Drifters shut down California highway while doing donuts

[Ed Blown Vert]

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan


As champions of both rear-wheel drive and the hand brake, we completely understand the compulsion to get sideways on occasion. Hell, there was a time when no vacant parking lot was safe from our hellion ways - but there's a difference between harming nothing but your own rear tires and putting an entire highway's worth of commuters in danger. That's exactly what a set of Orange County kids managed to do when they shut down what looks to be a six-lane interstate for the soul purpose of doing some donuts.

From what we can tell, there were a few Ford Mustang models, at least one Chevrolet Camaro and a few Nissan 240SX drivers in attendance, and while the act of spinning a car isn't necessarily dangerous in and of itself, asking traffic that was traveling at around 60 mph to come to a complete stop for your stupidity is the definition there of. Do us a favor, jokers: keep it off the street. Enjoy the shakiest of hand cams in the video below.Continue reading Drifters shut down California highway while doing donuts
Drifters shut down California highway while doing donuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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[Firebirdjones]

I've seen this before, it's becoming more apparent. It's either drag racing or doing donuts in the streets.

I can't say I blame them. With more and more tracks shutting down that's usually what happens. It was explained to California for years and fell on deaf ears.
Arizona is heading in the same direction with both Phoenix dragstrips closing down this year (in just a few months). Only dragstrip left in AZ will be all the way down in Tucson. So I suspect the illegal street activity will rise here as well.

I'm not saying I condone it, but I certainly can understand it. If you don't give these kids a legal track to play on at reasonable prices, this is what happens.

[konigandy6]

FBJ... it makes sense, therefore the government doesn't understand.

[Firebirdjones]

FBJ... it makes sense, therefore the government doesn't understand.

Yeah I know what you mean.

Too many people complain of the tracks, noise, pollution, etc...then you have members of the government that want to fill their pockets, developers who want to fill their pockets etc....
What they don't realize (or they simply don't care) is how much money places like this bring into the region, jobs it creates, entertainment, taxes, etc...

Speedworld is a perfect example of this. Brings in over a million annually to the local region, pays taxes to the city, other local establishments like restaurants and motels reap benefits during the larger meets. Yet Maricopa county doesn't want to renew the land lease. After repeat negotiations and all requests demanded by the county have been met by Speedworld, they still won't comply or even come back to the table. So the track is shutting down in June for good. Been here since 1960 or 61. What a shame. They just want the track gone, plain and simple. I'll have to find the link to it.....

But this has been happening for years, look at what California has been through. Legendary tracks are now gone. Only thing left that I'm aware of in the southern region is Pomona. You have Sac Raceway way north (3-400 miles???) That's about it.

Makes me sick. Yet nearly every state has a Nascar track with new ones popping up (some have more than one). Like that helps the average people who want to race. Pfffff. Don't get me wrong, I like Nascar, but that doesn't get the racing bug out of my system when I just sit there and watch.

[Firebirdjones]

Here you go, another one bites the dust....

State Working to Cancel Lease! Speedworld may be Closing Sooner than Later!

[Y2KArcticSS]

Agreed FBJ. They almost shut down Tulsa Raceway Park, owner was more interested in money than cars, luckily some interested parties joined up and bought it to keep it open. The good part about TRP is it is near Tulsa Int'l Airport, so the neighbors don't have much argument on noise. I hope it stays open, it is a really nice facility, and keeps at least some of the racing scene off public streets.

[Firebirdjones]

Agreed FBJ. They almost shut down Tulsa Raceway Park, owner was more interested in money than cars, luckily some interested parties joined up and bought it to keep it open. The good part about TRP is it is near Tulsa Int'l Airport, so the neighbors don't have much argument on noise. I hope it stays open, it is a really nice facility, and keeps at least some of the racing scene off public streets.

What's odd about this is that an old dragstrip back near Cincinnati where I'm originally from was shut down for noise, and it was on the premises of the Lunken Airport. They shut that dragstrip down in about 1975 or so because the nearby houses were complaining of noise. Just unbelievable. That airport is still in operation to this day,,,,go figure...

Firebird Raceway, Phoenix's only other dragstrip is shutting down in March because the indians don't want to renew that land lease contract either. Here's the funny part.
In about 1960 (about the same year that Speedworld mentioned above opened) they had a track near Scottsdale called Beeline. It was also on Indian Reservation land. In about 1974 the Indians decided they didn't want to renew that lease and the track closed, been closed ever since in untouched condition, almost a time warp if you will. (so that closing accomplished absolutely nothing)
Then in 1985 a group decided to start another drag strip, (aka Firebird Raceway). Huge Facility, monster trucks, boat racing, NHRA sanctioned drag racing etc.... What I don't understand is that they again leased the land from the indians (it too is on reservation land) And now here we are some 25+ years later in the same boat that Beeline was in back in 1974. You would think people would learn from past experience,,,,DUH!!!

So now we are losing Firebird thanks to the Indians, and losing Speedworld thanks to the County. I'm thinking the county saw an opportunity. They already knew Firebird was going away and decided to axe the lease on Speedworld several months early and run them out too and rid the town completely of a drag strip.

But that's just the conspiracy theory coming out of me

[Y2KArcticSS]

You need to buy some acreage of non Indian reservation, get some investors, and get to building the next generation of drag racing in AZ. I made that sound super easy didn't I ?

[35th-ANV-SS]

We still have ours, luckily. Even though it's went through management changes. Actually, I just found another one in MI not too far away from my house I never knew about while heading to Paw Paw. It was right off I-80.

Andy - do you know which one I'm talking about? It's East of Paw Paw.

[Firebirdjones]

We still have ours, luckily. Even though it's went through management changes. Actually, I just found another one in MI not too far away from my house I never knew about while heading to Paw Paw. It was right off I-80.

Andy - do you know which one I'm talking about? It's East of Paw Paw.

Isn't Paw Paw off of I-94? There is Onondaga Dragway but it's way East of Paw Paw, actually East of Kalamazoo and Just South of Lansing.

A closer one to Paw Paw would be US-131 which is just North and East of Paw Paw.

[Firebirdjones]

You need to buy some acreage of non Indian reservation, get some investors, and get to building the next generation of drag racing in AZ. I made that sound super easy didn't I ?

Piece of cake

I've always told my wife, when I win the lottery, I'm buying acreage (lots of it) and building my own personal dragstrip on my own property to play on. Maybe invite friends over.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Holy hell, I wasn't thinking

Sorry - it was WEST of Paw Paw, and you are right, it was right off of 94.

Been traveling too much lately apparently.

[KahanaReef]

Holy hell, I wasn't thinking

Sorry - it was WEST of Paw Paw, and you are right, it was right off of 94.

Been traveling too much lately apparently.

Nah, it's the drugs

[35th-ANV-SS]

I am currently taking 5 different medications.

[konigandy6]

I am currently taking 5 different medications.

Viagra, Enzyte, and Cialis are 3 of them.