In layman乌鸦传媒檚 terms, drag racing is where cars, typically two at a time, race to be the first to cross a set finish line.
Sound simple? Not quite, as 12-year-old junior superstar Izabella Marshall of Vernon explained. There乌鸦传媒檚 a lot more to the niche sport than what meets the eye.
乌鸦传媒淕etting off the starting line quickly, reaction time and making the car consistent, those are the three keys.乌鸦传媒� said Marshall.
1. Getting off the starting line quickly
How quick the racer is hitting the gas to get their car moving is the first important skill to master.
乌鸦传媒淎t the starting line, there乌鸦传媒檚 a Christmas tree of lights that come down that blink yellow, yellow then green, which tells them to go but they can never wait until green,乌鸦传媒� said Izabella乌鸦传媒檚 father (and her trusted pit crew leader) Jody Marshall, who raced professionally on the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) circuit for four seasons. 乌鸦传媒淵ou have to be leaving, because your car takes a moment, right at the moment it blinks.乌鸦传媒�
Izabella is in her first full season in the junior dragsters NHRA division six competition. Titanium Auto Group and Quality Manufactured Homes are the two key sponsors who have helped fund her drag racing journey in 2023.
How she got into the sport was like many young children, through the love of her role model, her father, Jody.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been after Izabella for a number of years to race, and she just hadn乌鸦传媒檛 been interested,乌鸦传媒� said Jody. 乌鸦传媒淗owever, last year something just clicked with her and she had 1,000 questions on the way home from a trip to Seattle where we watched some races. And two weeks later, we had a car.乌鸦传媒�
Her car is a third of the scale of a regular dragster, which makes sense given Izabella is years away from garnering a learner乌鸦传媒檚 license in a commercial vehicle.
The juniors race on a one-eighth mile track, as opposed to the pros running a quarter-mile. Other differences include the speed, where Marshall乌鸦传媒檚 car is capped at 75 miles an hour.
2. Reaction time
Izabella乌鸦传媒檚 car is 乌鸦传媒榙ialed in乌鸦传媒� at 8.9 seconds, meaning that she can not go any faster than an 8.9 second time in the race.
乌鸦传媒淵our age determines your speed. So Izabella, at 12, competes with other racers who can be as young as six. Two cars come up to the line and she might be racing someone younger, so that car would get a head start. The theory is, by the finish line, they should get there at the same time, which never happens,乌鸦传媒� laughs Jody. 乌鸦传媒淏ecause reaction time from when they start leaving is always the challenge.乌鸦传媒�
A six-year-old, if running next to Izabella, would be dialed in at 14 seconds, meaning Izabella cannot leave the line until 5.1 seconds after the six-year-old does.
乌鸦传媒淩eaction time goes by tenths, hundredths and thousandths of a second and she is really good at cutting a light at .o50,乌鸦传媒� Jody said.
At a race this past June, Izabella won an award for cutting the perfect light, with triple zeroes on the reaction time clock. If the car next to Izabella took a tenth of a second to leave the line, that puts the onus on Izabella to slightly slow down, in order to finish with her opponent.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 want to break out, so I will play with the other car to make sure we finish close together and that I am not a full cars length ahead,乌鸦传媒� Izabella said. 乌鸦传媒淚f I finish 8.89 seconds, just one decimal point faster then what was dialed in, I automatically lose.乌鸦传媒�
3. Making the car consistent
Izabella乌鸦传媒檚 car runs on methanol, a single-cylinder billet aluminum block.
乌鸦传媒淪he is even picking her own dial in now. If the car isn乌鸦传媒檛 running great, her and I will have a conversation about what timing to dial into and she乌鸦传媒檒l go fuel the car up herself,乌鸦传媒� said Jody.
Safety is an obvious necessity during the races, and the athletes are equipped with a full fire suit, helmet and .
乌鸦传媒淚 give myself a little pep talk because normally I get really nervous,乌鸦传媒� Izabella said. 乌鸦传媒淚 have a routine where I take a deep breath and then I go. There is always a little thing in my head thinking what if I crash?乌鸦传媒�
As the 2023 campaign wraps up, (season runs from April to end of September) Izabella is looking forward to 2024, when she graduates into a new tier (ages 13-17), the fast bracket, ramping up the speeds to 85 miles per hour. She and Jody are seeking more sponsors so that they can attend more races across the country.
On top of the thrill of racing, the social aspect is another reason why Izabella loves the sport so much.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 hanging out with my friends from the track even more than racing,乌鸦传媒� she says as her current junior division has close to 30 other competitors.
乌鸦传媒淚 also like going really fast and its really fun to beat all the boys. They get super mad when they lose to a girl.乌鸦传媒�
Visit for more information.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
bowen.assman@vernonmorningstar.com
Like us on and follow us on and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily .
