Okay, I intruduced myself earlier in the newbie channel stating I bought a 7.0L camaro. Its time to take it to the track, only i've never ran one before. The question is... do I take it slow and risk the chance of getting laughs with such a great engine and **** poor newbie runner or go ***** to the wall and put the pedal on the floor.. The track here is only an 1/8 mile. Give me some input or advice.

 

This will get you started, but don't be surprised if you get beaten by lesser machines.
http://www.greerdragway.com/drag101.htm

 

Avoid trying to stage with the back tires or having the car in reverse when it should be in drive these are dead giveaways for a novice. The basics are fairly straight forward its when you strive for perfection you realize how difficult the sport can be. If you get into the bracket racing Pete is 100% correct in our area the track champian in the slower class (7.50 and up)runs a slant 6 duster.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about 1/8th mile, but nobody can tell you what you should or shouldn't do in terms of running the car full out. Do what you want, if you don't feel safe running it full out then pedal it until your are.

 

I think you should get a good feel for the car. Focus on good burnouts to get heat in the tires first and try launching @ 2500rpms and increase incrementally until you find the rpm range that the car responds to best. Just launch the car a few times and roll through if you want and then when you get used to to launching practice going through the gears until you feel comfortable enough to powershift. When you are able to get the powershift down you will be close to getting everything out of the setup. Practice is everything.

 

Thanks for the info! From my experience, I did just as 383stro suggests. I went to a test and tune night, practiced my burnout, staging, launch, and shifts...all at about half speed. Once I was comfortable, I let it rip!