Here we go......sorry for the length.
The street racing underground is a colorful mixture of fast cars, turb-charged drivers, and an adrenaline rush that can send a person flying into outerspace. Almost every night of the week, racers across the world gather at a designated strip in their region to challenge the limits of their supped up cars. Over 75 to 200 cars will show up on any given night, bringing with them hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Challengers line up their cars while onlookers set up the start and finish lines. Once the lookouts finish surveying the area for local law enforcement, the go-ahead is given and the cars of off.
In the heyday of street racing, the car of choice was often a big block Chevy or Mustang. Today's drivers chose low price import sports cars like Honda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota. After spending around $10,000 or more modifying the engine, getting a new paint job, detailing the exterior, adding nitrous oxide (NOS), and various other additions, the racer is ready to hit the road. The competition is not only based on the appearance of the car, but more importantly what the car has under the hood. One night, a racer may lose miserably because his engine couldn't supply enough power. The next night, the very same racer may smoke every competitor on the strip because he has invested in a whole new engine with more horsepower. It is a mystery that every racer is eager to unlock on nights at the strip.
Why do these people race, you ask? The answer is simple. As racer Shawn Rousseau states in Vibe's "Racer X," "It's about power. It's about the control of power." The adrenaline rush that drivers receive from street racing is like nothing else. The psychological connection that the driver has with their car, coupled with the intense need for speed acts as a natural high. This turb-charged high escalates when the driver comes out first place in a drag, winning anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 a night.
For the most part, street racing such as that seen in The Fast and the Furious is illegal. However, organizations such as NASCAR, NHRA, and NIRA, frequently set up legal races at designated drag arenas. The difference between legal and illegal street racing is that racing done in the middle of the night on long strips of road or highway is more hazardous than racing in an environment set up specially for racing. City streets used for drag racing often do not offer onlookers the safety of being 50 feet away on bleachers. As a result, a car that loses control crashes into a crowd of people instead of a safety wall, killing and injuring many. Cars raced on city streets also do not always have regulation parts or modifications. Drivers could ultimately be driving a time bomb of metal and gasoline, unaware that at any moment a part of their engine could conflict with a new fuel injection modification and blow them and their car to itty bitty pieces. Legal racing, as said before, takes place in a designated arena with tracks set up specifically for dragging. Signal lights, called Christmas Trees, act as the starter instead of a human waving their arms, and all parts and modifications on cars are regulated and safety approved by the acting organization. This gives the driver and the onlookers an increased amount of safety.
In any event, illegal street racing more dangers than legal street racing. The number one reason being that in the event of an accident, the driver, passengers, or people hit by the car may die or be severely injured. More deaths caused by racing are attributed to illegal racing each year. The following are just some of the incidents that have occurred due to street racing.
New Orleans - Innocent bystanders watching an illegal drag race were injured when hit by a car gone out of control. Eight people injured, two critically.
Lexington, Kentucky - Hahn Th. Diep, 17, and Caspur Mathew Snelling, 17, arrested and charged for illegal street racing and reckless homicide. Diep's two year old son, Ethan Ming Diep, and 16 year old friend, Krystle Ann Lovett, were killed when Diep lost control of her car after being hit by a truck.
Miami, Florida - Dwgighht Samples is driving his 1987 Mustang when challenged on an open road by another Mustang. Samples crashes into the back of a Chevrolet Cavalier which happened to be owned by his mother. Sample's mother and passenger were instantly killed. Sample now serves a 30 year sentence in prison and a fine of $20,000.
Gresham, Oregon - Edgar Islas-Moran, 20, loses control of his Ford Mustang during a Saturday night drag race and slams into a tree, killing an 11-year old girl in his backbit.
The NHRA is the National Hot Rod Association, started by Wally Parks in 1951. Since then, the NHRA has worked to organize a safe environment for drag racing. Today, the NHRA holds drag races around the country for hot rods and import cars alike.
Here is the NHRA's official position concerning illegal drag racing.
NHRA statement concerning illegal street racing
06/27/2001
GLENDORA, Calif. (June 27, 2001) - NHRA President Tom Compton addresses the NHRA's position on illegal street racing following the release of The Fast and the Furious by Universal Pictures:
"The National Hot Rod Association does not endorse the illegal street racing activities depicted in the current movie, The Fast and the Furious. The illegal street racing portrayed in the movie is not drag racing. Drag racing is an organized sport for high-performance vehicles conducted on a safer, controlled race course.
"During our 50-year history, the NHRA has worked tirelessly to improve safety for competitors and fans attending drag racing events. In fact, the NHRA was formed in 1951 by Wally Parks to take hot rod enthusiasts off the streets by providing racing opportunities at organized venues. Working with civic leaders and law enforcement officers to accomplish his vision, Parks developed what has evolved into the premier sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing.
"Today the NHRA operates as the world's largest motorsports organization, with more than 80,000 members and 5,500 events nationwide where 35,000 licensed racers and some 300,000 amateur racers compete and race on a weekly basis. These enthusiasts compete at our 140 member tracks, located throughout the United States. At the highest level, we offer our NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series, a 24-race tour throughout the United States with an exclusive broadcast package on the ESPN network. It has been, and always will be, our primary mission to be "Dedicated to Safety," a slogan which was a mainstay of our logo for many years and one that still represents the spirit of NHRA as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.
"Earlier this year, NHRA developed, created and invested in the Summit Import Drag Racing Series, which features a national schedule for Import racers with national television coverage on ESPN2. Sensing an increase of illegal street racing activities taking place among import enthusiasts, we designed this series to provide an avenue to educate this segment on all the activities currently offered at NHRA member tracks to get them off the streets and into a safer, controlled racing environment.
"In addition, NHRA, along with its member tracks, offers the NHRA Street Legal Program providing, in many cases, weekly opportunities for fans of drag racing to participate in a safer and controlled environment. It is still one of the only experiences of its kind to provide a place for enthusiasts to take their street-legal vehicles and race.
"Recognizing the inherent problem in the birthplace of drag racing, Southern California, NHRA, along with the California Speedway in Fontana, last week unveiled the newest quarter-mile track for the NHRA Street Legal series. We continue to work, not only in Southern California, but also across the country, with individuals to build and support similar tracks designed primarily to service the casual racer.
"Finally, we offer competition opportunities for youths ages 8 to 17 in our popular Castrol GTX Junior Drag Racing League, which educates young kids about the pitfalls associated with illegal drag racing and the need to participate in organized events to quench their thirst for side-by-side racing activities."
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., the NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. It presents 24 national events through its NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series. The NHRA has more than 80,000 members nationwide and more than 140 member tracks. The NHRA-sanctioned sportsman and bracket racing series' provide competition opportunities for drivers of all levels. The NHRA develops the stars of tomorrow by offering the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series, NHRA Summit Racing Series, NHRA Summit Import Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Street Legal Program. The NHRA also offers the NHRA Castrol GTX Jr. Drag Racing League for youths ages 8 to 17.
Thans to
this site which probibly got it from somplace else, but its summed up pretty well.