Street Racing Cars History:
Bored teenagers began fabricating their own cars from the vintage frames of 1920's and 1930's Fords and Chevys.They began racing these cars along the dry lakes of Southern California, testing themselves against each other in timing trials.
The first proven formula cars were vintage American gangster mobiles; Fords and Chevys, especially the '32 Fords with the first V-8 engine.
Street racing began to take over whole city blocks, but the cops let it go; it wasn't legal but it was considered harmless, even acceptable.
Street Racing Car in the 1950's
50's Greasers formed the first street racing teams who collaborated on one high performance car, one with an engine that was bored and stroked with headers and Mallory ignitions.
The team identity was a necessary step in improving the overall anatomy of a hotrod.
Stoplights across America had become unofficial street racing launch pads, and the police were making arrest.
Street Racing Car in the 1960's
The commercialization of street racing lead to the creation of "Drag Racing", an attempt to give the pastime a sense of solidarity as a sport, and to make street racing less dangerous by pulling it off the streets.
Visionaries like George Harris and his "Batmobile" camouflaged street racing behind a veneer of Hollywood camp.
The popularization of the street racing culture brought forth the poet of decal, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.
The desire to street race outside the establishment continued to gain support and the "taming" of street racing had had the reverse effect of expanding the boundaries of the racing participants.
A hot Oldsmobile or Buick replaced a Ford or a Chevy as the street racing car of choice.
Street Racing Car in the 1970's
The 70's was the decade of the muscle car.
Heavy muscle cars for street racing were stocked with almost unlimited straight-line power, 600 horsepower engines, blowers and nitrous oxide systems, and CB radios that kept the street racers one step ahead of the police.
The loss in stamina, power, and performance drove many street racers back to the sleek 1960's sports cars like the '68 Cougar and '67 Chevelle.
Police failed to eliminate most gatherings, and street racing continued to remain a contest sport.
Street Racing Car in the 1980's
Street racing became a technology-driven event, with emphasis on suspension and handling, road feel, luxury ride, and gas efficiency.
There was a hunger for "sleekness" in street racing cars.
The street racer sects of Tokyo invented Downhill Racing or Canyon Racing.
Japanese engines and transmissions are modern and computerized. A street racer could tweak the engine with a computer instead of a garage.
Street Racing Car in the 1990's
Tuning subcompact import cars had taken root among gang circles in Los Angeles, giving the sport of street racing a new glamour.
Car shows and sanctioned drag races helped bring the physiology of Honda Civics and Toyota Supras to the level of street influence.
Acuras, Mitsubishis, Toyotas, and Hondas are the street racing cars of choice.
Street Racing Today
Japanese street racing is the tradition you see today.
Today, it is possible to pick up a street race virtually anywhere in the US.
NDRA is created, becoming the country's most popular sanctioned sport-compact drag racing circuit.
Street racing and its culture grows larger every day as the debate between imports and domestics rages on.
© 2010 Street Racing Performance