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Street racing
Street racing is an illegal form of motor racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the automobile itself. It became especially prevalent during the heyday of hot rodding (1960s), muscle cars (1970s and 1980s), Japanese imports (1990s and 2000s) and exotic sports cars (2010s and 2020s). Since then, it continues to be both popular and hazardous, with deaths of bystanders, passengers, and drivers occurring every year. In the United States, modern street racing traces its roots back to Woodward Avenue, Michigan, in the 1960s when the three main Detroit-based American car companies were producing high-powered performance cars. Since a private racing venue was not always available, street races would be held illegally on public roads.
Though typically taking place in uncrowded highways on city outskirts or in the countryside, some races are held in large industrial complexes. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well-coordinated races are planned and often have people communicating via two-way radios or citizens' band radio, and using police scanners and GPS units to mark locations where local police are more prevalent. Opponents of street racing claim street races have a lack of safety relative to sanctioned racing events, as well as legal repercussions arising from incidents, among street racing's drawbacks.[citation needed] Street racing is distinct from the legal and governed sport of drag racing; see terminology below.
"Speed limit roll-ons" requires a boulevard with minimum speed limit of 45 mph, a traffic signal starting point and minimum two lanes in the direction of travel. Impromptu participants line up adjacent to each other, behind the signal's stop line. When the light turns green, they accelerate as quickly as possible without tire slippage (no peel outs). Participants do not compete against each other or elapsed time. The first car to reach the speed limit wins the game. Failure to observe traffic law results in disqualification. If one or both cars encounter a stop signal, traffic obstruction or other traffic stoppage, the game is declared null, and can be restarted at a second traffic signal. No lane changes are allowed during a game.
In its simplest form, "car meets" can be described as gatherings by car enthusiasts and street racers alike with the sole purpose of taking their passions into the public eye. This can often mean something like a large abandoned parking lot, a sizeable location they specifically asked for permission to use, or other locations that are known to welcome car enthusiasts. While some car meets may involve street racing, many meets may recommend not to race at all during the meets. This is usually to prevent getting the attention of local law enforcement, as meets can easily gain attention. Some car meets are held at closed circuits such as Sonic Automotive circuits (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway host such events during the year.)
The sport of drifting and tōge (also transcribed touge) racing, primarily from Japan, has led to its acceptance in other parts of the world. Tōge— Japanese for "mountain pass", because these races are held on mountain roads and passes— generally refers to racing, one car at a time or in a chase format, through mountain passes (the definition of which varies per locale and racing organization). Examples of such roads include Del Dios Highway in Escondido, California; Genting Sempah in Malaysia; Highway 35; Some portions of British Columbia Highway 1 such as the Malahat drive; and Mount Haruna, on the island of Honshū, in Japan and on mount Nebo in Australia. However, street racing competition can lead to more people racing on a given road than would ordinarily be permitted (hence leading to the reputation of inherent danger).
Touge races, sometimes called Battles, are typically run at night between 2 cars in either "Cat and mouse" or Initial D rules. A series of matches are run with a lead and a chase driver starting either side by side or bumper to bumper at the starting point. If the lead driver manages to create a noticeable gap (also called pulling a gap) between their car and the chase driver by the finish line, he is determined the winner of the match. If the chase driver manages to stay on his opponent's tail, or passes the lead driver to cross the finish line first, he wins the match instead. In the second match, the trailing driver takes the front place and the winner is determined using the same method. If each driver wins one match, sometimes a sudden death match ensues via coin toss to determine the lead position. Sometimes sudden death matches are used when there is not sufficient time to run another 2 matches, or if a driver pleads that his equipment cannot handle the rigour of another round. Whoever wins a sudden death match wins the race. Using Initial D rules, if a driver crashes they lose the race and there are no sudden death matches. If not using Initial D rules, then a crash may mean only losing the match, not just the race. As with all street racing, there are no official rules and any advantage that a competitor has may be used as long as the challenging party agrees to the race.
