“For the front, we run what the manufacturer recommends, from 32 to 35 to 40 pounds. We usually go 32 pounds, because it gives the car a better feel when steering. We’ll go to 35 or 40 if we’re trying to go fast.”

“This relates to the dragsters. If somebody buys a used dragster, they need to contact the builder, to find out the idiosyncrasies of the car. The builder should then be able to give them a build sheet or information as far as towing and transportation. The biggest thing we run into is the blow shield, behind the driver. Where it should have been barely loose, somebody will come along and tighten it up and that ties the center of the car down. Our cars are designed to flex at the blow shield, so the blow shield is slotted on the top and there’s a fly washer on either side of the slot with a lock nut. You just tighten the nut down until you can just spin the washer. That will allow the car to work and flex. And that’s what people need to find out --- any pertinent information like that, to make the car work or how to transport it, go back to the guy who built the car. Little things like that make the difference between performance and the longevity of the chassis.”

“We don’t recommend a rubber nut for towing. We prefer to actually fabricate a wooden block with a piece of carpet on top, cut to a certain height. This primarily concerns

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hard-tail cars. We put our rear tires at the towing pressure, then we measure the distance from the trailer floor to where you’re going to block it, build a piece of wood with carpet covering on it an eighth- to a quarter-inch taller than that dimension. Jack the car up, slide it under and the car should bow in the opposite direction, so the tire should still touch the floor on both ends. If they don’t touch the ground, then you need to trim some more off the board until they do. You also need to have a guide for the front tires, something to keep the tires from turning, because if the tires turn, it changes the height of the chassis, which changes your wood block.”

“Should you tow in park or neutral? We do both. It just depends on the car and the transmission. There is no rule. If there is a problem, the transmission people should tell you, but if we can get to the inside of the car, we put it in park. That’s just one more piece of safety. With a stick shift car, you have to tow it in neutral.”

“We also rotate the rear tires on a regular basis. How regular? Bracket cars, once a week, faster cars, every run. It keeps the life in the tire longer, plus it keeps it from taking a set. Take the car out, jack it up, switch the wheels and go. The faster the car, the more often we do it.”