How and where you actuate the chute boils down to personal choice. If you want to spend a second to take you hand off the wheel and push or pull a lever then that is what you should do. This works for a lot of drag racers because they are accustomed to it. We had that type of deal until Johnboy's first spin...
Every hundredth of a second counts, reaction/decision time will eat at least a half a second, chute deployment about a second. At 200, a lot can happen in that 500 ft, worse in the next 500...
I am one of those timid souls that believes at the first feeling of trouble (don't worry, you will know it when it happens) pop the chute, abort the run, try to figure out what went wrong and get back in line. My left thumb shifts the car, and an inch away is the guarded button for the chute. After each shift, the thumb goes to the edge of the guard ring, at the ready.
So set it up anyway that will be easy for you, electric, pneumatic, mechanical doesn't matter, just be prepared to use it to save your butt.
A note of thought, placement can be an issue. At first I wanted the chute in the closest position, and moved across it for the shift, after the glove got the chute button during a shift on a return record run, we switched them back. Yea, they told me it would happen...
