FN-). This category is the next level up from modified, and many of these cars hold national records | Eligible Classes: AA-, A-, BB-, B-, CC-, C-, DD-, D-, EE-, E-, RRR-, RR-, R-, AA/FN-, AA/N-, A/N-, A/F-
– For IHRA sanctioned meetings only, add: AA/-I, BB/-I, CC/-I, DD/-I, EE/-I
Super Stock – C7
– Purpose built street appearing race cars. This category is the next level up from super sedan, and many of these cars hold national records | Eligible Classes: X/TS, A/TS, BB/TS, B/TS, CC/TS, C/TS, DD/TS, D/TS, EE/TS, E/TS, FF/TS, F/TS, GG/TS, G/TS, HH/TS, H/TS, RRR/TS, RR/TS, R/TS
– For NZDRA sanctioned meetings only, add: P/I, S/M ST/I
– For IHRA sanctioned meetings only, add: XX/TSI, XX/TS, AA/TSI, BB/TSI, CC/TSI, DD/TSI, EE/TSI, FF/TSI, GG/TSI, HH/TSI, XX/MSI, XX/MS, X/MS, AA/MSI, AA/MS, A/MS, BB/MSI, B/MS, B/MS, CC/MSI, CC/MS, C/MS, DD/MSI, DD/MS, D/MS, EE/MSI, EE/MS, E/MS, FF/MSI, FF/MS, F/MS, GG/MSI, GG/MS, G/MS,HH/MSI, HH/MS, H/MS, RR/MS, R/MS,
Sport Compact – C6 (IHRA sanctioned national events only)
– Purpose built street appearing race cars of Japanese, Korean or Chinese origin. This category is the next level up from super sedan for Japanese style vehicles, and many of these cars hold national records | Pro Import minimum performance – 9.99 | Sport Mod minimum performance – 10.99 | Eligible Classes: P/I-A, P/I-B, P/I-C, P/I-D, P/I-E, S/M-B, S/M-C, S/M-D, S/M-E, ST/I-B, ST/I-C, ST/I-D, ST/I-E
Competition Bike – C9
– Purpose built drag bikes or highly modified motorbikes | Eligible Classes: TF/DB, BB/DB, B/DB, CC/DB, C/DB, DD/DB, D/DB, AA/PCB, A/PCB, BB/PCB, B/PCB, CC/PCB, C/PCB, DD/PCB, D/PCB, AA/PRO, A/PRO, BB/PRO, B/PRO, CC/PRO, C/PRO, C/PRO, DD/PRO, D/PRO, AA/SB, A/SB, BB/SB, B/SB, CC/SB, C/SB, DD/SB, D/SB, VRD/B.
– For NZDRA sanctioned meetings only, add: AA/DB, A/DB
– For IHRA sanctioned meetings only, add: AA1/DB, A1/DB,AA2/DB, A2/DB, AA3/DB, A3,DB
Group 3 – Qualify type varies by category | Eliminations are staggered start using self nominated index | .400 Full Tree
Supercharged Outlaws – C4
– Any car as long as it is supercharged (blower, turbo, nitrous, NA nitro). This is an exciting category of very quick cars. Must be quicker than 7.90 seconds, and many cars can run 6 seconds at over 200 mph (321.86km/h) | Minimum performance – 7.99 | Qualify on elapsed time | Eligible Classes: non-qualifiers in T/A and T/D, any supercharged Competition or Top Street, SCO
Super Sedan – C10
– Street appearing cars quicker than 10.99 seconds. This is a very popular category and is hotly contested, with very exciting racing. Cars range from modified street cars to purpose built race cars. Many cars are supercharged for extra horsepower (supercharger, turbos or nitrous oxide) | 11.00 seconds or quicker | Qualify on reaction time | Eligible Classes: any Top Street, SS/AA, SS/A, SS/BB, SS/B, SS/CC, SS/C
Modified – C3
– Purpose built drag cars – dragsters (-/MD), altereds, funnycars, or cars with a body style older than 1935 (usually ‘T Buckets’ or similar) (-/MA). A range of engine styles and performance levels from 7 second to 11 second cars | Qualify on reaction time |Eligible Classes: any Competition class, AA/M-, A/M-, BB/M-, B/M-, CC/M-, C/M-
Super Street – C8
– A true entry level class for any registered and warranted car. The car must pass a simple safety check and you must have a compliant helmet, then you can race in this class. The quickest a car can go in this class in 11 seconds | Qualify on reaction time | Eligible Classes: S/ST (any car that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection)
Junior Dragster – C12
