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They'd always start with a cruise toward <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 /><ST1
LACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Washington,</ST1:CITY> <ST1:STATE w:st="on">D.C.,</ST1:STATE></ST1LACE> to <ST1:STREET w:st="on"><ST1:ADDRESS w:st="on">V Street</ST1:ADDRESS></ST1:STREET>. Cars lined both sides of the road. Then the bragging began. Stakes on the illegal street races were raised as high as $5,000 to $10,000. Justin Humphreys' '89 Mustang GT 5.0 could run a high 10 on the street, he said.
“It had nitrous and all that good stuff,” Humphreys said. “Back when I was young, I had 15 to 20 friends that all had [Mustangs] and would all go down there and goof off.”
Eventually police would show up, and the hundreds in attendance – male and female, of all ages – would scatter, only to reassemble down the road.
“They'd drive five miles to Metro and race there until the cops showed up,” he said. “Then they'd go back to <ST1:STREET w:st="on"><ST1:ADDRESS w:st="on">V Street</ST1:ADDRESS></ST1:STREET> and race until 1 or 2 a.m.”
It's a desire as old as the horse and chariot. At times it's nearly impossible to predict. It can start with a glance at a red light or the rev of an engine. Sometimes, they're planned in advance with precise organization.
But no matter what, it kills.
Illegal street racing most recently made headlines nationwide when eight spectators were killed Feb. 16 on a highway in <ST1LACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Accokeek</ST1:CITY>, <ST1:STATE w:st="on">Md</ST1:STATE></ST1LACE>. Although it is likely the most publicized, it is certainly not the only illegal-street-racing-related fatal crash reported even this month. A quick Internet search turns up numerous instances of such activities.
But even one is too many.
As many other legitimate drag racers and NHRA fans have pointed out via online chat rooms and Internet blogs, the deaths could have been prevented. There are 140 NHRA member tracks around the country that offer NHRA Street Legal Drags presented by AAA. Recently, NHRA and some of the elite drivers of the NHRA POWERade Series produced a video that will bring the Race the Strip, Not the Street message to the public at their races and other outlets such as YouTube.
Most of the time, Humphreys would race at sanctioned dragstrips. He never raced for money. He wasn't looking to get in trouble, and at that time local police authorities stepped up patrols of the area, he said. That's why, eventually, he stopped attending illegal street races and raced only on the track. Now he uses his talent professionally as driver of the RaceRedi Motorsports Pontiac GXP Pro Stocker in the NHRA POWERade Series.
Like many others, he says that increased patrols of known street-racing draws can help and that stiffer penalties for those caught racing on the street are needed.
“Something needs to happen,” Humphreys said. “It's just so dangerous. It's just nonsense, especially in our area [Maryland/Washington, D.C.]. There are so many tracks around.”
NHRA News: World's fastest drag racers speak out against illegal street racing (3/7/2008)
LACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Washington,</ST1:CITY> <ST1:STATE w:st="on">D.C.,</ST1:STATE></ST1LACE> to <ST1:STREET w:st="on"><ST1:ADDRESS w:st="on">V Street</ST1:ADDRESS></ST1:STREET>. Cars lined both sides of the road. Then the bragging began. Stakes on the illegal street races were raised as high as $5,000 to $10,000. Justin Humphreys' '89 Mustang GT 5.0 could run a high 10 on the street, he said.“It had nitrous and all that good stuff,” Humphreys said. “Back when I was young, I had 15 to 20 friends that all had [Mustangs] and would all go down there and goof off.”
Eventually police would show up, and the hundreds in attendance – male and female, of all ages – would scatter, only to reassemble down the road.
“They'd drive five miles to Metro and race there until the cops showed up,” he said. “Then they'd go back to <ST1:STREET w:st="on"><ST1:ADDRESS w:st="on">V Street</ST1:ADDRESS></ST1:STREET> and race until 1 or 2 a.m.”
It's a desire as old as the horse and chariot. At times it's nearly impossible to predict. It can start with a glance at a red light or the rev of an engine. Sometimes, they're planned in advance with precise organization.
But no matter what, it kills.
Illegal street racing most recently made headlines nationwide when eight spectators were killed Feb. 16 on a highway in <ST1
LACE w:st="on"><ST1:CITY w:st="on">Accokeek</ST1:CITY>, <ST1:STATE w:st="on">Md</ST1:STATE></ST1LACE>. Although it is likely the most publicized, it is certainly not the only illegal-street-racing-related fatal crash reported even this month. A quick Internet search turns up numerous instances of such activities.But even one is too many.
As many other legitimate drag racers and NHRA fans have pointed out via online chat rooms and Internet blogs, the deaths could have been prevented. There are 140 NHRA member tracks around the country that offer NHRA Street Legal Drags presented by AAA. Recently, NHRA and some of the elite drivers of the NHRA POWERade Series produced a video that will bring the Race the Strip, Not the Street message to the public at their races and other outlets such as YouTube.
Most of the time, Humphreys would race at sanctioned dragstrips. He never raced for money. He wasn't looking to get in trouble, and at that time local police authorities stepped up patrols of the area, he said. That's why, eventually, he stopped attending illegal street races and raced only on the track. Now he uses his talent professionally as driver of the RaceRedi Motorsports Pontiac GXP Pro Stocker in the NHRA POWERade Series.
Like many others, he says that increased patrols of known street-racing draws can help and that stiffer penalties for those caught racing on the street are needed.
“Something needs to happen,” Humphreys said. “It's just so dangerous. It's just nonsense, especially in our area [Maryland/Washington, D.C.]. There are so many tracks around.”
NHRA News: World's fastest drag racers speak out against illegal street racing (3/7/2008)