GTA 5 Online Drag Races: A beginner's guide to master it

Drag Race is a new racing event in GTA 5 Online. Data miners had discovered it in The Chop Shop update's files shortly after the DLC was released, but it was officially added to the multiplayer on January 25, 2024, as part of a weekly update. While the competition involves a simple race to the finish line, some additional mechanics help in performing better.

It should also be noted that all Drag Races offer double the usual money and RP through January 31, 2024. For those interested, here is a beginner's guide to mastering Drag Races in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online.

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Everything to know about GTA 5 Online Drag Races

The January 25, 2024, GTA Online weekly update introduced seven Drag Races to the multiplayer. Each of them takes place across different locations in Los Santos and Blaine County. However, before the competition starts, you must select a car.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Online vehicles from the Tuners, Muscle, and Sports categories can be chosen for these races. According to popular YouTuber, Gtamen, the best cars for Drag Races in the aforementioned categories are the Karin Calico GTF, Vapid Pisswasser Dominator, and Invetero Coquette D10, respectively.

The top speeds of these cars, when fully upgraded, are 121.25 mph (195.13 km/h), 126.50 mph (203.58 km/h), and 130.00 mph (209.21 km/h), respectively, as per expert Grand Theft Auto vehicle YouTuber, Broughy1322. Needless to say, these are pretty impressive statistics and shall help in winning GTA 5 Online Drag Races.

However, there is much more to these competitions than just speed. Before a race starts, you will engage in a tire warm-up mini-game. Hold the button prompted in the screen's top left corner to accelerate your vehicle and tap the same button to keep the speedometer (displayed in the bottom right) dial in the blue area.

Maintain the dial in the blue area (Image via YouTube/Gtamen)

Achieving a good burnout in this phase helps in getting more traction off the line. Once the race begins, you can receive small speed boosts via the Shift Up mechanic; the button to use it will be displayed in the bottom right corner. Press this button whenever the speedometer dial is in the blue area. That said, this section will get smaller progressively, so you must have perfect timing.

Using Shift Up right after kickoff can help in getting a good start. Additionally, a nitrous boost will be made available during the competition. Another trick to boost your vehicle's speed without nitrous or the shifts is curb boosting. This involves stepping on and off the edge of pavements and similar surfaces, which increases your vehicle's speed momentarily.

That said, this trick must be executed carefully to avoid crashing. Traffic can also be a challenge, so be alert. Lastly, though Drag Races will be paying 2x cash and RP through January 31, one can make much more using GTA Online money glitches.