Drag Racing free essay sample

Introduction Drag racing, an acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles covering a measured distance, is probably as old as the automobile itself. As a legal and commercially organized sport, however, it began on Sunday, June 19, 1950. On that day at an airstrip near Santa Ana, California, C. J. Hart, originally of Findlay, Ohio, hosted with two partners the Santa Ana Drags. A year before that, in Goleta, California, a drag race was held on a closed-off section of road with  approval  of the police, but it was only a one-time event. The surge of  returning  veterans at the end of World War II, many of whom could afford an automobile and had a sense of adventure as well as a desire to test the performance of their machines, gave rise to street racing or hot rodding. It was street racing, illegal and  dangerous, which led to the need for safely organized events. Today drag meets take place all across the United States with some contests attracting upwards of 50,000 spectators. Although  drag racing  has become more professional and commercialized than in the beginning, many hobbyists still have the opportunity to participate. There are a multiplicity of race classes, each held to certain rules regarding the weight of the vehicle, engine size and modification, and body configuration. In any major drag-race event there will be dozens of  class  winners. Drag meets in the United States are sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the American Hot Rod Association (AHRA), or the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA). These associations establish and enforce contest and safety rules. The NHRA, founded in 1951 by Wally Parks, remains the most influential drag-racing entity. The first NHRA national championship meet was held inGreat Bend, Kansas, in 1951. The measured course for most races is a quarter-mile, although some competitions are limited to one-eighth of a mile. The track is a straight strip made of asphalt or concrete. Race events usually begin with each  class  conducting trials; the 16 drivers with the lowest times are allowed starting positions in the official competition. After the 16 compete, eight winners advance to the semi-finals until the two remaining victors drag for the championship. The format and rituals of the race are generally the same for all race classes. In the burnout box behind the starting line, drivers will spin their rear tires to generate heat for better traction. Then on signal by the Christmas tree, the electronic starting pole, they will advance to the staging area and then to the starting line. The race will begin when three amber lights, mounted in a vertical row for each driving lane, flash in quick secession from top to bottom, followed by the green light. Should a racer start too soon, a red light at the very bottom of the Christmas tree will turn on, meaning automatic disqualification for the  driver  at fault. Most races, which last from five to ten seconds, are won and lost at the starting line for either red lighting or for not attacking the green, respectively. Beware of drag racing addiction. It is just a powerful as any other addiction. Too many trips to the strip, track, and street has caused many couples some serious problems. There are good and bad things which you can become addicted to. Unfortunately, any addiction can pose serious problems. Gambling poses one of the biggest problems in the United States today, not because its gambling, but because people become addicted to it and lose perspective on the important things in life. Alcohol, cigarettes, and other drug addictions are at an all time high throughout the world, especially in this Country. These are the most common and well known visual addictions. Its pretty hard to hide behind one of them, time will tell. The closet addictions (I call them) such as porno and other sexual addictions are much more difficult to recognize in people because you cant look at a person and tell if he or she has a sex problem of some sort. To further prove that you can become addicted to almost anything; lets take a quick look at a few other habit forming hobbies which can easily turn into addictions. Junk collecting for many is more than just a fun past time, its a serious condition called hoarding which is addictive and requires professional help to overcome. One of the most well known types of addictions is sports. This addiction can come in any form of sports ranging from video games, football, basketball, and so on, but one of the easiest habits to form is a drag racing addiction. Drag racing seems to give its participants a high that keeps them coming back for more. Many times it only takes just one trip to the tracked and you are hooked for life. The power, the sound, and the speed of a well built  muscle car  can be very exciting. But what is it that causes people, both male and female to become hooked or addicted to drag racing. In order to answer this question you have to actually experience being a part of building a racing car. Learning about engines, horsepower, torque, racing slicks and all that only increases your anticipation. The anticipation of creating something so powerful is mind boggling, and the thrill of victory when you first experience it naws and eats at you from that point on. Once you compete, you are forever trying to outperform, out build, and out run your competitor. The first race down the strip only leads to you wanting more and more and more. The feeling you get can hardly be put into words. Its exciting, overwhelming, and emotional. This experience usually causes most