My Experience with Street Racing

"jlmounce" (jlmounce) 08/26/2014 at 19:08 • Filed to: Street Racing

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One of the big stories today on the FP was about a street racer getting busted and let off with a warning.

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I commented on this thread and there's a pretty decent discussion going on about it as well. When level heads prevail, everybody wins.

Anyway I wanted to detail my experiences with racing on the street and hopefully spark some more discussion on the matter. I'd like to first start off by saying that yes, I am guilty of racing on the street and no this post won't be about trying to convince anybody that it's okay to do that.

I've always been a car nut. From the time I could walk I was hanging around cars and airplanes. When your father owns an aircraft repair facility and spent his life fixing up cars for fun, it kind of rubs off. Of course it didn't help matters hearing about all his car related exploits in his younger years.

Him and his pals cruised what is known as dizzy block here in Greeley Colorado. That cruise loop doesn't exist anymore, but during the mid 70's when my dad was a teenager, it was apparently "THE" thing to do. The Beach Boys made their entire career off of this cruising and car culture.

Anyhow, I digress. When it was my turn for a license and a car, I was all to eager to share in those joys. I didn't have a fast car, but rather a slow truck and it didn't matter. I was out with my buddies every weekend cruising, trying to pick up girls and engaging in street racing activities from time to time.

This was the late 90's, before Fast and Furious hit the theaters and rocketed street racing in to an arguably more public setting. Here in northern Colorado, there's a lot of straight forever, not often traveled roads with a questionable amount of markers or land marks placed in 1/4 mile increments. Every Friday and Saturday night, you could bet on two things.

There were cars running for bragging rights

The cops would eventually show up and shoe everyone away

It really was that simple. We'd meet up at the local AutoZone, setup races, then casually leave at staggered intervals and meet up at a per-determined location. We'd have a spotter a mile up the road in each direction looking out for people or traffic. We'd be about an hour and a half of racing in and sure enough the law would show up. They'd flash their lights, get on their loud speaker and tell everybody to go home, which we did.

The late 90's and early 00's may not have been that long ago, but for many things, it was. It wasn't as simple as the days my father spent with his '69 Camaro, but as long as we weren't being egregiously stupid, the local police let us have a bit of fun and sent us home when they decided we'd had enough. In the years between my 16th and 18th birthday when I put street racing aside, I was fortunate enough to never see an accident of any kind. Nobody ever got hurt, there were no wrecks and nobody came to blows over anything. Luck had a bit to play in that scenario, but I also believe that being smart and realizing the consequences, mixed with a police force that monitored from a distance without being intrusive, allowed us to have a marginally safe time while not endangering anybody else.

The Fast and Furious came out in theaters in 2001. I remember going with the car club I was in to see the midnight release showing. The parking lot was packed every make and model of performance car, or want to be performance car you could imagine. Gleaming in every color of the rainbow. The import guys huddled together throwing insults and challenges to the muscle car crowd, who was all to willing to throw a few back. It was mostly for fun.

The movie started, we watched and it ended. Leaving the movie theater is when I first realized that things were about to change. A clutch drop here, a burnout over there. A guy in a stock red civic is trying to do J-turns to impress his pals. To say the scene was chaos was an under statement.

Soon after the videos and the news reports from across the country started coming in. Anybody with four wheels was now a racer. I no longer saw organized meet ups. Instead they were replaced by impromptu light to light runs in heavy traffic. Day or night. This of course caused even more media coverage and accidents started happening. Innocent bystanders are being hit and killed by people driving at increasingly dangerous speeds on high traffic streets.

Cruising still existed for me and the people I hung with, but slowly (or rather rapidly now that I look back on it) those pre-planned meet-ups stopped. The police, once content to keep a watchful, but distant watch racing became more involved. Meet ups were broken up, scattering dozens of modified street cars, on to the city streets. Those safe havens of untraveled tarmac were policed frequently. Citations would be issued to even people spectating.

Being still young and most definitely naive, the logical outcome was that I began to do exactly the same things. Friday and Saturday nights, we cruised looking for light to light races. You couldn't stay in one spot for more than about 10-15 minutes, so that meant the only thing to do was to drive all night, which meant there were usually several races happening at all times over the length of about 5 miles of road. Road that I'll add, had a rush hour's worth of cars all out trying to do the same thing.

It was a mess and I'm sure it was frustrating for the people trying to pass through the area as well as the officers tasked with patrolling it.

And that, brings me to the moment where I made a conscious decision that I simply wasn't going to take part anymore. I was 17, just a week away from my 18th birthday and there I was racing a GSX Eclipse down a dimly lit street in downtown Greeley Colorado. A race that would be held for the full enjoyment of a Greeley cruiser unit that just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

I saw the silver and blue glint of the Crown Victoria pull up to a cross street and a cursory glimpse at the roof and a visible light bar told the rest of the tale. I glanced at the speedometer; 80 mph. This was going to suck.

