There was a strange news day last year wheb, on the same day that news out of Denver broke about a local drag strip shutting down, there was also an announcement of a new dragstrip in California opening up. The Colorado track got gobbled up up by the suburbs. That’s not big news; for years, race tracks from Sacramento to Scarborough have been bulldozed in the name of progress (check out our multi-part series on Ghost Tracks).
But that new California track? That’s something special, and motorists in Toronto should pay attention to it.
You see, that new drag strip is designed for ‘street cars‘ and not race cars. No NHRA sanctioning or big crowds of spectators. Just a place where fast drivers can keep it off the streets and take it to the track. We all love driving fast. It’s not a sin…it’s a thrill! Just like a roller-coaster.
That’s why Andy Morocco owns and operates Street Legal Raceway in California. A former street racer himself, Morocco now provides a safe place to go fast. Somewhere other than the public roads for drivers to feed their need for speed. Like a safe injection site for car junkies!
Why should we care? Just watch the local news and you’ll invariably see stories like this one, below.
An 18-tear-old doing 199 km/h on an Ontario highway. He’s lucky he wasn’t permanently late for the party. Imagine if this motoring madman came up on someone doing the speed limit. He’d panic and wreck. But driving fast is something all drivers do to come degree, and nothing short of Big Brother installing speed-governors on personal cars will stop people from speeding.
Rather than fighting the natural desire to go fast, people of vision created drag strips to promote safety, sportsmanship, and fellowship among speed demons. A great man named Wally Parks helped establish modern drag racing and established the NHRA in 1951. It’s purpose was to get young speed demons off the streets and encourage organized racing with an emphasis on safety. To this day, the trophies in NHRA drag racing series are still called ‘Wallys’.
Things have changed since Wally Parks’ day. Now, the NHRA is a big money racing series, far from its roots. The original purpose of the series has been lost. Now you need a six-figure budget to go drag racing.
In the good old days if you wanted to show off your fast ride, you went down to the local drag strip to prove it. You’d get a time slip instead of a ticket. Rather than vilifying the automobile, police and community organizations created promotional films to show the positive side of racing. Here’s one of those films called ‘The Cool Hot Rod’ from 70 years ago promoting safe speed. Amazing how applicable the message remains today.
There’s still a couple drag strips in Southern Ontario that have ‘take it to the track’ nights where anyone can run their street car down the quarter mile. How we’d love to see someone build a facility like Street Legal Racing here in Toronto, down by the old port lands at Cherry beach. That’s the spot everyone drag racing on the weekends anyway. Why not make it official, sanctioned and safe..
In about 2016 I realized I had better pay attention to politics. Ever since I’ve been big time online keeping up with all the most UNimportant stuff. That stuff gets old. I love this blog because it’s about a subject I don’t know much about but am gaining more and more appreciation as I read your posts.
What was the narrator doing under his hood the first time he parked? Did you notice it was Tom Hanks who was killed at the rail crossing? I think if my dad had been someone who liked tinkering with cars, I’d have been out in the garage with him learning about engines. Loved loved loved the film. I guess I’m pretty sentimental because I really appreciate what seems to me to be a much simpler time. Let’s turn off the internet and have a redo of life with human interaction. We’d be more likely to build drag strips if we didn’t have these little magic rectangles with us all the time. Anyway, I love the blog and especially enjoyed this post.
There’s a truckload of old films on YT now that are find just fascinating. This one (70 years old) could have been filmed today (same message).
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I think our ‘cool’ narrator was doing NOTHING under the hood. No tools, engine all hot. He’s just showing off (keeps looking over his shoulder).
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Poor Tom Hanks! Fighter pilot, hot rodder…killed because he put all his cash into motor and none into brakes. All this decades before his Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.
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My family’s been posting on our website for 10 years now. Theres an article about every race we compete in. Then just general car culture articles in the off season. Cars are so…analog…it gets you out of the magic rectangle.
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We’re really glad you enjoyed the article. My 14 year old daughter was THRILLED that a woman actally commented. That brough her joy….so, thanks!