One of the hallmarks of no-prep drag racing is the unique use of an instant-green Christmas tree — which as technical as it may sound, is really just a standard, every-day .400 pro tree with all of the amber bulbs removed. The concept was borne out of the streets, where drivers typically leave on a flashlight start, or an “instant light.” 

With the amber bulbs installed, drivers competing on a pro tree are presented with a flash before the green, allowing those in categories such as Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Pro Stock Motorcycle to cut nearly perfect elapsed times, and those in the nitro categories to remain consistent in the .050 to .080 range. But take that flash of amber light away, that visual cue, and you have only the green light itself to react to, and so reaction times are abysmal compared to other forms of heads-up racing. 

But, if one anticipates the light — which, we should add, timing systems have some variation in delay built in to keep drivers on their toes — they can leave with a similar reaction time to a traditional tree and get an almost insurmountable lead out of the gate on their competitor. And that’s precisely what some drivers have made attempts to do, with varying levels of success. 

Guessing the light is in fact such a major advantage that it has become a source of constant controversy in the “Street Outlaws No Prep Kings” series. In some instances the practice has allowed otherwise totally-outclassed cars to win rounds and races, and many allied drivers will have a gentleman’s agreement not to do it.

This final round race in 2018 is particularly memorable for a guessed-start by Chris Poncia that gave him a $40,000 victory over the faster and favored car of James “Birdman” Finney

Street racing has historically judged a “jump” by whether or not the tire is wrinkling before the flashlight turns on, and in the absence of any technology to tell them for certain if they left early or not, it’s a perfectly fair way to rule. But at a track with a christmas tree, a timing system, and highly-accurate photo-cells, we have electronics to tell us definitively whether a driver left early. And at the end of the day, at a true racetrack, it’s only a jump if the red light turns on. And so, if you ask us, guessing the light is a completely justifiable and fair tactic that is just one more element of what makes no-prep drag racing the most gangster genre of racing in the sport right now.

You see, guessing the light is putting it all on the line in an audacious fashion that traditional drag racing cannot begin to rival. There, one can roll in a little further or even deep stage and improve their reaction time, but they’re still watching the tree drop and have a visual cue to react to. But a no-prep racer guessing at it is throwing complete caution to the wind and flinging his or her thumb off the transbrake button without seeing ANY lights illuminated (not even the green). It’s a very risky endeavor, and if a driver is willing to assume that risk, they deserve the rewarded, not be scorned, for that willingness to try anything at their disposal to win.

As the controversies ramp up, racers and fans continue to ask why no-prep racing doesn’t just shift to a standard tree — playing devil’s advocate, I would ask, why would you want to water the program down and take away the very real opportunity to see incredible crowd-pleasing upsets?

If it’s not red, it’s green. Change our minds.