The Dangers and History of Street Racing Subculture, and Why Do Some People Find It Appealing

Automobile street racing has been around for as long as the automobile has been. However, even before the automobile, there were horse races and bicycle races that took place on the streets. After the automobile was introduced, street racing was mostly defined by the automobile rather than horse and bicycle racing. Popularity for the sport starting growing in the 1930s with boy racers modifying their cars into rat rods and hot rods to race each other in. California is most known for these types of cars as this is the birthplace of modern drag racing. Along with drag racing, there are many other types of street races such as tōge, sprints, and takeovers.

The classic, modern-day street race can be initiated by pulling up to another driver and lining up for a race. Whether this is from a dig or a roll, the concept is very similar. Going from a dig can be defined as lining the cars up from a stationary point and then signaling the launch with 3 beeps from the horn. Going from a roll is very similar however, the street racers are already going a constant speed before the start of the race. This is beneficial for automobiles without sufficient enough torque to launch the car hard enough. The race is determined to be over when one of the cars pulls out in front of the other and they both begin to slow down. An exception to this is if there is a cop using radar or catching up from behind. In this case, the racers would decide between speeding up and trying to get away or maintaining the speed limit and hoping they don’t get pulled over. If a racer decides to speed up to get away, they usually do not have license plates on the car. This is because the police can record your license plate on camera and find you through their system. Thus by having no license plate, a cop would not be able to find you if you manage to getaway. This is extremely illegal but the street racers that use this method usually have fast enough streetcars to get away rather easily. Most of these streetcars are considered to be in the small tire category.

This correlates to the tire being less than 29 inches tall however, this can vary depending on which street racing organization is running the races. The other category, being big tire, is having tires that are larger than 29 inches tall. Cars of similar categories are usually pitted together in organized street racing but occasionally small tire cars will be pitted against large tire cars. This is known as a David vs Goliath race because of the tire size difference, which is usually immense. The small tire car is usually the underdog in this type of race just because of the traction that big tire cars can achieve. Similarly, a car using nitrous oxide to boost performance will usually be pitted against another car using a nitrous oxide system to try to even out the races. This is very different on the highway because it is almost impossible to tell what a car is running without inspecting under the hood and in the trunk for hidden turbos, superchargers, nitrous oxide or anything else used to improve performance.

Another type of street racing is known as tōge. This type of street racing was mostly made popular in Japan and isn’t as common in the USA on the street. This is more of an organized sport here in the states but its origins in Japan are fascinating. Tōge can be done by having a chase car and a lead car to start with. The two cars will drift around corners and turns until the finish line, if the lead driver pulls out in front of the trailing driver by a sizeable gap, the lead driver will win. But if the trailing driver passes the lead driver and finishes the race, they will win. These events are usually done with two races, each driver switching roles for each race. If there is a tie of one win to one win, a sudden deathmatch type tōge race takes place and the driver who crosses the finish line first will win overall. The most infamous tōge drift car is the Toyota AE-86.

First produced in 1983, this lightweight chassis was the most popular chassis for tōge drifting until its modern-day counterpart, the Toyota GT-86, Scion FRS, and Subaru BRZ. All of these 3 cars are surprisingly the same car with little variation. All 3 have the same boxer engine and basic body design. They were built as a tribute to the infamous Toyota AE-86 with similar curb weight and weight distribution to make it a well-balanced drift car with minimal modifications. Other popular drift chassis for this type of street racing included the Mazda RX-7, Datsun 240z, Nissan 350z and many more. Popular modifications for this sport are drift angle kits to increase the steering angle for more precise steering while the cars are flying sideways through a turn at 60 miles per hour.

With that being said, this sport is a very dangerous one because the races are usually conducted through mountains. A single steering mistake, poorly timed clutch kick or simply taking a corner too fast can send the driver and the car off the side of a mountain and to an untimely fate. However, the danger is part of what makes the sport fun, much like how street racers in the states are afraid of police while street racing, Japanese street racers fear falling off the side of a mountain during a tōge climb or descend. Tōge is very popular in Japan with there even being a manga series titled “Initial D”, which depicts tōge races. Many of the unofficial tōge rules are pulled from this series including the rule that states if one crashes at all during the run, they automatically lose. Although this version of street racing never took off in the states, it is very popular and prevalent in Asian countries.