– Scale replicas of dragsters (front or rear engine) or funny cars. Powered by a motorbike engine (up to 250cc) or a modified “Briggs and Stratton” (lawnmower engine, but highly modified). Drivers start at 7 years old up to 18 years | Qualify on reaction time | 1/8th mile | Eligible Classes: J/JD, I/JD, S/JD, J/FC, I/FC, S/FC
Junior Dragbike – C13
– Scale replicas of Comp Bikes. Powered by a motorbike engine (up to 125cc). Drivers start at 11 years old up to 18 years | Qualify on reaction time | Eligible Classes: J/DB
Modified Bike – C11
– A true entry level class for any registered and warranted motorbike. The bike must pass a simple safety check and you must have a compliant helmet and full clothing (leathers are preferred), then you can race in this class | Qualify on reaction time | Eligible Classes: AA/MB, A/MB, BB/MB, B/MB, CC/MB, C/MB, (any bike that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection).
Import Street – C21 (MMP Full competition events only)
– A true entry level class for any registered and warranted Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean) manufactured car. The car must pass a simple safety check and you must have a compliant helmet, then you can race in this class. The quickest a car can go in this class in 11 seconds | Qualify on reaction time | Eligible Classes: S/ST (any car that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection)
Group 4 – Qualify by elapsed time (closest to, but not under, 9.90), eliminations are heads up, fixed index of 9.90, breakout applies | .400 Pro Tree
Super Gas – C5
– Any body style or type (Super Sedan or Modified), must be tech inspected | Eligible Classes: any Competition, Top Street, Modified or Super Sedan, SG
DRAGSTALGIA
Group 1 – Qualify on elapsed time | Eliminations are heads up start | .400 Pro Tree
Top Alcohol – C1
– Minimum 7.50 performance requirement | Eligible Classes: TA/A, TA/FC, TA/D, A/FD
Top Doorslammer – C14
– Eligible Classes: T/D
Group 2 – Exhibition only | .400 Full Tree
– Group 2 categories are only run as exhibition if there are any Group 2 vehicles that do not want to run the Dragstalgia categories
Group 3 – Qualify on reaction time | Eliminations are staggered start using self nominated index|.400 Full Treee
Dragstalgia Comp
– Pre 1972 body style | Eligible Classes: any Competition, Top Street, Supercharged Outlaw, Super Sedan or Modified
Dragstalgia Hot Rod
– Pre 1949 body style | Eligible Classes: any Super Street S/ST (any car that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection)
Dragstalgia Muscle Car
– 1949 to 1972 body style | Eligible Classes: any Super Street S/ST (any car that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection)
Dragstalgia Super Sedan – C25
– 1973 or later body style | 11.00 seconds or quicker| Eligible Classes: any Top Street, SS/AA, SS/A, SS/BB, SS/B, SS/CC, SS/C
Dragstalgia Super Street – C26
– 1973 or later body style | 11.00 seconds or slower | Eligible Classes: S/ST (any car that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection)
Junior Dragster – C12
– 1/8th mile | Eligible Classes: J/JD, I/JD, S/JD, J/FC, I/FC, S,FC
Junior Dragbike – C13
– 1/8th mile | Eligible Classes: J/DB
Modified Bike – C11
– Eligible Classes: AA/MB, A/MB, BB/MB, B/MB, CC/MB, C/MB, (any bike that has a current rego and WoF or full tech inspection).
INDIVIDUAL CLASS REQUIREMENTS
For full details of all classes and requirements and latest indexes please visit the NZDRA website or IHRA website.
Masterton Motorplex reserves the right to add, remove or amend categories or classes as required.
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