10 Muscle Car Racing Safety Tips

For those of you who enjoy racing your big Camaros or Challengers, you should know 10 muscle car racing safety tips. Remember that these racing safety tips aren't absolutely necessary, but if you stick to them, you will feel, and be, a lot safer than if you don't! If you hope to keep you and your car safe on the track, or road as it may be, then these tips are a great place to start with some ideas for safety.

1. Do a thorough inspection of the muscle car you’ll be racing before you buy it, assuming you’re in the market. The two main issues you want to look for are problems with safety and with durability. Make sure the car doesn’t have anything that could get you killed during a drag race, and also look out for sharp edges that could damage tires and other parts. Also, make sure that the muscle car has properly maintained seatbelts.
2. Keep your car properly maintained around race time. This means before and after a race, do everything that is necessary to keep your car running properly. Some things to check include, oil, tires and gas at any time you feel it is necessary that these parts be inspected.
3. Wear any safety equipment that makes you feel safer. This doesn’t mean that you have to wear a helmet or elbow pads for every race. Things you should be sure you are wearing are things like proper shoes, not sandals, and a safety/ seat belt.
4. Set anything that needs adjustment before your race. This includes things in your muscle car such as how far back the seat is from the wheel, steering wheel and mirrors. Make sure you can see the side of the car in the side mirrors, and that you can easily see out the back of the car in the front mirror.
5. Clean out your muscle car before a race. Make sure there is nothing blocking your vision before the race. This mostly occurs with things sitting in the back seat, but you want to also make sure there is nothing in your passenger's seat or on your dashboard that impedes your vision on any side.
6. Be sure you are fully energized before a race. The night before a race, be sure to go to sleep earlier than normal because you don’t want to be racing at the wheel of your new muscle car and fall asleep. While this may sound like something that would never happen to you, just remember, it happens every day on the interstate going 70 miles an hour!
7. Eat a good meal before a race. This will keep you from taking your mind off the race thinking about food. If your race is in the afternoon, be sure to eat a good breakfast that morning and a decent lunch, but not too much. You don’t want to be sick while you race!
8. Eliminate all distractions during a race. This includes things like cell phones and the radio. You need to be paying attention to the road and not who you’re talking to or what you’re listening to!
9. Don’t do any dangerous modifications on your car. For example, nitrous oxide can be a great way to speed up your car, but not only does it damage your engine, but it can easily make you lose control in your muscle car during a race!
10. Pay attention to all surroundings during a race. The most prominent thing you want to look out for is other drivers that are coming dangerously close to you. You also need to keep an eye out for any obstacles that could possibly make you wreck or damage your muscle car.