Pinks

"Pinks" is a series of television programs on Speed Channel based on drag racing. The original debuted in 2005, with the spinoff "Pinks: All Out" following in 2006. The name of the show, and the tagline "Lose the race - lose your ride", refer to common slang of "pink slips" representing a vehicles title document recording ownership, and the derivative street-racing phrase, "racing for pinks," meaning a race in which the winner earns the loser's car.

The series airs on the Speed Channel in the United States and Canada, and also airs on Fox Sports 3 in Australia.

how overview

Two competitors compete in a drag race (although there was a stepladder shifter kart race in Series 1) with the winner claiming ownership of the losing vehicle.

The race format has been changed slightly through each season:
* Early Series 1 (2005): 2 out of 3 races
* Later Series 1-Series 4 (2005-2007): 3 out of 5 races
* Series 5 (2008): 4 out of 7 races

As the show starts, the host, staff, and contestants sign a binding contract that will transfer the legal title of the two cars in question to Pullin Television, the production company of the show. Since the production company owns the vehicles it guarantees that the show will award the titles to both cars to the winner of the race and eliminates the chance that the loser will refuse to forfeit his/her car after the race.

Negotiations

Each team is allowed to inspect the opposing team's car to attempt to assess its performance before negotiations for the first race, or in cases where the negotiations are not held for the first race, before the second. Each team chooses a negotiator to act as its spokesperson to discuss the terms of each round. In recent seasons, the first round of each match is often held without negotiation except for terms over the use of nitrous oxide, and features a heads-up start (each car side by side with no time or length handicap)

Negotiations generally deal with starting position, similar to bracket racing (except it is negotiated in car lengths, not seconds), nitrous use, and other such issues, the purpose being to handicap the perceived stronger car and create an even race. Starting in Series 5, negotiating car setup for bracket racing times are permitted. After the negotiations (which can last considerably longer than what is shown), the cars are sent to the start line for the burnout.

Race

Prior to each race, the cars are allowed to perform a burnout, after which they are staged according to the negotiated starting positions (if any). If a track official finds suspicious fluids leaking on the track, he may order the car shut down and the round automatically forfeited to the opponent. If there are mechanical or weather questions, the race may be delayed. In some cases, a show taping may be called off if the weather prevents a full race from being filmed.

"Pinks" uses a street-race-style arm-drop start rather than the "Christmas Tree" electronic starting system used in modern drag racing. The show's signature start signal was devised by show creator and host Rich Christensen. Christensen points at the driver of the car on his right (left lane), waits for the driver to respond with a thumbs up, then drops that arm. Christensen then repeats this with the driver on his left (right lane). Next, Christensen raises both arms, waits for 2 - 5 seconds and then lowers his arms to start the race.

Officials, both from the show (since Series 2) and track, observe conditions and tape them for replay in case of false starts (leaving before the hands drop), race infractions (standard drag racing rules apply), and photo finishes. In the case of a photo finish, the video tape of the finish is brought to the start line to allow the teams to agree on the result.

Fouls

As in drag racing, the following are declared fouls on "Pinks" and the offender loses the round:
* Leaving before Christensen drops his hands. It is a clean start if the car moves once the hands begin dropping. Officials may use replay to verify the legality of a start. If a driver leaves as soon as the hand begins to drop from its highest point, a driver is said to have "tree'd" their opponent.
** If both cars jump, the first to jump loses (red light).
** Rich will often point at the offending lane if he spots the infraction.
* Crossing either boundary line
* Leaking fluid during staging
* Breaking down and not finishing the run
* Starting in Series 5, if negotiations call for bracket race rules, and one car clearly breaks out while the opponent does not break out, that can be grounds for disqualification.
** Technical advisors will determine time through the timing traps as the scoreboard is turned off, officials still have the ability to observe track timing through the electronic timing system.
** Times will be taken from standard points at the track and compared to the times from the vehicle's earlier races in order to see where the car "breaks out", with the timing of the racer's start taken into account.
** The standard timing points in drag racing, excluding the 60-feet time (which Pinks does not use because of the nature of head starts), used by officials are at:
*** 330 feet
*** 660 feet
*** 1,000 feet
*** 1,320 feet
** It is important that times be compared all along the track as opposed to merely the finish line as a driver, once he has reason to believe he's going to win the race, can easily "pedal" or "fender" his opponent giving him smaller margin of victory, and a higher lap time.

Winning

The match ends when one driver has won the said number of rounds above (2, 3, or 4). After Christensen debriefs the two teams on the previous race, he announces the winner. He then hands the title of both cars to the race winner, and often the winner drives the loser's car down the strip after claiming the car by winning the match. A team may also concede because of a catastrophic breakdown. In the spirit of sportsmanship, such a win will often not include the loser's car and often calls for a rematch on a later episode, believing that they will not take the car unless it was a clear win on the track, and not by default.

