Speedway Blog

Chet's Chats - Baby Grand Nationals at the Bullring

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The last time the Baby Grand Nationals  visited the Bullring the top five qualifiers were separated by five tenths of one second and the margin of victory in the feature was a mere three tenths of one second. 

At the last event the top 10 qualifying times in the NASCAR Super Late Model class were separated by four tenths of one second. In the Legend Cars feature event, C.J. Hulsey won over Justin Irwin by two tenths of one second.  In fact, of the nine features held during the last race, six of them had a margin of victory measured in tenths of a second.

Racers and race fans alike talk in tenths of a second all the time.  Statistically, it seems like a huge number.  If someone is turning laps that are consistently .438 slower than the race leader I might refer to them being "well off the pace," but what exactly is four tenths of one second?  Literally, it is the blink of an eye.  While you are reading this you naturally are blinking your eyes.  You didn't think about it a moment ago and to be quite honest you never even noticed you were blinking.  Now that I’ve pointed it out to you you’re trying not to blink but just give up, it’s going to happen.  In fact, try and see just how fast you can blink your eye.  I can tell you that it takes the average person anywhere from three to four tenths of one second for a single blink.  Or in other words, the same amount of time that would place you “well off the pace” of the race leader.  Amazing, isn’t it?

Now, stay with me here.  In qualifying the last time out, the top three Bandoleros were separated by twenty-four thousandths, the top four Legend Cars were within eighty-five thousandths and in the Charger feature event the top four finishers all had their best lap times within ninety-two thousandths.  That’s right, one-hundred thousandths equals one tenth of a second, or to put it in perspective, three times faster than you can blink.  And that says it all right there.  Come on out to the Bullring this weekend, race fans, and see just how much really can happen in the blink of an eye.

Comments (1)
Ashley
1:04am on 5/5/2011
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