Drag Racing & Street Racing Research Paper

" If they lost, they would simply bring their cars home and continue working on them, bringing them back the next weekend for the race. The majority of drag racing fans were and still are people who enjoy working on their own cars (Natural Museum of America History). Going fast was the only real value in drag racing.

Briefer and briefer elapsed times, the goal; shaving weight and boosting power any way possible, the means. Cars with comparable kinds of bodies ran in match races, with few restrictions on engine, chassis, and drive-train modifications that owners could try. The motivating idea -- and the quality that still attracts the die-hard enthusiasts for the form -- is the same "no holds barred" expression of sheer power deftly (Natural Museum of America History).

Drag racing rules have changed over the sixty years since Wally Parks helped found the National Hot Rod Association, but they are mainly to accommodate technical changes like fiberglass bodies. There have been additional safety improvements as well, for example, roll cages and fire suppression to help protect the driver (Natural Museum of America History). These regulations are what make competitive (and legal) drag racing safe. Drag racing on streets is never legal, under any circumstances, and competitive drag racers will be the first to preach about the dangers of illegal street and drag racing.

While drag racing is not as popular as Indy or NASCAR, that is most likely because drag racing is more of a mechanics' form of racing than a drivers' form, "but any enthusiast will rightly point out the skills of the drivers of such high-powered cars, the fastest of which now exceed 300 mph in "the quarter" (Natural Museum of America History.

Drag racing and street racing are full of history and tradition. As mentioned, the images of the early drag racers have become iconic in our culture. Movie stars such as James Dean and Steve McQueen were some of the most memorable actors who played guys who had "a need for speed." Professional drag racing is steeped in American tradition and it also helps shake off the stereotype that street racing and drag racing are just juvenile shenanigans. Drag racing and street racing are, undoubtedly, quite symbolic for many as -- especially men -- as the car and speed seems to go hand-in-hand with masculinity (which is why actors like Dean and McQueen have gone down in history as some of our most notorious "bad boys").

Illegal street racing is more common today than one might generally think. It happens in the inner cities frequently and less frequently in the suburbs (though it still occurs). Illegal street racing, according to studies, is more ubiquitous in African-American neighborhoods, "under a climate of isolation" where "the underclass youth evolve new attitudes, behaviors and practices which further marginalize their neighborhoods" (Massey & Denton 43).

While the organization of the National Hot Rod Association has done a great deal to change the way that people look at drag racing -- forcing people to see it as a dangerous sport that must be regulated and organized, dangerous and illegal street racing and drag racing still take place on the urban and suburban streets and back roads of America.

References:

Natural Museum of America History. "Drag Racing." America on the Move. 28 Nov

2010. Web. http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/themes/story_66_4.html

Auto Media. "The Golden Years of Drag Racing." Auto Media. 28 Nov 2010. Web.

http://www.automedia.com/The_Golden_Years_of_Drag_Racing/pht20030201dr/

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Dregni, Michael. The All-American Hot Rod: The Cars. The Legends. The Passion.

Motorbooks; first edition, 2010.

Massey, Douglas. & Denton, Nancy. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making

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Miller, Timothy. Drag Racing: The World's Fastest Sport. Firefly Books, 2009.

National Hot Rod Association. The Fast Lane: The History of NHRA Drag Racing.

Harper Entertainment, 2001......