Notes

A common occurrence is "set matches", such as import vs. domestic, new vs. old models of a certain make, or races of popular former cars, such as current technical advisor Charles Hendrickson's "Woolly Mammoth", an altered 1976 Chevrolet Vega wagon that beat several more sporty cars. Other matches have featured motorcycles, trucks, and even snowmobiles.

Recent shows have been sponsored (with prizes going to the winner such as free Bridgestone tires or several cases of Shell Q Motor Oil), with Series Four featuring NAPA Auto Parts as the series presenting sponsor for both the regular and All Out series, owing to the show's growing popularity. Current sponsors are NAPA and Valvoline.

The arm-drop start prevents bracket racers from using the delay box, a popular device that is typically used in this genre of drag racing. Typically, with the Christmas tree, the delay box is designed to allow a driver to press the throttle pedal on the second amber, allowing the box to launch the car one second, or in the case on the third amber, a half-second later. The arm drop's unpredictability prevents this popular technique from being used, which forces drivers to watch the official to launch the car.

In 2008, the American Drag Racing League was forced to a Pinks-style arm drop start for the final two rounds of their 1/8 mile races when lightning damaged the Christmas tree at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.

On the May 28, 2006 episode of "WindTunnel with Dave Despain", the show's producer and host Rich Christensen claimed that some losing racers tried to buy back the vehicle after the race, which Rich tried to eliminate in later seasons. However, one race resulted in a win by default when the engine block overheated, leading to a win by "catastrophic failure". In the spirit of sportsmanship, the winner gave the car back to the loser, noting that a win by default caused by such severe mechanical failure is improper, and promised a future rematch. On multiple episodes Rich has allowed a car that has lost due to mechanical failure to be granted back or purchased back by its original owner so it may be raced again. In each of these cases the original episode was unusable due to the nature of the catastrophic failure, so had another race not been held, the episodes likely would have never aired.

Pinks: All Out

"Pinks: All Out" is a drag racing competition, organized by the show producers. The goal is to take up to 400 cars, run them in trial runs to see which 16 cars will provide the most competitive racing, then race those 16 cars against each other, all in the course of one day. Ten one hour shows were produced for 2007. The first nine shows begin airing July 12. The show has been renewed for a second series, and taping for 2008 will begin early in the year.

Qualifying

As the show opens, a scene shows Rich Christensen discussing how many cars have filed for entry, usually between 250-400. As cars prepare to compete, they are inspected by track officials generally including technical advisors Charles Hendrickson, and former Pinks contestant turned technical advisor Brian Bossone, and cars are eliminated for problems that may lead to mechanical failure the most notable of which being fluids spilled onto the track, as that can take an hour or more to clean up so racing may resume. The cars take part in a series of trial runs, using the Christmas Tree, but with a Pro Tree (all three ambers light at the same time, then the green four-tenths later) instead of the Standard Tree (each amber five-tenths after the other), and with the track clocks running.

At the end of the session, the show officials then determine the most competitive field (not necessarily the fastest) by finding a grouping of cars whose race time are very close together. Those cars are asked to return to the strip for an additional timed run to ensure there is no sandbagging. This time, the clock displays are turned off so that only "Pinks" officials know the elapsed time of the cars. For these runs, the "Christmas tree" is turned off, and either Rich or Kail Christensen start the run with the show's signature arm-drop start. Sixteen cars, known as the "All Out 16", are then chosen by the producers to compete in the main portion of the competition. The cars are not formally bracketed, so the producers and technical officials may determine the race by car types, driver types, or any manner which they may choose. However the competition is generally limited to what the technical advisors (most notably Nate Pritchett with help from brother Adam Pritchett, and with council from Rich and Kael Christiansen) decide is the "most competitive" field. In many cases they will attempt to come up with something interesting to further qualify the field, for example a slower class being allowed to earn a spot in the final 16, but in every case the idea is to find a full class of at least 16 cars in which each car is running within a tenth to 2 tenths of a second of each other.

In both cases, the idea is to once again weed out teams that use the delay box, since the Pro Tree would throw off Sportsman racers whose reaction times are based on using a delay box (.500 or 1.000 seconds delay from throttle to launch), and the arm drop is based on a driver's reflexes, and not anything artificial.

The faster official time that is registered in the track computers will form the basis of the "dial-in" time which will be referenced during the race.

