By my/NHRA's definition, a "race" is begun as soon as a driver brings his/her car into the pre-stage beams. Once you turn those lights on with your front tires, you've raced. No as for how a dealer/insurance looks at it, I'm not sure. I'd guess that once its teched in and has been taken out onto the race surface (burnout box, staging, track, etc.) they would consider it having been raced. Edit - Never answered your original question. It is considered a race whether its a solo pass or a competition pass.