These are some of the most important items on this list. They are second only to having the proper safety equipment.

 

Perform- Aire Weather Station.

This is a luxury item. It can help you figure your “dial” if your bracket racing. I bought mine used from a racer who was upgrading to a newer model. It’s a few years old, but it still works great and I couldn’t beat the price. Until i bought one of my own, i would try to find another racer at the track who did so i could monitor atmospheric conditions on race day. Since they all read a little differently, it wasn’t as consistent as having my own, but it was more accurate than the cheap thermometer i was trying to use to keep track of the temperature on race day. Mine is a few years older than the one pictured, but it gives you a good idea of what i'm talking about.

 

Racing style tire pressure gauge

Don’t bother using one of those generic “pencil” type gauges. They’re innaccurate for what you are trying to do. Even a change of one or two pounds of air pressure can make a difference in how your car hooks, especially the faster your car gets. I bought a Moroso gauge and it was worth every penny. Until you can afford one of your own, you might want to find someone pitted near you who will let you borrow theirs while your at the track. Check your tire pressure often, it’s not uncommon to see changes to your tire pressure throughout the day, depending on the weather. That’s why you’ll see the faster racers shade their tires from the sun while they’re waiting to make a run.

 

Logbook

Summit Racing has a nice logbook that is dirt cheap or even free in some cases. It also contains a lot of good racing/ tuning tips from some pro racers. You need to get one and use it to record everything. It’s surprising how useful the info on your time slip is if you keep good records and really study them, and i’m not just referring to your RT/ 60’/  ET either. Have you ever studied your down- track incremental times? Your time slip will contain a wealth of information, if you take the time to record and study it. I keep my information organized in a three ring binder where i can find all of it when i need it. Don’t forget to include a calculator in there, you’ll need it. I record my info when i get back to my pit space after a run. As an added bonus, at some events, Summit will pay you contingency money (free $$$$) if you can prove that you use their book. I came up with my own custom logbook using Excel Spreadsheet, but it is based off the Summitt book. Feel free to download/ view/ print a copy of my version if you like. Knowledge is power, especially at the track. 

Moroso Power- Speed calculator

This last item is really another luxury item. Fortunately, it's inexpensive. It can help you see how well your car is or isn't performing, especially if you have dyno'd it and you know how much horsepower you are actually making. It's known as a "power- speed calculator", and it's made by Moroso. It's nothing more than a sliderule, but a very accurate one at that! You'll be able to tell right away if your race car is efficient or not. Believe me, your race car/ street car is probably not very efficient, even if you have all the latest gadgets and gizmos on it. After you mess with this a little, you'll realize that you are probably leaving a little something on the table. This should definitely get you thinking as to what kind of little changes you can start making to help improve your ET, without ever touching the motor. Consider it a "lie detector" for your chassis setup!