In the July 2007 taping session at Milan Dragway (MI), the All Out 16 was forced, because of the number of cars that participated, to "hold" their positions in 16 drag races where they would race against other formidable opponents. It was the only time the race included 32 instead of the standard 16 cars, until the June 6th, 2008 session at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Race

First round

Each pair of cars races a single race without negotiations, using the signature "Pinks" arm-drop start. The winner wins $1,000, while the loser is eliminated. Standard drag racing rules apply, with drivers being eliminated for infractions. In Pinks: All Out, breakout rules (generally refers to running faster than your dial-in, but on Pinks: All Out refers to running considerably faster than the fastest official time of the 16 cars) do apply and Nate Pritchett, with the aid of his brother Adam, will review elapsed times in the timing tower to ensure no violation of breakout rules apply (two thumbs up). If a thumbs-down signal is given, the official has deemed a breakout violation, awarding the loser of the race the win.

econd and third rounds

For each round leading up to the final, the driver's total cash winnings to that point may be used as betting money. Drivers may bet as much as they wish in each round. Titles and money that was not awarded for a victory may not be bet. In addition to advancing to the next round, the winner gets whatever money their opponent bet, if any.

During the 2007 round taped at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all 16 All Out drivers agreed to bet all winnings for an "all in" tournament. No other taping has featured the all-in format.

Championship round

After the third round, the two remaining teams determine lane choice and betting. In many circumstances at this point Rich Christiansen will suggest the finalists duel for the prize money only. Then, the cars race in a best two-out-of-three match. Unless requested by a competitor because of a mechanical problem or in case of inclement weather, the cars must be driven back to the starting line on their own power between rounds and be staged for another race immediately. Once the cars are back at the staging area, the process for the next race begins immediately. This is referred to as "hot lapping". The winner of the finals, in addition to any money bet by their opponent, also during the drivers also compete for a $10,000 cash prize and a tool chest with tools valued at over $7,000 from NAPA Auto Parts.

The only exception to this format came during the February 17, 2007 taping at Moroso Motorsports Park. An excessive number of track incidents (oil downs, crashes, debris) slowed the process, where the main elimination rounds started after midnight. With excessively low temperatures when the semifinal rounds were to start after 2:15 AM, the race was called after the second round by mutual consent of the four drivers remaining because of lane conditions. All four drivers split the $10,000 evenly, and one driver, as chosen by the others, won the tool chest.

andbagging

The All Out format was created because of Rich Christensen’s displeasure with ‘sandbagging’ - feathering or decelerating to create a false elapsed time and hide actual performance - on the original "Pinks". This format, where brothers and technical directors Adam and Nate Pritchett rigorously select a group of closely-matched cars, was made to provide the drama associated with closer racing.

To prevent sandbagging, if a car runs considerably faster than what they ran in practice during any elimination round, they are automatically disqualified ("Breakout").

The show was originally to be titled "Ultimate Racer" but was later changed to the current "All Out" subtitle, a reference that the car is running at its maximum during the race. [ [http://www.speedtv.com/speed/press.php?p=27009] ]

Quick Eight

During taping sessions in 2007 and 2008, officials grew suspicious excessive sandbagging was taking place among racers. Some racers, the officials thought, were running slower times than their cars could run in an attempt to run "in the pack" where they predicted the crew would choose for the All Out 16.

In response to that, some 2008 rounds added a Quick Eight format, where the eight fastest cars would make one championship pass down the strip. The driver with the fastest elapsed time wins $10,000 and a second NAPA toolchest.

taff

The show is hosted by Rich Christensen, who also employs his cousin Kail as an official. Former contestants Charles Hendrickson and Nathan Pritchett (the only person to have run matches with both a car and a motorcycle) are assigned to each team as technical advisors. Gavin Jerome is the roving public address announcer. Former contestant Brian Bossone has also been utilized as a technical adviser.

Attendance

Normally attendance at live tapings is high, with amateur races and concerts (usually featuring The Nadas, who perform the original show's ending theme "Walk Away") bookending the televised races.

In the June 29-30, 2007 taping of "Pinks: All Out" at Milan (MI) Dragway, 33,000 spectators attended the taping with 350 cars attempting to compete for the 16 slots. [ [http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/071507/aut_20070715007.shtml Pinks — All Out! 07/15/07 ] ]

On December 3, 2007, the 400 entries for a June 7, 2008 taping of "Pinks: All Out" at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, were filled in 12 minutes. [ [http://www.norwalkraceway.com/main-news1/pinks-all-out-fills-400-entries-in-12-minutes/ PINKS: ALL OUT FILLS 400 ENTRIES IN 12 MINUTES — Summit Motorsports Park ] ]

On January 6, 2008, the 400 entries for a July 25, 2008 taping of "Pinks: All Out" at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, were filled in under 1 minute.

Production

The show is produced by Pullin Television

Original music is composed and performed by Max Carl

References

External links

* [http://www.episodeworld.com/show/Pinks Pinks] at "EpisodeWorld.com"
* [http://www.pinks.tv Pinks Official Page] at "Pinks.tv"