Here's what works best for me. A good friend and I both race the same class. We always get on the drivers stand with 1 or 2 people inbetween us. During the race, we talk to each other non stop telling jokes and anything else that will make us laugh. It calms our nerves and distracts the drivers around us. I've seen a couple of people get pretty pissed, but it is what it is. We don't do it to distract them, it's just a byproduct of what works.
Last time we raced togther, my motor flamed on the start. By the time my pit guy got it fired up and back on the track, I was 1 1/2 laps behind the entire field of 12. In an 8 minute race, I pulled all the way up to 6th and finished on the same lap as the leader. I was able to do so because I gave up when my motor flamed and didn't care. I just used it as practice and had fun. We laughed the entire 8 minutes.