DEFINITION
A Chase Run is the run during a battle where you are the chase car. Each tandem battle consists of two chase runs — one for each driver — and judges grade them as a pair.
The chase run is what most fans remember from a battle: doors brushing, bumpers tapping, the chaser glued to the lead's rear quarter. A great chase run can flip a battle even if your own lead run was only average.
HISTORY & ORIGIN
Chase runs emerged as the deciding factor in tandem judging because two perfect lead runs are nearly impossible to separate — but two chase runs almost always reveal which driver had more car control.
TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN
The pace is set by the lead car. Your job is to be there at every reference point — initiation, first apex, transition, second apex, exit — at the same angle and the smallest gap. Bigger angle than the lead is risky (you slow down and create a gap); smaller angle costs proximity points. Mirror exactly.
PRO TIPS & COMMON MISTAKES
• If the lead spins, judges grade your reaction — avoiding contact wins points, running into them loses them.
• Don't pass the lead car. Even if you can, you'll be marked down.
• Stay throttle-on through transitions; that's how you maintain proximity.
His chase run was so close the lead driver thought there'd been contact.