People At The Street Races example essay topic

Street racing is an illegal sport that is growing popular at an alarming rate. Street racing is the concept of high performance automobiles racing on public roadways illegally. Individuals will take a basic car and tune it up to be very quick and very powerful. The idea of street racing originates from the legal sport of drag racing.

Drag racing is an internationally recognized sport governed by the NHRA, the National Hot Rod Association. Drag racing consist of two drivers in separate cars lined up at a starting point on a quarter mile drag strip. The two cars are given a green light and race to the end of the quarter mile strip to see who finished the track in the shortest time. The whole thing is pretty simple and kind of dull to most people. Street racing is similar in concept but is completely different once acted out.

Mainly street racing is non-supervised and illegal, also its not governed by set rules, there is no safety crew or precautions, there are no engine regulations, and the drivers are usually inexperienced. All these differences add together to make some serious thrills and some serious spills. Illegal street racing has been around since cars were first mass produced back in the early 40's. The idea of widespread street racing didn't begin to get popular until early 1990. When it first started it was dominated by teenager's and young adults with high performance street cars.

Street cars are your basic automobile sold to the general public with non-factory performance parts added by the owners. Drag racing is performed by cars that are non-street legal and look like nothing you would normally see driving down the road. Street racing gets its popularity from the idea that almost anybody can do it. All one has to do is own a moderate sports car, have a fondness for driving cars and fair amount of either stupidity or recklessness. The concept also works around the idea that some people don't have the time or money to use a leg all track for auto racing. Trying to race a car in a legal racing circuit can be time consuming and very expensive.

The earliest record of street racing goes back to the Brotherhood Raceway. The Brotherhood Raceway or Brotherhood for short was basically a quarter-mile drag strip that was put down on a closed off street, where street racers could go and find out their quarter-mile times and car speed for the price of nothing. This quarter-mile drag strip, located on Terminal Island, was used in an effort to keep racers off of public roadways. Around the mid-90's, the Brotherhood was closed down due to unsupervised accidents, forcing street racers to take their racing to another legalized track, or to the streets and highways. The Brotherhood was an early attempt at allowing the average guy or girl to race their car without having to be a professional and spend to much time or money. I first got in street racing when I was 15 years old.

I hung out with a slightly older crowd and most of my friends had cars and were racing them on the streets. I specifically bought my first car with the idea of racing it. I was an average guy, kid, without little money and a lot of stupidity. Street racing is alluring because its competitive, risky, illegal, and one hell of a thrill.

When a basketball player gets that glorious feeling from stealing the ball, running down the court and scoring the a three pointer to take the lead, a driver can find the same in racing. I think one of the biggest thrills of street racing is the control issue. When a driver is in his car and racing down the street he is in control of 2000 pounds accelerating up to 100 miles an hour at a very fast rate. Maybe my control issue was that I lacked control of some aspects of my life but for a short period pf time I was in control of something very big and powerful. When street racing first became popular the dominate cars on the market were Mazda, Honda, and Toyota. These automobile manufactures made sport cars that were not too expensive of the dealer lot, and even a lot cheaper bought used.

At the same time these cars generally had a lot of extra space in the engine compartment allowing for street racers to add performance parts. Performance parts are usually built by companies that have no affiliation with the actual automobile manufacturer. Each car company does have its own performance parts designed for their cars but these are usually much more expensive than the no pn affiliated companies. Toyota owns TRD, Toyota Racing Development, a company that at one point was separate from Toyota until Toyota acquired TRD in the late 80's and now sells their trucks and sports cars with the TRD l able. Every car engine is different but usually they all work on the same concept and only vary in size and power. An engine that has no performance modifications is called stock in the racing scene.

The basic parts of stock engines that are modified be would be the air filter, air intake, exhaust system, computer chip, turbo and supercharged pressure systems, and most mods after this point actually involve serious engine work. The parts I just listed are usually very easy to replace or install and are pretty basic performance upgrades. Other parts of the car can be upgraded for performance, the suspension system, the tires, the strut bars and sway bars, and the transmission. All of these help in the over handling and control of an automobile. To get an idea of the illegal street racing scene we can look at the fast and the furious movie.

