I used to do the OCR (Orange County Racewaypark) thing for a few years back in the 70s! Bracket racing every Wed night and Saturday. Your e.t.'s are respectible although inconsistent, but you react like a deer in the headlights!
A good reaction time is as close to .400 as possible without being under (or you'll red light).
Staging the car... generally a mind game as to who stages first, but always stage very "lite". That is, inch up just enough to barely trip the second staging beam. This gives you more of a rolling start, which leads to better E.Ts