modest drag racers to become power hunger beasts, thus another victim bitten by the drag racing addiction bug. At any age, one can develop a drag racing addiction, even if its just for playing  drag racing games. Participants from the age of four to 84 years old seem to it for the same reasons, and all serious drag racers know that deep down inside, you are only as good as your last race, win or lose. In closing, I want to let you know that the hunger for more horsepower, torque, and speed sends the novice and professional drag racers alike back to the drawing board over and over again. Drag racing is an automobile or motorcycle competition that uses straight, level, and fairly short ? -mile (400 meter) or ? -mile (800 meter) tracks, though distances can vary. Competitors commonly race by twos, side by side. The vehicles start the race from a dead stop, accelerating to great speeds in a short interval. The first vehicle to pass the â€Å"traps† or end of the official track wins. The drag racing track extends sufficiently beyond the traps to allow vehicles to decelerate safely. Drag races are frequently run in â€Å"heats. † A heat is one completed drag race, and many take place in a single racing event. Winning a heat allows the driver to progress to the next heat. At the end of the day, the two best drivers compete against each other for the final win. Autos and motorcycles used in drag racing have been modified in most cases, some heavily so. A vehicle is classified according to its modifications to ensure fair competition. Cars built for drag racing might be turbo charged, supercharged, or fitted with nitrous oxide systems. Bodies are made of light material to allow better power-to-weight ratios. Among the top five professional classes of drag racing are  Top Fuel Dragster,  Top Fuel Funny Car,  Pro Modified,  Pro Stock  and  Pro Stock Bike  for motorcycles. There are also popular classifications that fall outside professional races. Some of these are  Top Alcohol Dragster,Top Alcohol Funny Car,  Super Comp Quick Rod,  Super Gas Super Rod,  Super Street Hot Rod,Super Stock  and  Stock  car racing. Smaller cars can also compete in the  Sport Compact  drag racing class. Drag racing has a certain mystique that appeals not only to professionals, but also to adolescents coming of age. Without access to a drag strip, some teenagers with customized cars engage in street racing as an illegal and dangerous form of drag racing. Street racers find a strip of straight road and compete against each other. The movie  American Graffiti  (1973) featured a street racing scene, while  The Fast and the Furious  (2001) was based around a proposed subculture of street racers. Street racing is extremely dangerous and results in many senseless deaths each year. Though professional drag racing is enjoyed worldwide, it remains most popular in the United States, where it originated. Drag racing events are thrilling to attend, with speeds matched only by the incredible roar of the engines. Those with sensitive hearing may want to bring earplugs. Body Street Racing is a form of unsanctioned Illegal Racing. These racings take place in suburban public roads. Street Racing can be separated into 2 races, spontaneous or coordinated. Spontaneous ones are when 2 vehicles meet at a stop light and start when the light turns green; these races are considered to be very dangerous because of the unpredicted cars that might pass your way. The other one, coordinated is a much safer race because it blocks out streets so no one will come past the race course. These kinds of races are well planned out before the race night, often the people around have a 2 way radio to communicate and they also have police scanners and GPS units to spot out the local police hot spots. Street Racing was reported to originate in the US in 1930s. In the world of Street Racing, there are different types of racing. Drag racing is considered the most common type of race around, this involves two or more vehicles to accelerate from zero until the given distance is reached. The start is usually started by a person dropping his arm or if at night they use flash lights. Open Road This is the simplest form of racing. These races consist of two or more vehicles to compete until one is a clear winner. This is very different from Drag Racing, which only has a set distance on a straight road. Touge is currently the new race around. Touge is sometimes referred to as drifting. Touge racing is when one car chases the other down a mountain pass as seen on The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. This race can only end when the chaser overtakes the runner or when the runner outruns the chaser. These races are the most common ones in the streets today. While I was searching for an article in The Age, I found an article concerning Illegal Drag Racing where the driver was found speeding on Princes Highway at Altona at 1. 