"Sprints", also called "cannonball runs", are illegal point-to-point road rallies that involves 2 or more racers. They hearken back to the authorized European races at the end of the 19th century. The races died away when the chaotic 1903 Paris–Madrid race was canceled at Bordeaux for safety reasons after numerous fatalities involving drivers and pedestrians. Point-to-point runs reappeared in the United States in the mid-1910s when Erwin George Baker drove cross-country on record breaking runs that stood for years, being legal at the time. The term cannonball was coined for him in honor of his runs. Nowadays drivers will race from one part of a town or country to the other side; whoever makes the fastest overall time is the winner. A perfect example of an illegal road race was the 1970s original Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, also known as "The Cannonball Run", that long-time automotive journalist Brock Yates founded. The exploits spawned numerous films, the best known being The Cannonball Run. Several years after the notorious "Cannonball", Yates created the family-friendly and somewhat legal version One Lap of America where speeding occurs in race circuits and is still running to this day.
In modern society it is rather difficult if not impossible to organize an illegal and extremely dangerous road race, but there are still a few events which may be considered racing, such as the Gumball 3000, Gumball Rally, and Players Run races. These "races", better known as rallies for legality's sake, mostly comprise wealthy individuals racing sports cars across the country for fun. The AKA Rally, however, is designed for individuals with a smaller budget (approximately $3,000). Entrance fees to these events are usually all-inclusive (hotels, food, and events). Participants "rally" together from a start point to predetermined locations until they arrive at the finish line. The AKA Rally in particular has organized driver-oriented events, e.g. autocross or drag strip races, away from public roads to minimize the risk of drivers getting too enthusiastic on public roads. The latter racing community has even spawned numerous TV and video series including the Mischief film series and Bullrun reality TV show. The AKA Rally was featured on MTV in a 2004 episode of True Life and was filmed in 2008 for a six-part series on the Speed TV network. Numerous games are based on the cannonball run type race, most famously Sega's OutRun arcade game. It was also parodied in the 1960s–1970s Hanna-Barbera series Wacky Races.
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Street racing
Street racing is an illegal form of motor racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is likely as old as the automobile itself. It became especially prevalent during the heyday of hot rodding (1960s), muscle cars (1970s and 1980s), Japanese imports (1990s and 2000s) and exotic sports cars (2010s and 2020s). Since then, it continues to be both popular and hazardous, with deaths of bystanders, passengers, and drivers occurring every year. In the United States, modern street racing traces its roots back to Woodward Avenue, Michigan, in the 1960s when the three main Detroit-based American car companies were producing high-powered performance cars. Since a private racing venue was not always available, street races would be held illegally on public roads.
Though typically taking place in uncrowded highways on city outskirts or in the countryside, some races are held in large industrial complexes. Street racing can either be spontaneous or well-planned and coordinated. Well-coordinated races are planned and often have people communicating via two-way radios or citizens' band radio, and using police scanners and GPS units to mark locations where local police are more prevalent. Opponents of street racing claim street races have a lack of safety relative to sanctioned racing events, as well as legal repercussions arising from incidents, among street racing's drawbacks.[citation needed] Street racing is distinct from the legal and governed sport of drag racing; see terminology below.
"Speed limit roll-ons" requires a boulevard with minimum speed limit of 45 mph, a traffic signal starting point and minimum two lanes in the direction of travel. Impromptu participants line up adjacent to each other, behind the signal's stop line. When the light turns green, they accelerate as quickly as possible without tire slippage (no peel outs). Participants do not compete against each other or elapsed time. The first car to reach the speed limit wins the game. Failure to observe traffic law results in disqualification. If one or both cars encounter a stop signal, traffic obstruction or other traffic stoppage, the game is declared null, and can be restarted at a second traffic signal. No lane changes are allowed during a game.
In its simplest form, "car meets" can be described as gatherings by car enthusiasts and street racers alike with the sole purpose of taking their passions into the public eye. This can often mean something like a large abandoned parking lot, a sizeable location they specifically asked for permission to use, or other locations that are known to welcome car enthusiasts. While some car meets may involve street racing, many meets may recommend not to race at all during the meets. This is usually to prevent getting the attention of local law enforcement, as meets can easily gain attention. Some car meets are held at closed circuits such as Sonic Automotive circuits (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway host such events during the year.)