The next thing I did, was the brightest moment out of a very dark situation. I pulled over, immediately, before the unit had a chance to pull on to the street and turn on the lights. The other car? They decided they'd try their luck at running. No matter, I wasn't driving a car fast enough to out-run the radio.

I sat there with my window down, radio off and hands on my wheel while I watched intently in the rear view mirror. The officer was obviously pulling information from my plates. He finished up, slowly exited his cruiser and approached my door, flashlight in hand. "Do you know why I pulled you over" he asked. "Yes sir, I was street racing." I don't really remember what was said after that, or even who this officer was, but the next thing I remember was him asking if I had a phone. He asked me to call my home. I did so and woke my parents up at 10:35pm. I handed the phone to the officer and let him know my dad was on the line. With a fairly stern response he thanked me and said "good."

The officer paced between his cruiser and my car for about five minutes while we talked with my father. I couldn't hear all of it, but I distinctly remember him telling my dad that he was 17 and into cars once too. It was then that I realized just how lucky I was going to be that night. The officer returned the phone, with my dad still on it. He wanted me home immediately. I hung up and the officer gave me a short lecture about choices and thanked me for being honest and curious. He then sent me on my way. Home, to face my father.

My dad didn't say much to me when I got home. He simply said he was disappointed. No grounding, no revocation of the car, no extra chores. Just disappointment.

I spectated races after that and on occasion rode as a passenger. There was even a time that I really wanted to get back in to street performance, but I was always too afraid of the consequences and what could happen. Not wanting to give up on cars, it forced me full steam to sanctioned racing at legal venues. Drag racing most at first, then to road racing. It's expensive, but the rewards are infinitely better. Besides, having a revoked or restricted license and the insurance that comes with it, is more expensive.

So here we are, full circle. I'm sorry this has been so long and if you've made it this far, thanks! I'll leave you with my opinion on the matter.

Street racing is dangerous and stupid. It's allure however will always draw people (youths most of all) to the activity. It's a problem that you'll never fully solve. However I believe, as with most things, education is key. This gets back to drivers education as a whole. It also means no demonizing wanting to be in the car culture and dad's out there, get your kids involved in legal racing. most 17 year olds can't afford the price of admission to a track to keep them out of trouble. An outing here and there would be good for everybody involved.

Thanks for reading and remember to keep the shiny side up!

GhostZ > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:16

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I could write a big, long expository post about my thoughts and experiences in relation to yours, but really? This is all I need to post, you can probably guess all the rest.

Dsscats > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:16

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11/10 would read again. Seriously, you wrote this perfectly for the situation.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:19

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I could raise the question (rhetorical: liability) of why parades and other events can make use of a public road in the middle of the day and have a permitting process while it is (technically) impossible for any such thing to occur legally (even if flagged off, etc.) on a stretch of highway at 11:00PM. More's the pity.

It's not even like an exit couldn't be employed on your typical midwest highway: up ramp, back down the opposite side gives you your detour around the quarter, with no full-scale blocking of travel.

jlmounce > Dsscats 08/26/2014 at 19:19

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Thanks! I appreciate the kind words!

jlmounce > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/26/2014 at 19:21

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I've heard of it happening, but can't find any real evidence to support that being the case. At any rate, I think it's a good idea.

Heck in Ft. Collins, they close off an entire block for Tour Da Fat every year where they allow people to go around in circles on bikes while getting drunk. It's a perception thing I would think.

JGrabowMSt > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:27

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I think your experience could be a very strong lesson for a lot of younger people who had other ideas in mind.

I was never personally into street races. I never had a fast car until just this year, but I'm more scared of anything happening to it, but I guess that's all an afterthought to most street racers. It's not even an issue until it's happened.

I think that one of the issues is that there aren't enough sanctioned events, or people like yourself, that have an arguably "good" wakeup moment in the act. To say things could have ended differently for you is such an understatement, I should just quit the internet now.

I think that if enough people go together to go to the track, like all other things, supply and demand can balance those costs out. It wouldn't be so expensive if more people were there more often. Even with that though, they can race for free at the next available stoplight, so what's the point?

I've driven fast on the roads before. I keep it to myself, and when no one else is around. It's not worth the tickets, insurance, damage to the car, etc. Around me there's plenty of street racing that happens, but it's all just stupid.

jlmounce > JGrabowMSt 08/26/2014 at 19:37

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All good points. The one in regards to track supply and demand does get brought up a lot as a solution. Depending on the part of the country I think that's plausible. Given my experience with sanctioned events here in Colorado, it's not likely to ever happen.

Bandimere wanted to relocate itself closer to Denver and bring a world class drag strip closer. Part of the idea was that having the venue closer would attract more people, bring more sales, lower prices etc. The idea was sound in principle, but they were pushed out of every land purchase they tried to make because of noise and traffic concerns by neighboring communities.