A very early form of street racing titled, “Sprint” is a race between multiple cars from point A to point B. The concept of this race is very simple, the first racer to reach point B wins. This was very prevalent in the early 20th century but ended up dying out due to the risk of the prolonged organization and high rates of fatalities among drivers and pedestrians alike. To elaborate on this, it is too difficult now to organize a street sprint race because of the long-distance that needs to be blocked. Police will be called by other drivers because of the blocked road and being caught doing this can come with severe penalties with the law. Although the street racing equivalent of sprint died out, professional sprint racing still takes place throughout the world. However, this is not to be confused with sprint car racing which is a professional sport comprised of very fast and aerodynamic cars doing laps around a small track.

The most popular street racing event by far is the organized meetups of street racers. Organized meetups will usually take place in private parking lots of businesses with permission from the business of course. At this event, street racers will display their cars for view and talk to other street racers about modifications, racing, and other essential car guy talk. This is usually the least dangerous event that street racers can attend because there are almost always police on the scene to shut down any potential hooligans that decide to rip a burnout or start shooting flames from their tailpipes. This enforces those that attend to not do anything in the parking lot of the business but to take it somewhere else without so many people around. This event is usually a time for street racers to socialize and to see other cool cars that fellow modders have built. This event can also be a place for street racers to call out other street racers to races and battles.

Street racing is a very large sub-culture that attracts a variety of people for a variety of reasons. Most street racers are young men under 30 that can be seen as a “boy racer”. However, there are still street racers of every age and background. Most street racers will modify their cars to their taste for their enjoyment. They will then challenge other street racers on public roads, usually just for fun and to see who has the fastest car. Others can be considered professional street racers because they modify their cars to win races against other drivers in a more organized fashion, usually racing for money. These organized meetups for street racing are usually bet on by spectators and the street racers will bet against each other for money or pink slips. Racing for pink slips can be explained as racing for each other’s car. When racing for pink slips, if one driver defeats the other driver in a race, the other driver must sign away the title of his or her car to the winning driver. This is a very high-risk bet and is usually not done unless it is an organized meetup for street racing. Pink slip races are also usually done on a drag strip but not always. A drag strip will usually give both drivers a more equal chance because the road conditions are usually very similar whereas a regular road can vary with potholes and other obstacles. These races are also almost exclusively done from a dig rather than from a roll.

Street racing has found its way into a wide variety of media and games. The popular movie series entitled, “The Fast and the Furious” is a very successful movie franchise that took the world by storm in the early 2000s. These films influenced a culture of street racing and modifying that was largely based around body kits, paint, and aero. Another term for these types of cars that solely focus on these aspects is, “Ricer”. This is a very insulting term in the street racing community because it insinuates that your car has, “Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement” rather than actual performance upgrades. However, this was a very popular subculture in the early 2000s that was quickly phased out. Another ricer influence was the game entitled, “Need for Speed Underground”. This video game was all about running from police and racing other street racers. While doing this, the player would modify their car in the process to beat harder opponents. In the modifications menu, there was the option to add body kits, paint, and aero. So, of course, many cars in the game were made to be riced out by players because it was popular in this period. Fortunately, the newer street racing games and movies have adapted with the street racing culture of more clean looking cars.

The dangers of street racing are very apparent to most people with crashing being number one. Fatalities and street racing do unfortunately mix sometimes due to tire blowouts and loss of control either due to slippery surfaces or an inexperienced driver. Fatalities of street racing can apply to the drivers, spectators or even innocent pedestrians. There are many videos on the internet of cars crashing into buildings and people usually due to street racing. The car that is usually featured in these videos is the Ford Mustang. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this muscly American car except that inexperienced drivers can easily get their hands on it. This vehicle is prone to crashing due to its high horsepower and low cost to purchase. Inexperienced drivers getting this as their first car can underestimate the power this vehicle puts down and spin out if they are not careful. Many videos online depict mustangs either spinning out or fishtailing into innocent onlookers due to these inexperienced drivers. Another danger of street racing is the legal penalties that street racers can face if charged. Depending on the state, the vehicle can be towed, the driver can be arrested and have to pay fines, insurance rates can drastically increase or the insurance could drop the driver altogether depending on the severity. For example, in Virginia, street racing is considered to be the most severe misdemeanor that one can receive with a penalty of fines up to $2500 and license suspension anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

In conclusion, the risks of street racing are extremely high, yet drivers still choose to participate in various street racing events due to the thrill, the money or the pink slip winning. Although highly illegal, street racers still tear up the streets all around the world, dodging police and angry pedestrians along the way. The streetcar scene and modification would not be where it is today without street racing culture being mainstream through media and video games.