Chris.... just for the fun of it, try to enrole in a performance driving school. There are many good ones around.
The first thing they'll tell you is to slow down. The faster you'd want to go, the slower you would be around the race track. You will learn that going fast, real fast, is much more than pushing the right pedal to the metal. I'll bet you that an average good race driver will have you watch his rear lights (with identical cars) with a 3/4in wooden block under his gas pedal.
Traffic lights drag races really do not impress many people. Real performance is much more than a quick 0-60.
JackD