This is a movie about the import scene where people have fast cars, and lots of money. The producers also depicted street racers are thieves, thugs, killers, and hi-jack ers. Also in the movie, they have a quarter-mile race, which seems like it is two to three miles long. The makers of the movie even with the help of legal, well-known drag racers blew the whole street racing scene of out proportion, having cars all line up a certain way, people polishing their cars, girls showing off and having numerous cars lining up to race, and showing them race for a lot of money and for their cars. In real street racing, most of that does not happen. When comparing the real street racing scene to that is depicted in the movie, the movie is a little exaggerated.

What the movie shows to be the street racing scene is close to the real thing except times ten. If there was any betting going on at the races, it wasn't shown and flaunted in front of everyone as it was in the movie. (Fontana) When it comes to street racing, people are basically allowed to use any type of engine / car set-up that they want, and race whoever they want. Some match-ups are uneven, some are even, it all depends on what the person has done to his or her car. It is hard to sort out the old-fashioned street racers from the new, because all the imitations have money from their parents to fix up their car.

In the early 90's Hondas, Mazda's, and Toyota dominated the street racing scene and their was not a lot of money involved in the sport. Street racing used to be a small, friendly gathering where people became social with one another. Nowadays at the street races, people keep to themselves, and take winning and losing very seriously. Street racing has grown very popular through all of the United States, and is popular across the globe. "Everyone's got a hobby". And this just happens to be mine.

Why? Because it gets your blood flowing to your head, you get this amazing rush when you know you just beat your quarter mile time and you whupped up on that Civic next to you". (Brown) A crew member for a racing team in Connecticut agrees. 'Hardcore street racers enjoy every minute of it, and they love the risk involved,' 'but our crew does it because it is a hobby of all of ours that brings us all together as friends. We meet new people every time we go out there. ' (Silla) This sport isn't only popular in the United States, either.

A racer from Australia says that his reasons for racing may be a bit different from kids just starting out with racing. 'I do it for the sound and noise of racing and the speed. It is a hobby and it's competitive to have the fastest car, the most powerful car and the best looking and loudest car. But, I'm in it for the cash too. ' Other kids though, explains Adam, see the thrill in racing being illegal. 'Kids think that it's cool because the cops don't want them to be there,' continued Adam '... they think its cool that they get chased out, and that its breaking the law.

They see the cops and they run, and that's fun. ' (Jensen) As described, a typical race night involves more than just showing up with your car. 'After the strip was discussed, people would go to the beginning and end [of the strip] with walk ie talkies to radio back and forth when it was clear to send the next set of cars,' (Wong). 'People would direct cars where to park, so they wouldn't get in the way and cause and accident.

That is organized racing,' he adds with a reassuring nod. It seems that although speed attracts people to illegal racing, the drivers themselves have to love the sport to pursue it. They are serious improving their performance and modifying their cars' capabilities to become the best they can be, and aren't afraid to try and prove it. However, they are un stereotypically very concerned for the safety and well being of the people participating and watching the race. 'Its been going on for generations and [it] will continue,' 'the only problem is that as popularity grows there will be more people to mess up the scene and cause people to be hurt or killed... and that's a shame.

' (Wong) These are the opinions of only a few racers out a million throughout the entire world. When it comes to the world of street racing, there is a good side, which is fun and excitement, and there is a bad side, accidents and dangers. But for police it's a cat-and-mouse game with teen-a gers and young adult racers, but both sides bring new twists to the age-old battle. 'It's illegal, and it's dangerous". (Atwood) Since before the 1955 cult classic movie 'Rebel Without A Cause' made James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mine famous, street racing has been a popular teen pastime.

Back then, however, most police agencies simply broke up the races and sent droves of teens on their way. Authorities are mindful of the death Dec. 23 of a 19-year-old motorcycle rider who died when his motorcycle slammed into a car during a street racing gathering attended by more than 150 people in Renton, as well as a recent incident in Florida in which a young man racing another vehicle struck a car, killing his own mother and an elderly woman (About Street Racing: Streetracing On The Inside). Street racing can occur in any place, at any time, it doesn't matter what kind of car, it doesn't matter the place, and it doesn't matter the time, the only thing that matters is what the two people have on their mind about racing. At the illegal street races, crowds ranging from 10 to 100 plus gather in free spirit to watch other people gather and show off their cars. It is a scene where you can come watch, enjoy, and / or participate. During my attendance of the street races, I have noticed that the trends of age stay mostly between teens and college kids, and occasionally there are the adults who have been out there for a number of years.