5 am on April 20. He was clocked at 150km/h which is 50km/h over the speed limit. At some stage where the man tried to turn, he took it too fast and hit a kerb, putting some damage on the car. The man is suspected to have been racing with another person but the police are still searching for them. If the drivers know the risks of Illegal Drag Racing, why do they still do it? There are several reasons for that : A community generally springs up around the street rac ing scene, providing social interaction among the participants therein. The opportunity to prove the worth of ones mechanical ability (or money invested in a vehicle). The simple and uncomplicated excitement of racing without the entry fees and rules. The excitement of racing when law enforcement is certain to give chase. Street races are sometimes wagered on, either by the participants or observers. This is the origin of the term racing for pink slips (which means that the winner keeps the opponents car), which rarely happens; most wagers involve cash. These are just some of the reasons why they commit Illegal Drag Racing. As the street racing culture places a very high social value on a fast vehicle, people who might not otherwise be able to afford highly modifiable, but very expensive vehicles such as the Acura NSX and Toyota Supra may attempt to steal them, violently or otherwise. Additionally, street racers tend to form teams which participate in racing together; the implication above is that these teams may be a form of organized crime or gang activity. Street racing in Australia is most widespread in its two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney. Street Racers in Australia and New Zealand are called Hoons. This term is used to describe reckless and dangerous driving. In Melbourne, since the 1970s, several legal street racing was allowed to be held regularly at Calder Park Raceway. These days the police have been organizing on-street legal racing events to encourage people to participate in the events safely. There have been reports that a hot spot has been found in Dandenong and Springvale areas, where street racing is held occasionally because of its large roads and quiet streets. For my conclusion, Drag Racing should not be taken lightly, it causes a lot of deaths and damages to property if somehow a vehicle lost control. But I guess its their decision if they want to race or not, they are risking their own lives just to have a bit of excitement. Conclusion Drag Racing is an important subject that is taught at all academic levels. Many students struggle to write their  paper on Drag Racing,  Drag Racing test  term paper or  coursework about Drag Racing. The number of academic assignments can come as a shock to students who try and make the transition from highs school to college. This means that you have to research and write a thorough and complete  Drag Racing test. A professional writer who has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of  Drag Racing fallacies  can help you save hours of your time. We are available to help you write your  cause and effect of Drag Racing  assignment and  Drag Racing summary  24 hours a day, 7 days a week and at any educational level. We will ensure that your  Drag Racing analysis  is researched, original, properly cited and formatted. Your paper will also be written without any grammatical, spelling and punctual mistakes. Racing, to me, is just the outward display of whose car is faster than the other guys. It is not a sport. It is not game. It is just immaturity on wheels. Now of course, many people will put a lot of work, money, and time into making their car faster than the next guys, but why? There is no product to show for all of your hard work but a glove-box full of speeding tickets, an engine that will need to be replaced soon, and tires that have already been replaced ten times. Hopefully, you will soon realize that beating someone else in a drag race at the stop-light has its consequences. Racing your vehicle can lead to speeding tickets, which in turn, can lead to a bite in your wallet. Speeding tickets normally range from about a hundred to two hundred dollars and can be documented on your permanent driving record. For example, you can get away with your first ticket by paying the fine and then taking defensive driving, but if you get another one within the next year, defensive driving will not be an option. If this happens, you will have to pay the fine and the violation will be documented. Differed adjudication is another option, but a judge must grant it. It basically works like probation, in that, if you get another ticket within either a ninety-day or one hundred and eighty-day period (depending on what the judge gives you), both tickets will go on your record. But if you manage to make the ninety or one hundred and eighty days, the ticket will not go on your record. Since a drag race is only last a few minutes, racers who win call it their â€Å"15 seconds of Fame†, a play on Andy Warhol’s famous quotation. However, racers trying to create even 15 second place in drag racing for themselves since the 1950’s. This play on words speaks about the short duration of success a racer has, and reflects the intense, brief burst of competition during a race. As mentioned previously, racers consider themselves as competitors first. Examining the experiences of driver in drag racing has made it clear to me that women are both empowered and constrained by gender roles within male defined sports. Within the history of the sport, woman began in a traditional role as supporting their husbands who were drag racers. As ideas of the family changed in the 1950’s women gradually became part of the public realm society, including sports. Woman such as Shirley Muldowney created legal, equal arenas for women to compete against men. My participant observation and interviews with women racers were based in the literature regarding women’s experiences in male dominated sport, gender norms in sports and the experiences of early women drag racers. I observed one drag racing event and explored the spatial differences which define women’s participation within them. My interviews explored the experiences of four women in the event, three as racers and one as supporter. The opinions of men were identified through conversations with my participant observation.