1. Put in neutral and slightly give it some gas (rev no higher than like 2 or 3K)
2. Depress brake as far as possible
3. Let off gas, go back to idle
4. Shift into 1 or D4 or whatever
5. Are you still holding down the break? Good.
6. Give it as much gas as you can while holding the break
7. When the guy drops his hands... err... I mean when the tree hits green give it full gas and release the break.
^-- How to race an automatic in 7 easy steps