In the culture of the car-racing scene, the among people in the racing scene differ greatly. The range from Asians to Hispanics to Whites to Blacks and to many other different. Street racing among the country has spread like a wild fire. To some people it's a bug that they can't get rid of; to others it's a life and its what they do. To me, I feel that it's a fun and exciting sport to do, as long as it is done in a safe and friendly environment.

As the street racers begin to modify their cars, their modifications can extend from some small like an air filter, which helps to improve airflow to the engine, to a fully built turbocharged / supercharged /naturally aspirated motor. A Turbocharged engine is an engine with the use of a forced induction unit called turbo, which adds a good amount of horsepower and torque to the engine. A turbo is usually priced at around a couple of thousand dollars, depending on the quality and size of the turbo. A supercharged motor is a motor powered by a supercharger. A Supercharger is a forced induction unit that attaches to where the intake manifold on a car goes. This gives a good amount of added power and torque to a car.

The last is Naturally Aspirated, naturally aspirated is basically all-motor, which means no forced induction, no power adders, just straight engine power. People at the street races can vary from having any type of engine, stock or modified, it all depends on the money they have, and the knowledge that they have to get it down. The scene of true street racing has been moving away from the originality that it used to have. Nowadays, people come out with all sorts of cars, trucks, vans, and such and think that they can race and do whatever. Many people that think they are racers drive their cars out to the hang-outs and start revving their engines, peeling out, doing donuts and dumb useless things which just attracts more attention from the police to crack down.

Police are a big part of the street-racing scene. Usually the police would wait for the racers to go down to a specific spot and start racing before they start cracking down or they would try to break up the hang-out spot. Most of the time, when racers see police coming towards the hang-out spot or the racing spot, everyone will jump into their vehicles and race off as fast as they can, so they don't get caught. Most people that come down to the races, when they see a police car, they do idiotic things like making a U-turn, hard turning, hard merging, and things that are dangerous, just so they can get away and not get caught. At times when the police are going for a big street racing bust, they will bring in flatbed trucks, and numerous police cars, and block off streets.

Once they have accomplished that as well as they can, the police will then begin to ticket by-standers for solicitation, they will also tell racers to open their hoods, so they can inspect what parts they have on their engines, and to check if they are legal or illegal. Sometimes, police officers might wait for two racers to start racing down a street, and then pull them over once they are closer to him and ticket them. Some police officers will cruise down the street where the racers are, just to see what they are doing, and if they decide to, bust them. In my opinion, if you see a police car driving down, just stay calm, and once you jump into your car, stay calm again and do not do anything idiotic or illegal. Another difference between the original racers and the imitation racers is that the original street racers stay calm and don't panic when they see police, while the imitation racers, get nervous and fidgety and do everything to get out of there as fast as possible, only caring for themselves. During my experience of being in the street racing world, the street racing world has been blown out of proportion and shot to hell, because of the imitation and fake things that come into the car scene.

The racing scene is a sport, hobby, and an experience that can be great to all, as long as they take it safe and easy. The reason why it is an experience, is because friendships are formed, a communion among people that aren't alike, come together in their joint fun of cars. The age of illegal street racing is getting out of hand with all the wannabe racers that think they are the best and that they know what they are talking about. They can think that they are the best and the fastest until something bad goes wrong and ends their whole experience. Street racing is a very dangerous sport and scene to be in.

Accidents and injuries may occur, and once that happens, people tend to panic, which may end up causing more accidents and injuries. I think the safest way for racers who love street racing is to take it to the track. That is why my opinion stands that they should re-open the Brotherhood Raceway, so racers can go and be safe while doing what they do. Street racing is a dangerous sport, but it's a life and love that people have and are not willing to give up. I believe that as long as racers do what they can to keep street racing, that it should be legal.

It all racers do their part in trying to keep it safe and not dangerous, then I think the government or city or whoever, should give street racers respect and allow them a place to have fun and do what they do best. web archive. htm

Bibliography

Atwood, Kathy. "Red Flag For The Racing Crowd". Heard Net. 2 January 2002.
13 April 2002.
Brown, John, Adam Jensen, Pat Silla, David Wong. "Streetracing: On The Inside". 14 April 2002.
Fontana, Aaron M. "The Fast and the Furious". Entertainment Today. 10 April 2002.