Fast Cars

That’s what they call street racing in Moscow and that’s why they don’t like it either.

Tell me, does this look like a “juiced-up street racer” or anything that is “dangerously” fast?

This is not the first time this has happened either. Last year a North Middleton Twp. man was charged in a street racing case that involved a wiretapping charge. Police claimed the man ordered associates to tape police breaking up an illegal race after officers told him to turn off their cameras.

Man what is up with this story? Arjun Atwal, the first PGA Tour player from India, allegedly was street racing someone who crashed and was killed. Atwal’s BMW made the corner and his opponent’s Mercedes didn’t I guess.

Drag racing is best described as a tournament consisting of a two-car straight-line race. It is an all-out acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles over an exact distance. Professional drag strips are available for public use all over the world, but the illegal street racing culture has popularized drag racing nowadays in such a way that most common folks think of drag racing as a bunch of sticker-clad street cars causing mayhem at night. Well, whatever gets you going, it is a fact that the launch becomes the deciding factor in any drag race where the machinery is equal.

And this is Street Racing Team “Moskvich” , those cars Moskvich were named after Moscow. This team introduces a wooden style. The tuning is not so heavy, for sure wood is much light in weight than steel.

Video clip showing a collection of illegal street racing aka drag racing

I was surprised to recently learn that apparently, in California getting caught street racing is only a misdemeanor (i.e., there’s generally only a fine associated with it). However, as the phenomenon of street racing (and the injuries and deaths because of it) continues unabated, new legislation is being proposed that would reclassify street racing as a felony:

Two teens were street racing in Toronto when they both slammed into a taxi cab, killing the driver instantly. They are now being held on charges of criminal negligence. The twist on the story is this - a copy of the video game Need for Speed was found in the front seat in one of the vehicles. People are now wondering if this accident was caused by the video game…. go figure.

This drag racing submission, which is not so unlike one of my own first attempts at short story writing, is clearly the work of someone who has a voice but not a whole lot to say… yet. Don’t get me wrong, I love stories about cars and street racing (I own a Mustang with a cold-air induction system that I installed myself), and I love stories about those forbidden, unpredictable, dangerous places that young people go to raise hell. Somehow, though, this story is lacking in a real resolution. The odd things that happen to the drivers on the track are interesting, and the pace of the story is excellent, but there’s no explanation or revalation or even resolution. It was like reading the first section of a longer story. The narrative voice in this piece is very strong, and once Mr. Green finally settles on a plot and/or a set of characters that not only mean something to him but actually describe something significant and entertaining, I have no doubt that he will be a very proficient writer.

Yamaha R1 vs. Porsche Carrera4 on the racetrack.

but then I was thinking. What if my neighbors read this thing?!?!? What if the police officer who lives across the street comes on here and reads about us street racing on the weekends.

I’m going racing this weekend. Yep… Sai is going to be a bad girl and go street racing. I’m getting my license suspended sometime next week, so what else do I have to loose? Frankly, I don’t care anymore. So far, there are 3 other people going. We’re all planning to race each other. It’ll be fun.

Feel free to poke through the Chicago Street Racing set on flickr or locally in my gallery.

Well they are quite organized up here and have much better turnouts than in El Paso (which was a given anyways). The course was about 20 seconds shorter, but the lot was in better condition. Lots of S2000s out there and lots of others cars too (about 30-50 in the morning alone).

That’s one thing that’s terrible about street racing.. it’s a nocturnal activity. I get so tired by the time Sunday comes around. Last night I started feeling really ill so we left. I felt flu-ish. I think it was from lack of sleep and lack of food in my tummy.

I was watching Muscle Cars on the History Channel and whadya know… they did a segment on my car.

I used to sneak down to the K-Mart parking lot and drive in tight circles (the thing could turn on a dime) It was a blast to drive and saved my ass more than once when I could have been slammed into by other cars.