Speed Racers A new wave of Bay Area street racers spends big bucks for the thrill and glory of being the fastest kid on the block. Written by Marifi Esteves Photo by Ron Lewis Speed is their drug of choice. The kind that slams drivers into their seats with the engines screaming, sending the tachometers toward the redline. On the straight and narrow, desire beckons and adrenaline pumps the lust for a thrilling rush. Their craving is fulfilled only with one quick drag. The addiction is illegal drag racing. For many young people in the Bay Area, running a car past 100 mph is the ultimate high. Today, drag racers aren't the leather-clad hoodlums immortalized in movies like "Rebel Without a Cause" or "American Graffiti." Most are middle-class students hooked on the pulsating energy of horsepower. Damian Kozul, 19, has been racing since he was 15 years old and is into the American cars, the so-called muscle cars. His shiny bluish-purple 1964 Chevy Malibu is fast. With $20,000 worth of modifications, it can run a quarter-mile in 10 seconds at 135 mph. "I wanted it to go faster," says Damian, " and before I knew it, I totally went all out. It's like drugs, it gets addictive. It's always more, more, more!" Damian built his car from the inside out, replacing everything with high-performance parts including the motor, torque-converter and transmission. His car uses nitrous oxide, the same gas used by dentists, to boost his engine to more than 200 horsepower or "horse pressure," as Damian calls it. With a flick of a button, the nitrous travels from a bottle to a hose connected to the motor, bombarding the engine with more oxygen enabling the car to perform faster. "It's not exactly legal (to use nitrous)," says Damian, "and it can be dangerous if you don't know how to use it." Since nitrous is a gas, it's extremely flammable and can explode. Anita, 20, races her parents' Mercedes 190 and is part of the import-racing scene. As far as she knows, she is the only female racer on the streets. "There's not a lot of girls racing," says Anita. "It's hard being the only girl, but ... like how people get high off weed, I get high off of racing." Jonerick, 22, has been racing for five years and races a purple Acura Integra. "I race for the bragging rights, to be able to say my car is faster than yours. Once you get that speed rush, you can't quit." According to Jonerick, it's easy to spot an impending race because there will be a long train of imports following each other to the designated spot. Races can happen on any given night, but mostly in the wee hours on the weekends. A typical race has two cars side by side, with a person in the middle to flag go. Whoever finishes first at the designated finish line, usually a quarter-mile, is the winner. Sometimes, a race can be initiated between two strangers on the road with a signal. "If someone flashes their emergency lights at you while you're driving," says Anita, "that means he wants to race you. So both cars stop at a stoplight or whatever, and then we're off." Pink-slip races, where the winner takes possession of the loser's vehicle, are rare and maybe more myth than matter. "I've heard of (pink slip races), but I've never seen one," says Damian. "Cars were cheaper back in the '50s. Nowadays, races are for the fun of it. Other times, it's for money. I've been to races where people bet between $500 to $1,500 on a driver." There are favorite roads known to all racers, like Brotherhood Way or Third and Cargo in San Francisco, but any deserted lot or road is a potential track. Because muscle cars such as Malibus, Chevelles and GTOs aren't as common anymore, Damian and his racing buddies have to be more careful than the more populous import scene. American cars and import cars hardly ever race one another because the muscle cars have bigger engines producing more horsepower which translates into more speed. Damian says muscle cars run the quarter-mile between nine and 10 seconds, while the fastest import, according to both Damian and Jonerick, is around 13 to 14 seconds. Because of the small number of muscle cars racing, they tend to circulate all over the Bay Area. The majority of the import racing scene is in South Bay cities like San Jose, Milpitas and Fremont. But recently the races moved up to San Francisco because of recent crackdowns by the police. Jonerick says the South Bay is "hot" because of the gang-related racing crews. Violence erupted, guns were involved and the police impounded 15 cars and issued 90 citations. Sergeant Bruce Raye of the San Jose Police Department says the policy today for drag racing is to issue a ticket and not to impound cars. "It's up to the officer to make the judgment call," says Raye. "If it's just two kids at a red light racing down the block, then we'll issue a ticket. If it's a big organized race that gets out of hand, then maybe we'll impound cars and give them some jail time." Currently the San Francisco Police Department doesn't have a policy dealing with drag racing because, according to its Traffic Enforcement Division, there is not a pressing need. Jonerick worries about the consequences of illegal drag racing. He has put too much time and money into his car to risk impoundment. "There are those people who steal cars or strip cars for parts," says Jonerick. "I work three jobs to support my habit. I tell myself I'm gonna get out of it, but that bug just stays with you and you just can't get rid of it." Anita wants to buy and modify her own car to race, possibly a Toyota MR2 or Honda Civic. She started her own drag-racing crew and plans to race as long as she's able. "I know some of the guys think I'm a bitch," says Anita, "or that I don't have the same skills. But when I win, I just say, 'Ha, ha! I kicked your ass!'" "As far as seeing girls race," says Damian, "I guess you automatically assume they're not as competitive, but in pro drag racing, there have been some women champions." One of those women is Shirley Muldowney, the first driver, male or female, to be a three-peat champion in the National Hot Rod Association's most respected race, the Winston World Champion. The NHRA has been around since 1951 and has more than 150 corporate sponsors, such as R.J. Reynolds and Budweiser, that offer purses between $30,000 and $200,000 depending on the sponsor and the class you race in. The fastest division is Top Fuel, in which cars travel at speeds in excess of 300 mph and run the quarter-mile in 4.7 seconds. Damian dreams of being a professional drag racer, but for now relies on parents, work and sometimes loans to supply his speed yearnings. He is training to be a mechanic and hopes to eventually become a fabricator, someone who builds hot rods and implements new ideas for faster performance. "I would love to turn pro," says Damian, "but for now, we're all just a bunch of weekend warriors." |ISSUE #2|FEATURES|A&E|INVESTIGATIVE| |GREEN WATCH|NAKED TRUTH|IN MOTION|HEALTH|INDEX|