Likewise Centrix Financial had been attempting to bring a Sprint Cup capable track and amusement facility to the Denver metro area and met the same fate. Any time somebody tries to build any type of racing facility near the metro areas of Colorado, they're pushed out by people that don't want the facility there. Getting people off the streets and to a track would work if the economic factors were there. Unfortunately, people want their cake and to eat it as well. They want to crack down hard on street racing, but when a legal facility wants to open near them, the scream and moan to get that killed.

That's the track argument's major flaw. It will never work because nobody will let it. We also need to be realistic and realize that there will always be a population that street races. Heck, probably going to and returning from a sanctioned event. The key then is to try and get those people to realize and mitigate the risks.

RallyWrench > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:48

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Nicely done. I remember the same thing happening here in rural CA after F&F came out, midnight showing and everything. I pretty much stopped going to street races after that, because it was like someone (Hollywood) flipped the "Idiot" switch.

Dusty Ventures > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:51

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Very well worded. Great piece.

JGrabowMSt > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:53

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It's always a competition, usually friendly, but sometimes otherwise. Even watching shows like Street Outlaws, I cringe at how they've managed to have so few problems. Granted, many of them can handle a car, and their cars are professionally set up. Or, professionally in the sense that a real shop is used to build them, not some kid ordering parts off ebay to save a buck.

It'll never be perfect, and I guess maybe it's important to understand that, both as someone with interest in cars, and for someone who doesn't.

Some crazy lady with the electric cars at a show I went to started bitching at me for idling. Guess what lady, you're at a car show. Just like the people who don't like race tracks. Not every area can have one, there simply aren't enough places that really work out for it. Maybe it's the surrounding communities, maybe it's the ground, who knows. Things will never be perfect.

I personally just see it as a respect issue. Not necessarily between people, but overall, many of the street racers who think they can run, or think they have some right to do it, or act like they're invincible. Life will catch up, and it will be pretty bad once it does. On the highway, I'm guilty of setting the cruise control to a couple over within reason, and sitting happily in the middle lane, passing when I have to. There's plenty of crazy soccer moms and street racers that think they don't need to respect those rules, and while it's not always true, whenever I see roadside memorials, I can't help but think it's likely someone like that, who didn't care about the rules.

I recently learned that there's a real track that isn't far from me, and never even knew about it, but I need to go scope out the group of people that go there, because hive mind mentality can get the better of too many people, and the few bad apples will unfortunately always ruin the whole bunch.

tc_corty > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 19:54

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Ooooooo, disappointment always trumps any other punishment.

Dusty Ventures > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 20:07

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Also, just to be "that guy" (as usual), by going through proper channels and working with the authorities instead of trying to circumvent them it is possible to race down the a four lane in the middle of town and have the police yell for you to go faster instead of trying to ticket/arrest you. This was this past Saturday in the middle of a Minnesota town:

Dusty Ventures > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 08/26/2014 at 20:13

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In fairness, parades can't get permits to shut down highways either. In regards to interstates in particular the rules regarding what they're allowed to be shut down for is extremely stringent. As for racing on surface roads, you can get permits for that.

deekster_caddy > jlmounce 08/26/2014 at 22:33

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nicely written! I'm one of those who waited until Wednesday or Friday night and went to the dragstrip for street night. The strip was an hour away and my parents were very cool for letting me go, but they also knew I wanted to go fast and that by letting me go there I was keeping it off the street. Sure I did a few random light to light things or from a roll on the highway back then, but never anything preplanned or organized.

You are lucky you had parents that taught you respect and that his disappointment meant something to you.

BJohnson11 > jlmounce 08/27/2014 at 00:03

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Very well written. When I got my license in 2009, many of my friends had faster cars than me (pretty much everything is faster than a 2000 Expedition), and I witnessed some street racing. I thought it'd pass after high school, but I still see it in college. I think part of it may have to do to the lack of track availability (I'm seriously bummed that theres no drag strip within about 75 miles of me), but a lot of it has to do with ego, which is something that will continue to be a problem as long as boys are boys.

Not sure what I'm trying to say right now, other than I agree with what you said wholeheartedly, and felt just a post recommendation wasn't enough.

wunderwagen wants a longer roof > jlmounce 08/27/2014 at 22:05

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Excellent read! I really enjoyed it.

thebigbossyboss > jlmounce 10/09/2014 at 07:18

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Excellently written. I'm not going to say I've never been guilty but being a few years (maybe 6)? years younger than you, we never had any street races that were with spotters and stuff. It was always light to light in heavy traffic. Luckily I have wised up a bit since.

TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! > jlmounce 04/18/2016 at 14:27

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SUPER OLD REPLY ENGAGE- My mom used to cruise D-block, and do block races in her Odd-Fire v6 Sunbird.