Advice for beginner wanting get into drag racing?

You can either "spend money" and get the latest NHRA rules, or Google around and download recent copies. That is a must, at the least. Read the rules, and get some idea of what class you will be "in", and check the car accordingly.

At some level, you'll need a roll bar, and at some level, you'll need a certified cage. If you have either a trunk mount fuel cell or certain types of trunk battery, you'll need a firewall in the truck, and it must be so thick steel, and so thick for aluminum.

There are safely rules concerning such things as wheel studs, and if you are "quick enough" to need race restraints (belts) as opposed to factory belts, these much be certified or replaced every two years.

Then there's the special crap. Things like throttle stops, computers, RPM steppers, transmission locks, and so on. Some classes don't allow this stuff.

Unless your local track(s) are uncertified (non NHRA) backyard low ball (and probably uninsured) operations, gone are the days of showing up with some junk jalopy and running anyhow. Your, and others, lives depend on it.