...drag racers are not usually competing for the same piece of real estate.

I might as well mention this now because I don't think I'll get another chance.

I raced as a WMRRA novice on a 550 Yamaha seca. I started on a RD 350 two-stroke but I had it jetted wrong and it seized at 120 mph at the end of the front strait at Bremerton. The back wheel locked up for a short skid until I grabbed the clutch and coasted into the weeds.

I got to race six times at SIR and once at PIR during a national race. They were announcing the riders when we were coming up to the grid. I caught "And so and so from Monroe Washington" Hmmm. Someone else from Washington State! It wasn't until after the race I realized they were talking about me.Cool.

My Seca was essentially a stock street bike that I got to pass tech inspection.
That weekend at Portland I lost about an inch from the right foot peg.

I took the California Super bike School when it came to Seattle. The first half of the day we weren't allowed to use brakes. My first lap was over 4 mins. You learn turn entry speed very quickly.
My last was about 2mins for a 2.2-mile track and we weren't racing.

My "instructor would pass me in the corner, turn around and point where he wanted me to turn in. A magazine reviewed the school and mentioned that very practice. The article said," It could only have been more humiliating if the instructor had been eating a sandwich at the same time." My thoughts exactly.

I think racing of any kind is an excellent sport and communities should support their local tracks. IMO racing on a track is much safer than riding in traffic and a hell of a lot more fun.

I hope to do it again.

If you made it this far, sorry about the ramble. I tried to keep it short. I just don't get many chances to talk about this subject which is among my best life experiences.