Bracket Racing or what is also known as ET Racing, was started as an alternative type of racing in the 60's and 70's. This style of racing allows just about anyone to race in a very competative field placing more emphasis on the driver rather than the car alone. Driver reaction times at the start of a race are a huge factor in winning or losing races. It is also one of the most difficult aspects of drag racing that most seem to overlook or not think about at all because it seem so relatively easy to just punch the gas when you see the green light.

So now that you sort of know what it is, we'll explain the basic principles of bracket racing. When you arrive to race at a track, you are given several time trial opportunities, which are used as practice runs and to see what times you are running in your car. In elimination rounds, which are usually done as single elimination tournament rounds it puts you against one other racer. Before pulling up to race you must select a time that you think your car will run, this is called your dial-in time. The dial-in time is used to calculate the time difference between the two racers and once you subtract the slower time from the faster one, this will give the slower car that much of a head start. The theory behind the method is that if both drivers were to pull off the line with exact reaction times and both run their predicted "dial-in" time they will both get to the finish line at the same exact time making it a tie. In real life, this rarely happens because driver reaction times will differ and the car being driven may run faster or slower than predicted.

Now you might ask " Why can't I just say my dial-in time is 18 seconds so I can get a big head start?", "Nope, can't do", is what we would say because if you run faster than your dial-in, you automatically lose. Running faster than your predicted time is called a breakout. This just means that you want to guess exactly what the car is capable of running. If you guess a quicker time than what your car can really run, you won't be able to run fast enough against your opponent making is very easy for them to beat you to the finish line. There is also a practice called sandbagging, which is when you guess a slower time for your car that makes it possible for you to breakout and lose because you were faster than you anticipated. So now lets say both you and the other driver both break out, in this particular case the car that runs the closest to their guessed time wins and the one who basically ran faster would lose so no matter how much you just got beat because they got to the finish line first you still win. Because of the possibility of breaking out, there are actually many instances where you would have to hit the brakes to win.

ET racers are given the opportunity to have a lot of freedom when building their race cars because there are few regulations pertaining to engine specs. Most of the rules that effect your car relate to safety. The NHRA is the governing body that regulates rules and classes for drag racing. Car classes at tracks depend on the division you are racing in and can include Super Pro, Heavy, Street, Trophy, Bike and Junior Dragster.

Bracket racing has become one of the most competitive forms of drag racing in the world, with the largest number of competitors. Bracket racing has even evolved to the point where there are some drivers who are professional bracket racers, who travel to all the big money races, and are good enough to actually make a living at it. For most, bracket racing is more of a hobby and can easily become an obsession.