OT - dangers of drag racing

[wckrause]

No, not more bloody pictures, but worth taking a look at.

http://www.icflorida.com/partners/wftv/news/2001/drag_racing1220.html

[Doug Zielke]

As I type this, there is a thread on the Rennlist where some yob is asking if he should race a friend's 993 with his Carrera.
Grab a brain...before you take a life!

[sweater914]

don't they make funny straight chunks of pavement with lights that tell you when to go for this

[Z-man]

Funny thing happened to me last night...

Just after helping a stranded 912 with a snapped fan belt and dead battery, I was driving home on the NY Thruway, doing about 60-65mph in the middle lane, when this riced out CRX pulls up next to me, matches my speed and starts blipping the throttle. Some young punk kid: I could tell because his blue dashlights illuminated his pimple-ridden face. After waiting for about half a minute for me to engage, I just waved him on. He, of course had to rev-rev-rev his little 'Honduh that could', and went zooming away: bee-hive muffler wailing away.... Oh, I was driving my 944S2.

First time I was ever 'challenged' to a street/drag race. So, he probably posted on some Honduh board, declaring that he 'smoked a Porsche,' or that I probably didn't know how to drive and was chicken to race him. (I do autox and track events, BTW).

I hate stupid-punk-I-wanna-drag-race-everything-I-see kids.

Do you guys in the 911's get this kinda stuff? Just curious. (Maybe I should...er...upgrade to a 911 SC to keep this kinda stuff from happening myself....)
-Zoltan.
Click for more:

[warment]

I get it all the time in my 2000 Mustang GT 5 speed. I kindly put them in their place under what I consider safe conditions. I guess it is stupid for me to race, but sometimes I simply can't resist.

Bill

[makaio]

I only race on the track! I just ignore the ricers.

[speeder]

If you are stopped at a light, just inform the ricer that you will be happy to race him on track, (with curves), for an appropriate wager. (Many zeros). This usually shuts them up, if not inform him that, oh yeah, both of our cars will have to pass tech inspection to get on the track. "Huh? What's that?" That will definitely eliminate the rest of them.

[Steve W]

That yob on the Rennlist forum - you must be talking about me. I'm not a ricer and I wasn't talking about running 1/4 miles on some residential street. We both have had a hell of an excellent driving record for the past 20 years and we're talking about a simple hit the throttle while on a big empty freeway late at night. We all know its not legal, but how many of you have never driven their Porsche past 90 mph on the highway?

I don't think turning down a challenge to race on the street makes you a coward. Actually, I think it's the other way around. Most of the guys you see driving around looking for someone to race on the street don't have the guts to go to the drag strip, and race (and probably lose) with their girlfriend and all their buddies in the stands to see.


The drag strip also provides you with time slips, which settles once and for all whether you have a fast car or just a big mouth.

[Jim T]

A very valuable lesson to be learned . . . .

make sure Mom is at home before you go street racing!

[pwd72s]

Until I saw the bit about Florida, I thought this happened in Umatilla, Oregon. The sad part? It could have been. Anywhere in the USA, it could have been. And yeah, I'll admit to have driven my Porsche past 90 on the highway. Last time it was a pimple faced ricer, running his weird blue headlights, riding my butt on an Oregon back road. I tried to be good, I really did...but after he didn't pass when I gave him several chances, I landed on it...poor kid probably just wanted to see if a decades old 911 could outpull his riced up Civic. The old 911 could. Gawd, I HATE those blue lights!

[pjv911]

I like to drag race when the time and place is suitable. I have a turbo 300zx that run`s low 11`s@120+mph on drag radials. It`s always fun to go through 2 gears and pull 3-5 cars on a american V8 car. I wouldnt drag race my 911 because i fear launching it off the line. Parts a too expensive. BTW I do race at the local dragstrip at least 5 times a year which is mostly because i help my customers tune there rice rockets that i built for them.

[SRT356/911]

The street is a bad place as we all agree to race. People die there.
I have been challenged both in the 911 and at social occasions. Ususally some AH with a loud muffler and a car that will do nothing but go straight. Also followed by 'glorified VW with a washing machine motor.'
When I say sure, for pink slips on Laguna Seca, it has always ends right there. You can just smile gently and ask them how much they think you will be able to sell their car for on eBay.

[RLJ]

Local new tonight tells a story of two kids drag racin' down the street. For some reason one of the cars hits another car.

The racer killed two people in the other car, HIS OWN MOTHER and her friend who were out looking at Christmas lights.

Way sad.

Randy Jones
1971 911

[old_skul]

Every three or four months we get a PC thread like this.

The reality of the situation is that most of us - probably 75% or more - have at one time or another pressed our accelerators to the floor with the intention of beating the snot out of someone else's car. On a public road, yes. Under questionably safe conditions, yes.

Nothing the PC contingent says here will change any of this.

(As a side note: I wave the ricers on myself. I save the fun for cars I know are comparably powered, and belligerent SUV drivers who want to tailgate me at 90 in the fast lane. "Fine, Mr. Blazer, let's see how fast you really feel comfortable going.")

[warment]

pjv911,

Just out of curiousity...just how money did you have to dump into your 300zx to get it to run low 11's on drag radials?

Bill

[Blackdimonds]

Just to add to this post, there was a death here in Utah this fall when a punk kid in a 944 was racing some ricer. The race was over, and the 944 lost control and spun around and hit a teen walking home from school. It isn't real good for the Porsche club when all the footage showed was the 944 backwards up on a lawn. No sign of the ricer, and the news people used the word Porsche at nauseam. For weeks after, I got person after person asking if it was someone I know, or was it one of the local autocrossers. I had to explain that it was just some kid that had stupid parents give him a car he couldn't handle.

Drag racing is a great sport when it is done right. Go to a track, pay your $10 - $20 and put your money where your mouth is. Most kids (read; punk ricer types) are not going to go to the drag strip because they know that they will have to have a good start on the tree, and will have to go a full 1/4 mile. I find that the kids that are going to the strip are good kids that really understand racing, and responsibility.

JMHO

[Pillow]

Really sad event there.

In my neighborhood there is the normal teen rice racers with Civics and stuff. I invite them out for auto-crossing and no seems interested... But on the weekends there is a great twisty road behind our neighborhood that you will hear the ricers racing each other all night... Every once in a while you will see a fresh scar on one of the trees and know some drunk or ricer just blew one of the turns.

I think kids need to learn what a "sleeper" car is and not all the tacked on garbage looking fast when you are not.