in. His package = 0.025 + (9.653-9.64) = 0.038 Driver B has a reaction time of 0.005 and his car runs 10.684 on a 10.66 dial in. His package = 0.005 + (10.684-10.66) = 0.029 In this scenario driver B wins despite his car running further off the number. But we can deduce even more than just that he won; we can see that he won by a (0.038 - 0.029) = 0.009 finish margin which is about 22 inches at about 140 mph. The formula used to calculate the margin of victory is : 17.6 * finish margin * behind vehicle mph = finish margin in inches Professional (and some amateur) bracket racing has evolved over the years into a drivers' sport. It used to consist of trying to get a good reaction time then hoping the car ran near the number. Drivers would avoid breaking out like the plague, dialing their cars 0.01 faster than it had ever gone before. Now it has turned into a chess match between two drivers, guessing each other's next move. The race starts in the staging lane where drivers get ready to race, and decide what dial in to put on their cars. This is arguably the most important part of a bracket race: making sure of being able to "run the number". In other words, drivers make sure they can go as fast as their dial in says they can. Everyone has a different strategy, but any strategy has its flaws and can be beaten; that why the best strategy is one that includes many different strategies and cannot be predicted. Red Light and other fouls If a car leaves the starting line before the green light comes on, a foul is recorded (a red-light start), and that car is provisionally disqualified. Traditionally, only the first car to foul start is shown the red light; an automatic green light is shown in the other lane at the appropriate time. Since 2016, many tracks (and the NHRA) now use TruStart, which is new code written to the Christmas Tree. When the first car launches, a green light will be initially shown, even if the driver committed a foul start. Once the second driver leaves, if one driver has a negative reaction time (foul start), that driver's lane will be shown a red light. If both lanes show a negative reaction time, only