just saw this on I.A.......... Before this happens here?? This happened in North Carolina, "Police sting puts brakes on I-485 racing 11 people arrested, 17 cars confiscated Drivers who reached speeds of 165 mph on Interstate 485 were among those targeted by police this weekend in an ongoing crackdown against street racers in Mecklenburg County. After four months of surveillance, authorities on Sunday arrested 11 people and seized 17 souped-up cars. They began investigating after receiving complaints of more than 100 people gathering Saturday nights at the Stonecrest at Piper Glen shopping center in south Charlotte. People would meet in the parking lot and then race on the outerbelt or Rea Road, police said. "It's easy to say that speed kills, but these folks haven't realized that," said Maj. Dale Greene, who oversees Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's special operations unit. The sting was called "Enjoy the Show" because big crowds gathered to watch the street racers, Greene said. It's a growing problem, with several Web sites promoting the next race, he added. Spontaneous racing also has become popular, with cars slowing to 35 mph on a highway and then racing to the next exit when someone blows a car horn three times, he said. Most racers are men in their late teens to early 30s, police said. Those arrested early Sunday live in Charlotte, Kannapolis and Monroe and are between the ages of 18 and 22, along with one 31-year-old man who police said likely organized races. They all face several misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and prearranged speed competition. Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said. On Sunday, officers seized several Ford Mustangs, Honda Civics, Acuras and Mitsubishis. Many had new engines and transmissions, and their owners had stripped the seats, radios and air conditioners so the cars could go faster, an undercover CMPD officer who didn't want to be identified told the Observer. One Mustang had a racing engine in it, police said. DMV officials claimed at least six of the 17 cars because they think some of the cars contained stolen parts. Michael King, 20, who faces one charge of prearranged speed competition and two charges of reckless driving, said he's never raced. But he added that he bought his 1994 Mustang two years ago and souped it up to make the engine sound bigger. King said he started hanging out at Stonecrest about two years ago because of the big parking lot and the number of people showing off their cars. "I might play around and spin a tire," he said. About four years ago, racers in Mecklenburg County would congregate at a Home Depot along Providence Road near Ballantyne until officers ran them off. Now they've chosen Stonecrest, probably because it's close to several interstates and has a large parking lot, police said. Crosland, the company that manages Stonecrest, allowed people to gather in the parking lot so police could investigate, authorities said. In the past two months, authorities also have arrested eight people and seized eight cars as part of the sting. More than 70 officers with CMPD, the N.C. Highway Patrol and the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles were part of the sting. At least 60 warrants are still pending, and more car seizures are expected, Greene said. Racers still meet at other south Charlotte shopping centers, Greene said, and police will target those in upcoming months."
Yeah it's one thing for those of you that meet up at BP or the Varsity just to check out cars. It's a totally different thing when Fast and the Furious is happening on the interstates after each one. And I'm pretty sure no one on here can say that they haven't raced a car on the street before. But just about everyone will agree that it's a stupid thing to do. And I can't even imagine thinking it would be a good idea to participate in an arranged street race with spectators and such. It just screams bad idea. Oh and my favorite quote: "One Mustang had a racing engine in it, police said." hnoes:......................................
Thats why i choose my real life grocery getter shopping cart. Yes officer I am just getting back from the market comeon my car looks like a real life shopping cart!
Racing engine in it? So what is this taken out of an AE-86 and revs up to 15,000? OH wait its a stang, must be a V-8 earth-destroyer 2000... Wow 165 mph on the interstate? Damn... Personally I think ATL police are more pissed at speeding motorcyclists then souped up cars...
Yeah they suck. Everytime one of there lttle packs goes by me on the interstate goin 120, I just think "If I just changed lanes right now I could kill someone."
They do this out in south ATLANTA. Every one meets at ingles and goes racing. Road out there one night with a friend stayed for like 10 min and road out. Not very smart. And for the most part just a lot of ricers.
If you're idiotic and reckless enough to do this on public streets, endangering the lives of others on the road and yourself, then you deserve a ticket (if not jail) and having your car confiscated. Plenty of sanctioned, safe places to race...IMHO.
I wonder if the dude going 165mph got away? Wonder if it was a suby? HA! Will the cops at BP ever scope it out for 4 months and plan a 70 man mission? I dont know......ugh......be safe!
i just don't think the sanctioned stuff has enough "cool" factor to it. if they could do something with a little more underground feel that was legal, then i think it would take off pretty well. you know, chicks, live music, cars... more like a party scene.
Ok so apparently I stand corrected. I'm not saying that I've ever Done an interstate run to 150 mph. But I'm hard pressed to believe that there are that many people on this site that haven't at least been messing around with a friend in another car, or got on it at a stop light when the other lane was going to merge, let alone make a 0-60 pull from a stop light to shut up an annoying ricer. None of them are a good idea, but I venture to say that the vast majority of people on this site (but obviously not everyone) have committed at least one of the above acts in your suby or any other car. I think the reason that street racing is a problem is because of the inconvenience of sanctioned events. Now I know that something is available on usually a weekly basis (especially a drag strip). But it's still a pain in the ass. You have to go there, you have to pay, you have to wait forever to get a run in. I'm not saying that this justifies street racing by any means (people need to just show self restrain), but I do think it is the reason that it occurs. It's the same mentality as people that download music and movies illegally, "Why pay for it when I can get it for free."
Guilty as charged. However, on the (few) times I've not resisted the temptation it's been on clear, open roads with no other traffic, and no high speed runs, just little stoplight stuff for fun. When I was young and stupid though, I had the Formula up to 145+ once, which was a REALLY STUPID THING TO DO. I think part of the allure is the 'danger' of it and that it IS illegal. You could have the most convenient, free, sanctioned events and people would STILL do this just because of the whole 'bad boy' danger factor.
Atlanta Motor Speedway was offering head to head racing along the main straight on weekends over the summer. It was head to head drag racing with no timing. From what I heard it was pretty big but I never made it out there.
Saw this a long time ago in Sport Compact Car. It sounds like an excellent idea. I have to say, that yes, we have Commerce and Silver Dollar and other dragstrips around, but Silver Dollar is not close, Commerce is an 1/8th Mile and there is just something more appealing to racing on the street. I generally don't, however, I have raced a few times, recently. I don't go crazy with the all out, 60 to 140 runs, I will on occasion do a 0 to speed limit or slightly above run. But anyways, Street Racing is going to happen, regardless of the dangers, and the penalties if busted. So being that Street Racing is a given, and there is no way to stop it, seems like this article has a pretty good idea. http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/motorsports/0308scc_legal_nighttime_racing_in_san_diego/
It may as well be. That's about how far you'll get before they shut it down for a couple of hours for clean up...
True story... Last time I went, I got there at 5:30. The track didn't open due to computer malfunctions till 7:30. Then a Vette crashed and they closed for another hour and a half. Then a Mustangs hood unlatched and shattered his windshield, taking another hour to clean up. I got 4 runs in in 6 hours. Boo! Similar situation the last few times I've went. As far as street racing, I think everyone can agree its not the best idea. Allthough, we don't buy 300hp cars and spend our time making them even faster to sit there and stare at them, they must be driven! I don't go nutty out there, but a few spirited runs getting on to the highway or a 0-60 from a light with no one around can and will happen. There must be more options for us then the few tracks that are way to far away and shitty on top of that...