Is there any way to get a better jump at drag races?  I have compared my straight up reaction time (waiting for a green light to appear then pressing the button), to the couple times I got lucky and timed the launch almost simultaneous to the green light.  I have figured out I have a 150ms-200ms reaction time which is pretty normal within human parameters.  So by waiting for a green light, I am hurting all my drag times by 200ms!  I am struggling to win these harder drag races without spending a shxt ton of GC!!??

Any help would be appreciated.

EDIT: I'm specifically having trouble with the Gauntlet event, Day 5 (last day) Goal 1.  I have 18 of 31 upgrades (all the go-fast GC upgrades) and I still can't win!  And dumbing down the bot's is difficult!