The 100 Footer

One of the most exciting events that forms a part of our annual show is the 100 Footer, which is also sometimes referred to as a 100 Foot Dash. The 100 Footer is, quite simply, a marked area of pavement where we line up a car and see how fast it can get to the finish line, 100 feet away.

One of the most common questions we hear is, "Why only 100 feet?". Well, you see, in the beginning days of the 100 Footer event we would stage the races on the street. As a result, we also had a need to stay within the confines of the law, meaning that we can't break the speed limit. 100 feet is a short enough distance that we were not likely to break that speed limit. Another reason is that it is a fair distance to compare to the crossing of an intersection, such as street-light racers might be familiar with.

This event brings many spectators and several participants with a wide variety of different vehicle types (although motorcycles are not allowed). We have several classes now which range from FWD and unmodified all the way up to alcohol drag cars.

The cars run one at a time, and the car with the fastest time in each class wins. Drivers usually get at least three runs, and then we run the finals to determine the winner in each class.

We use laser beams to stage a vehicle, and the timer will start when the front tire breaks the start beam, and the timer will stop when the front tire breaks the beam at the finish line, giving accurate times. There is a christmas tree (lights) to tell the driver when to mash the pedal, but the timer will not start until you break the first beam, so your reaction time isn't all that important.

Classes are defined by performance adders. Start with a basic four cylinder (Class A), and add one performance adder for each of the following:

Performance Adders

Supercharger, Turbocharger, Nitrous Oxide, alcohol fuel, soft compound tires, all-wheel drive or tubbed wheels (2 performance adders), six cylinder engine (1 performance adder) or V-8 (2 performance adders).

A. NEW Street
No performance adders allowed (four cylinder only).

B. TRUE Street
One (1) performance adder allowed.

C. REAL Street
Two (2) performance adders allowed.

D. QUICK Street
Three (3) performance adders allowed.

E. SUPER Street
Four (4) performance adders allowed.

F. PRO Street
Unlimited performance adders allowed.

G. Diesel