Reaction Times have nothing to do with Elapsed Times (E.T.'s). The Reaction Time is measured before the Elapsed Time counter starts. It should be stated that racing is first and foremost about who crosses the finish line first, irrespective of how quick you were getting there. In order for any system to accurately determine a winner, it uses the "reaction time" and the "elapsed time" to calculate the "overall time". The "overall time" is calculated by adding the "reaction time" to the "elapsed time." If two competitors race, the one with the lowest "overall time" is the one that crossed the finish line first.

In (Fig.2 below), lets assume that we have two vehicles running identical elapsed times of 13.100 seconds, however, this doesn't necessarily mean that they both crossed the line in an identical fashion. The competitor who had the quickest reaction time (Competitor 2) will win as his vehicle moved out of the stage beam before the other (Competitor 1). Remember that the elapsed time only commences when the vehicles move and NOT when the green light goes on. The overall time of Competitor 2 is less than the overall time of Competitor 1.

In Fig.4 above, Competitor 2 is the winner even with a slower elapsed time because his "OVERALL TIME" was less than Competitor 1. The difference in reaction time superseded the difference in elapsed time. This is one of the most confusing things to competitors and spectators alike, unless they understand completely how "reaction time" and "elapsed time" work.

A good reaction time is achieved by the driver's reaction to the Amber light signal and also the vehicle reaction to the accelerator. Any good drag racer won't wait for the green light to go on before reacting. This is why we have Amber Lights activating before the Green. The Amber lights are warning the driver that the green light will be activated at any moment; usual 0.4 seconds.

The driver should leave while the yellow light is still on as there is the "ROLLOUT" distance on the "STAGE" beam and the time for the vehicle to react after the driver has pushed the accelerator.

Frankly, if racing was all about fast cars, then why run the risk of putting two competitors up against each other, or more for that matter when you consider other forms of motorsport, athletics or even horse racing. If it was all about fast cars, then a single lane strip would suffice, where competitors could run time trials or top speed runs and not drag race two cars/bikes against each other to see who could cross the finish line first. In the professional categories running in the American NHRA drag series it is not the quickest or fastest car that usually wins but the driver with the best reaction time that supersedes his slower E.T. from that of his opponent. If a competitor is slipping and sliding or spinning his rear tires from overpowering, or incorrect clutch set-up, it follows that because he didn't adapt to the track conditions correctly, he will be eliminated from the competition. Any track must have reaction times in order to make it fair to all competitors.

The following categories will be recognised as National Championship categories for 2006:
CARS: Top Eliminator category / Senior Eliminator category / Competition Eliminator category. MOTORCYCLES: SBS category / SB category / S category

With reference to GCR 230 of the MSA handbook the following criteria will apply in respect of the 6 National Championship categories. CARS: 04 starters - Top Eliminator category / 10 starters - Senior Eliminator category / 10 starters - Competition Eliminator category / MOTORCYCLES: 08 starters - SBS / 12 starters - SB / 12 starters - S