Noses on the Line: Individual launch pods enable cars of different lengths to be aligned with their noses on the starting line. Older, one-piece launchers don't allow for this. More Tips

The Launch

Click to view the launch. When the launch button is pushed, an electronic impulse simulta- neously triggers the two launch pods, activating the steel firing pins and starting the digital timers. Identical holes are punched in the cartridges of the two cars. The previously confined, liquid CO2 instantly begins to boil and escape from the nozzle. The action-reaction principle takes over, thrusting the cars away from the launcher and toward the finish line.

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