The sport of drifting and tōge (also transcribed touge) racing, primarily from Japan, has led to its acceptance in other parts of the world. Tōge— Japanese for "mountain pass", because these races are held on mountain roads and passes— generally refers to racing, one car at a time or in a chase format, through mountain passes (the definition of which varies per locale and racing organization). Examples of such roads include Del Dios Highway in Escondido, California; Genting Sempah in Malaysia; Highway 35; Some portions of British Columbia Highway 1 such as the Malahat drive; and Mount Haruna, on the island of Honshū, in Japan and on mount Nebo in Australia. However, street racing competition can lead to more people racing on a given road than would ordinarily be permitted (hence leading to the reputation of inherent danger).
Touge races, sometimes called Battles, are typically run at night between 2 cars in either "Cat and mouse" or Initial D rules. A series of matches are run with a lead and a chase driver starting either side by side or bumper to bumper at the starting point. If the lead driver manages to create a noticeable gap (also called pulling a gap) between their car and the chase driver by the finish line, he is determined the winner of the match. If the chase driver manages to stay on his opponent's tail, or passes the lead driver to cross the finish line first, he wins the match instead. In the second match, the trailing driver takes the front place and the winner is determined using the same method. If each driver wins one match, sometimes a sudden death match ensues via coin toss to determine the lead position. Sometimes sudden death matches are used when there is not sufficient time to run another 2 matches, or if a driver pleads that his equipment cannot handle the rigour of another round. Whoever wins a sudden death match wins the race. Using Initial D rules, if a driver crashes they lose the race and there are no sudden death matches. If not using Initial D rules, then a crash may mean only losing the match, not just the race. As with all street racing, there are no official rules and any advantage that a competitor has may be used as long as the challenging party agrees to the race.
"Sprints", also called "cannonball runs", are illegal point-to-point road rallies that involves 2 or more racers. They hearken back to the authorized European races at the end of the 19th century. The races died away when the chaotic 1903 Paris–Madrid race was canceled at Bordeaux for safety reasons after numerous fatalities involving drivers and pedestrians. Point-to-point runs reappeared in the United States in the mid-1910s when Erwin George Baker drove cross-country on record breaking runs that stood for years, being legal at the time. The term cannonball was coined for him in honor of his runs. Nowadays drivers will race from one part of a town or country to the other side; whoever makes the fastest overall time is the winner. A perfect example of an illegal road race was the 1970s original Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, also known as "The Cannonball Run", that long-time automotive journalist Brock Yates founded. The exploits spawned numerous films, the best known being The Cannonball Run. Several years after the notorious "Cannonball", Yates created the family-friendly and somewhat legal version One Lap of America where speeding occurs in race circuits and is still running to this day.
In modern society it is rather difficult if not impossible to organize an illegal and extremely dangerous road race, but there are still a few events which may be considered racing, such as the Gumball 3000, Gumball Rally, and Players Run races. These "races", better known as rallies for legality's sake, mostly comprise wealthy individuals racing sports cars across the country for fun. The AKA Rally, however, is designed for individuals with a smaller budget (approximately $3,000). Entrance fees to these events are usually all-inclusive (hotels, food, and events). Participants "rally" together from a start point to predetermined locations until they arrive at the finish line. The AKA Rally in particular has organized driver-oriented events, e.g. autocross or drag strip races, away from public roads to minimize the risk of drivers getting too enthusiastic on public roads. The latter racing community has even spawned numerous TV and video series including the Mischief film series and Bullrun reality TV show. The AKA Rally was featured on MTV in a 2004 episode of True Life and was filmed in 2008 for a six-part series on the Speed TV network. Numerous games are based on the cannonball run type race, most famously Sega's OutRun arcade game. It was also parodied in the 1960s–1970s Hanna-Barbera series Wacky Races.
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