Consistency key for this bracket dragster

For those who think drag racing is a mindless exercise of pushing the pedal to the floor full throttle and hoping you plant your tires across the finish line 1,320 feet in the other direction, they’ve likely never been exposed to the competitive world of bracket racing.

Growing up in the 1960s, Ralph Ledlich remembers heading out to 75-80 Dragway to watch amateurs go head to head. Ledlich, who began his own racing career at 18, has owned his share of race cars. His current 1927 Ford was purchased after he rolled a 1970 Plymouth Duster, blowing the head gasket, and sending the car a quarter mile down the track on its roof. Ledlich survived thanks to the use of a roll cage, but the car was twisted so badly, it was beyond repair.

In 2001, the ’27 Ford was in the possession of a friend who had left it to waste away in his garage. After a negotiation that had Ledlich pay out some money and swap some parts, the Ford came home with him and was immediately graduated to race status after the inclusion of a larger roll cage, which also added approximately 20 extra feet of tubing to fortify the structural integrity of the frame.

The car, which participates in IHRA and NHRA events, has a sophisticated electronics system. Ledlich who will “footrace” the car, manually shifting it down the track, prefers a preparatory firing switch, common to Class One bracket racing, called a starting line enhancer which causes the throttle to come to idle. When Ledlich pushes that button as he waits at the starting line, the enhancer takes over. While many racers are concerned how quickly they can make contact with the pedal, Ledlich’s reaction time is solely dependent upon his finger and the calculations he’s dialed in to the car’s delay box that counts down with the light tree from red to green.

“Bracket racing,” said Ledlich, “is not about how fast you can get down the track. It’s all about how consistent your times are on each pass.”

Ledlich, who attended 12 races this year as well as the finals in Rockingham, said the money is there, but it’s also a full-time commitment, one which doesn’t always work with his own schedule as a truck driver.

The car itself, which sports a 440 six-pack, has something of an identity crisis that Ledlich is all too happy to exploit. The ’27 Ford body is powered by Mopar. The obscure body allows him to double the car as a ’26 Dodge, since, in Ledlich’s words, they looked the same.

“Most people don’t know what a ’27 Ford looks like. I can go to a Ford show and I can put a Ford emblem on it. I don’t have Ford power but I have a Ford body. For Mopar meets, I’ve got the engine, so I just put a Dodge emblem on the front and away we go,” said Ledlich.

What do you drive? A 1927 Ford.

Why do you drive it? It’s enjoyable. I enjoy racing. But I enjoy preparing just as much as going to the track. Getting the oil, unloading the car, packing the car up and coming home. I’m a truck driver, that’s what I do.

What makes your car so special? Most of the cars I run with in Top Eliminator and Super Pro are much faster than me. I’m probably a 10.10 car. I run with cars over 200 mph. I’m competitive because my car is a slug, but its setup is very consistent. My car doesn’t overpower the conditions of the traction compound. I’ve lost more races giving the win light back to the guy.

What is your most memorable driving experience? I’ve been going to 75-80 since the ’60s and I’ve never won a top dog meet. That’s when you beat everybody, and nobody beats you. If you win SuperPro, you run the winner of Pro and Street. And I won the last top dog race at 75-80 before they closed. I have a 5-foot trophy. That was my best race. That night I was just clicking.

What was the first car you owned? I had a ’49 Ford 2-door. It was a piece of work. Cut the bumpers off of it. Wanted to chop the top but my dad wouldn’t let me.