Lil' Viv's Street Racing Page
(Disclaimer)
This is arguably one of the most, if not the only, controversial section on my website. There are many opposing viewpoints to what we do and what is said, as you can imagine. If you want to see how I tell the story, respond to various issues, or feel they are dealt with . . . please read on. Please note that, of course, I don't speak for all street racers . . . just a select group and the people we associate with. If you feel you might be offended, please stop reading and go elsewhere: Google Search. Thank you.
The Progression
First, for those of you who have seen "The Fast &
The Furious" and other similar movies, that's NOT what street racing is
(cutting through traffic, selling drugs, etc.). Though, in many situations,
it can be far more exciting than Hollywood was able to make it.
I entered the street racing scene (Austin, TX) in late 1998
when I was just 18 years old . . . the activity was relatively unpopular at
the time, and not considered a great problem by police, yet. Since then, obviously,
things have changed drastically. Back then, there was a shop called Reigning
Performance, a local performance shop . . . everyone would meet in front of
that shop on Saturday nights and talk, hang out, and some would often break
off and race. I met a lot of good guys at these meets, and I started to
learn a lot. One trend I noticed is that as time went on . . . the cars
kept getting faster -- What may have been considered lightning fast then may
be commonplace or routine, now (even available in your everyday, off the showroom,
run of the mill Z06 or M5). Most of the crowd I hung around with would
engage in "roll-on" racing. Other people would go from a complete
stop. (More details of this and video examples later in the page.)
As time went on . . . the police started to get wind of what was going on here,
as it wasn't hard to miss . . . hundreds of people in a general area with fast
(sometimes loud) cars, etc. We weren't exactly invisible. We occasionally
got run off by the police from our meets, regardless of if racing was going
on or not. Shortly thereafter, Reigning Performance shut its doors to
the public, and this scene died down.
Street racers, at this point, were very passionate, and they
will continue to be street racers. They, of course, found a new location . .
. happened to be a Circuit City with a huge parking lot. And, this got
big and had the same type of racing going on, but not long before police got
wind of this and shut it down, as well. There occurred plenty of
rotation to different spots with the same results, and the police consistently
used the excuse that the owners of various lots were upset. Although, having
known the owners of several locations, they were apathetic to the events after
business hours.
Later on, the street races were at an abandoned
Wal-Mart parking lot . . . and, unfortunately . . . the crowd there was less
than flattering, it was awful. It attracted lots of police attention,
but not because of street racing . . . instead delinquency, noise, drug/alcohol
use, etc. It was a terrible situation that became crowded with low riders, ricers,
people with every intention besides racing, etc. There was often drinking
(which doesn't mix with driving, much less racing), loud stereos, burnouts,
and even worse, careless behavior in the parking lots that put everyone in jeopardy
of many things.
My friends and I noticed everyone complaining about what
the scene had become, and I hated it, too. What to do, now? I decided
to branch off . . . I started my own meet that would resolve these problems
by not letting the meet location leak out to the general public . . . Lil'
Viv's Street Meet.
At this point, despite common encounters with the police
. . . this activity was not in the public eye, not considered a menace to society,
etc. at this point. While we were off doing our own thing, having a blast for
years without incident . . . there was still quite an irresponsible crowd out
there, recklessly and speedily racing their cars on streets where people could
jump out in front of them, less traveled roads, etc. causing injuries, even
fatalities. All it takes is one or two of these incidents to bring the problem
to the public eye, which in turn translates into increased budgets and legislation
to fight "the problem."
Where do things stand now? A visit to the street races results
in seeing people who are careless, reckless . . . and can cause injury or fatality
to others. Safe street racers are unwilling to participate due to severe consequences,
and the current street racing scene and current street racers? To my dismay,
they are unsafe, and the situation today now is a problem. Street racers have
evoloved into a dangerous group with disregard for public safety that we do
not wish to associate ourselves with, this is very unfortunate. However, there
was a time when it didn't use to be this way. It all started so innocently,
peaking curiosity of many. I am sure someone else can tell a better tale than
I have, a tale of racing long before I started, but that's my take on things.
Side Note: Since I started this webpage, I received hundreds of E-Mails either in support or against what I have written here. I would like to note that I do not have complete disregard for the law, I just find myself in disagreement with it in some places. For example, on the Tollways in Dallas, I feel I can travel above 55 mph or 60 mph very safely. I do evaluate safety and consequences with all decisions I make. Another example that may present a new spin or perspective on my thought process . . . is that I will never speed in a school zone. I feel that if I do speed in a school zone, a child running out in front of me could be injured . . . and this is not a consequence I am ready to face. My decision based on the evaluation of the safety and consequences associated with this situation? I will not speed in school zones. My decision to street race on occasion in various situations was, in turn, based on a similar thought process.
Street Race Processes - Types (The Actual Races)
There are two major types of street races . . . one is
a "roll-on" race, and one's a "dead stop" race. In
a "roll-on" race, racers line up from a set speed . . . someone will
honk three times, and on the third honk . . . the racers will hammer the throttle
and race. This is a good judge of how much horsepower the car has, how
fast it can go, etc.
The other kind, "dead stop" or "dead dig"
kind of speaks for itself. They honk as described above, but hammer the
throttle from a stop. This is far more indicative of how well a car (and
its driver) can launch, how much traction in can get, as opposed to a measure
of the car's power.
My Car On Left (In Above Picture)
Cars are usually built better for one or the other but often participate in both.
The Debate(s) And Issue(s)
Obviously, this is quite a controversial topic . . .
so, I will try to address the opposition and issues, now . . . in a simple manner,
of course.
First, safety is the biggest issue, and the one we take the
most seriously. For a road to suit our needs to race on . . . we are very
picky. We insist that there be no entrances on the stretch of road we
"play" on. With entrances, we are well aware that a car could
enter into a dangerous, sticky situation. We will also only "play"
on road that is completely flat . . . not even a subtle bump, as we are aware
that a bump at high speeds could cause an unsafe situation. We will also
generally not come to a complete stop on any stretch of road ('cept a red light
or if the road is not in use), 'cause there are dangers involved with that,
too. The road must also be completely straight for a prolonged period
of time, for obvious reasons. Also, the cars must be in tip top condition
to race. You won't see a car out there traveling to a speed it is not
so equipped to do (means everything from tires, tire pressure, brakes, suspension,
etc.). A car won't be "driving" to speeds its brakes can't handle.
Of course we understand that there is some risk from the unpredictable, but
risk has been minimized to the maximum of our capability, and generally risk
is localized to the drivers of the racing cars, nobody else.
Next, people ask why we "roll-race" instead of
race from a "dead-stop." If we want to race from a "dead-stop"
to the end of, say, a quarter mile, we'll trek to the local 1/4 mile track and
do so in a legal manner. There's no compelling reason to drag race on the street,
really.
Safety was the biggest issue, and obnoxious behavior (burnouts,
loud noise, etc.) is also something our group tries hard to counter. That
is why our group is selective about who "plays" with us, we are trying
to avoid what the current scene has become. Lil' Viv's
Street Meet is our current solution to that.
(Please See Side Note Above.)
Please click one of the following links to return to the respective page.
This page was last updated November 9, 2004. I welcome any questions, comments, and suggestions which you can send by clicking here at anytime!
ŠVivek K. G.; 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.