Why?
 Bracket racing is a form of drag racing whereby vehicles of different performance levels can compete on a potentially even basis. The anticipated elapsed times are compared for each vehicle, with the slower car receiving a head start equal to the difference of the two. With this system, virtually any two vehicles can be paired in a competitive drag race..

How it works
 If car A chooses a dial of 16.00 seconds and car B chooses a dial of 14.50, car A will get a 1.5-second head start. The win will goes to the driver who crosses the finish line first.  In TrakMate software simply enter the dial-in for both drivers and the tree will come down staggered giving one lane the appropriate head start.

Disqualifications
If a driver runs quicker than his or her dial, he or she is said to break out and is disqualified. If both drivers run quicker than their dials, the win goes to the driver who breaks out by the least. A foul start, or red-light, takes precedent over a breakout, so a driver who red-lights is automatically disqualified even if his or her opponent breaks out.  If both red-light the driver who red-lighted first loses.  TrakMate Drag software takes care of all this and will display appropriate winner

Choosing a Dialin
For example: car "A" has recorded times of 17.78, 17.74, and 17.76, and the driver feels that a "dial-in" of 17.74 is appropriate. Meanwhile,  driver "B", has recorded times of 15.27, 15.22, and 15.26 on the same track, and has opted for a dial-in of 15.22. Accordingly, car "A" will get a 2.5 second (17.75-15.25=2.5) head start over car "B" when the Tree counts down to each car's starting green light.

Strategy
Picking a Dialin that is too slow and you are more likely to break out. Pick a Dial-in that is too quick and you will receive less of a head start or your opponent will receive more of a head start.  Having a car that runs consistent ETs will help.