Give Me A Brake
You would never race with one foot on the brake pedal-so why do it with a rubbing brake shoe or pad? Brake drag is the number one killer of elapsed time.
Since the early '80s GM has employed "quick take up" calipers that release from the engaged position almost immediately and do not allow the pad to contact the rotor when not engaged. But for this system to work properly the caliper slides/pins and all movement points must be free of rust, dirt, and corrosion, and be lubricated properly with a silicone, or equivalent, caliper grease.
The brake rotors need to be machined (turned) on a lathe. Any warpage will cause friction by contacting the brake pad even though the caliper is released.
Front wheel bearings should be serviced properly and repacked, and bearing preload needs to be set. A loose wheel bearing will allow the wheel to actually shimmy slightly (you will not feel this in the car) and consume power. If the car has rear disc brakes, the same service procedure would apply.
Rear drum brakes must have the drums turned to make sure they are round and not rubbing on the shoes. Periodically, the brake shoes should be removed, the backing plate cleaned and lubricated, and then adjusted. If the vehicle is older, new return springs should be used to quicken the take-up process after the brake pedal is released.
The emergency/parking brake with either type of system can't be allowed to cause brake drag. Drum brake systems are very sensitive to cable adjustment. Some disc brake systems (Impala SS, Corvette, etc.) used a small drum and shoe set for the emergency brake. The system should be in full working order and creating no drag.
 Brake rotor runout should...  Brake rotor runout should be monitored with a dial indicator attached to a magnetic stand. When it becomes excessive, have the rotors turned. |  Though it may not be as obvious...  Though it may not be as obvious as a box in the trunk, search for non-essential items that add weight to the car. |  The frontend should be checked...  The frontend should be checked for any play in the suspension that would cause excessive correction while going down the track. |
 If skinny front tires are...  If skinny front tires are not to be used, raise the air pressure to around 50 psi at the track to reduce rolling resistance. |  Racing with an excessive amount...  Racing with an excessive amount of gasoline in the tank can add up: enough to equal carrying a small person as a passenger! |  Use a chassis dyno session...  Use a chassis dyno session to determine the engine speed where peak torque and horsepower occur. Use this data for shift points along with torque converter and rear gear ratio selection. |
Scrubbing Down The Track
On a dedicated race car a great deal of attention is paid to the toe out of the front wheels under hard acceleration when the weight transfer is to the rear. On a street/strip car an alignment setting having the front wheels with zero toe (completely straight) under acceleration would result in extreme tire wear during normal driving and poor handling. Thus, this setting could not be employed by most readers.
The manufacturer specification for alignment should be followed, but brought to the exact value and not just in tolerance. What this means is that if the specification provides a range, both front wheels should be exactly at the same setting and not at opposite ends of the acceptable allowance. Many modern four-wheel alignment machines will identify the proper tolerance and will light up green if both wheels are in that range. That is not good enough. This often results in a toe or camber setting that is different on each front tire. You need to work with an alignment shop that will take the time to duplicate the wheel settings on each side and not accept a tolerance. This is analogous to having a spark plug gap range of 0.035 inch to 0.042 inch, and setting one side of the engine at the lower end of the value and the other at the upper end. In theory all eight spark plugs would be in "spec," but the burn rates on each cylinder would be varied. It's also a good idea to have the shop align the car with you in the driver seat, since the weight will affect the setting.
The ride height of the vehicle should be confirmed. This is done by measuring from the ground to the top of the wheelwell opening. As a vehicle gets older, spring sag will occur (especially on the driver side) and will affect the orientation of the body and its relationship to the wheel alignment.