Drag racing is usually over a quarter mile straightaway (although eighth mile races do exist). The elapsed time (ET) is probably the most important statistic in a drag race. Time ranges and the corresponding class of car are displayed below:
17+ seconds: Beaters (Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel)
16 seconds: 4-cyl. economy cars (Oldsmobile Alero)
15 seconds: "Sporty" cars (Toyota Celica)
14 seconds: "Sporty" cars (Mustang, Honda S2000)
13 seconds: F-bodies (Camaro, Firebird)
12 seconds: Performance Cars (Corvette, Viper)
11 seconds: Lightly modified Performance or Pony Cars
10 seconds: Moderately modified performance or pony cars
9 seconds: Seriously modified performance or pony cars
7-8 seconds: Heavily modified performance or pony cars
6 seconds: Alcohol Funny Cars, Top Alcohol dragsters
5 seconds: Funny cars, Top fuel dragsters