On the burnout thing, you just spin them up w/o holding the brake? I didn't know there was that much room. Once you're done burning, you roll into the staging lane, and then setup to launch in first w/ clutch in. Sounds easy enough, and I'm relatively familiar with when my car wants to spin it's tires. Hopefully I'll do ok, but the fact that my engine is getting redone with H/C/I means I'll have to learn it all over again.
Again.....it depends on what tires you are running. If they are just street tires then just spin them real quick to get whatever is on them off. If you have tires that need to be heated up, then you will need to hold the brake in so that you can stay in place and get the tires roasting. What tires are you going to run?
It's not nearly as hard as you seem to be making it. Just go there, watch a few runs while you are waiting in the pit lanes, and you will get it real easy. It's fun.
Like 5.0GT said. Just get to the track and watch a few cars from the time they leave the staging lanes until they stage and leave. You will catch on. It's a blast and it is SUPER addictive. You will likely have some jitters your first couple passes but that will turn into adrenaline and you will catch on quick. Learn how your car lauches on the street. The track will have a more traction to offer than pavement so you will be able to be a little more aggressive with the loud petal. Not much more but you will see a difference when you make your first pass.
Just like Mike said, the first couple times, you will have some butterflies. My jitters ended as soon as I mashed the gas on my first time down the straight, it turned into pure adrenaline. Leave your car in the pits, and walk up to the stands, just watch a couple cars go. It's intimidating at first, but its far from rocket science. Just relax, your first run will probably not be very well, but its a learning experience! The best way to learn is to just go out and do it, I'm sure you have a good idea of what to do, so you'll be fine.
A couple of tips:
1.Only a quick spin (1 sec) of the street tires is needed for a burnout(make sure not overinflated)
2.Your first run will suck! Your first run should be for experience, not TIME!. So just launch from idle, and take it easy, see how you do. The track/launching just takes time to "get a feel" for it.
3.Remeber to shift out of first! Some people get so worried about launch they forget to shift, first is over in like 1.5 seconds!. My first time, I almost put myself into a wall by launching too hard. (428 w/ 3.73 and mean shift kit )
4.HAVE FUN! It's the best feeling in the world..........ok 2nd best