Prices of commercial Dragway timing systems too daunting? Using a 'thrown away' PC and a bunch of time, an IntelliDrag system might be just the ticket for you.
SECU86 is Standard Engine Control Unit x86. The project goal is to develop a standard computer and OS (opensource) that would work on any car. It'll be based on the x86 processor and will try to replace the poor standard ECU that comes with any car.
Thanks to carefully thought out architecture an emulator for all hardware (i386 i860 sparc hppa SGI Mips Alpha etc) on any hardware. A lot of new theories have gone into this trying to fix old problems.