Now I don't condone street racing, but...
Here are a couple of words of advice, and sorry if this gets long winded. We have all been there and if not, owning a Turbo Buick will eventually find you in these situations. Never, never ever drink and race. That is a no no. Not even 1 beer. Don't race anyone that has been drinking or is drunk. That's the quickest way to get into an accident or wreck and it just ain't worth it. Always try to do any of this outside of town away from on coming traffic, preferably out in the sticks in a controlled environment as possible. No sense risking innocent bystanders lives with these crazy antics. Always know your surroundings. If you are ridding alone, know your options and never count on a friend to help you get out of an area that you are not familiar with or have never been too. There are times when you will get separated no matter how good your plan is. Carry, only if you are legal and have a CCW permit and for protection only. There are alot of crazy people out there. Buick guys, in all my past experiences are typically quiet and tend to park away from the crowds. Kinda of like sharks circling the pack. It's typically the loud cars and their loud mouthed drivers that usually try to start stuff. Like I always say, give them a V8 and a manual transmission and they think they are doing something.
Always keep your cool when it comes to negotiating. Don't let peer pressure, or drunks with loud mouths goad you into a race that you know you can't win. I have seen that so many times in my days. A guy could be a cool cat, but all it would take would be for his friends to try to do the talking and things would eventually get heated up between your friend and one of the other parties loud mouths and before you know it, you're racing a trailer car against your daily driver street car. There's no point, nothing to prove there. Don't waste your time arguing against someones negotiator that is under the influence. It never leads to anything positive. Also, don't make the mistake of thinking your high 11, low 12 car at the track can take down a 10 second non street legal trailer queen if they give you some lengths. I've seen way too many people suckered into this bet that goes something like this....
Loud mouth trailer car owner after a lengthy debate on the race,
"I'll give you 10 and hit for $1,000."
Unknowing competitor,
Ok, it's on!!!
And the race goes something like this....
Slower car spins a little and before he knows it, the trailer car is flying by him before he even gets out of 1st gear.
That my friends is what you call a sucker bet.
If this ever happens, I would ask for something like 30 lengths or half track cause there's no point. On the street, traction is king and real street racers come prepared. When you see guys lighting the street on fire and prepping their lane with VHT, well ahead of a race, you know that they have done this before. There are some streets across the country that hook better than tracks, and it's not uncommon to see cars toat the tires on the street. Yes I said toat. Learn your street slang, listen to what people say, and most importantly, learn everything you can about your competition.
Terms like,
Da hit, Da go, The move = let me leave first before you do.
Give me 3, spot me some = give him some car lengths which can be negotiated either by tire to tire which typically means 1 length from the front of your front tire to the rear of your back tire, or Bumper to bumper. In a Buick, if you ever ask for lengths, make sure you get bumper to bumper as these cars are long to start with. And make sure you have a friend watching this to make sure you don't get shorted.
Go on the flag = Someone will start by the drop of the hands. It's best to watch this starter to learn his moves as some drop em in a flash and it's very easy to be caught sleeping.
The jug, juice, baby bottle, a kit, a shooter = terms used to describe nitrous.
Also, another famous cheating method is for someone to set you out a few lengths and to slowly start rolling before the drop of the hands or flash of the flash light. Be wary of this and of those that like to practice this method. I've seen many a fight break out over this type of dirty trickery, especially if there's a large bet at stake. Go to your local cruise ins, pay attention to cars at those cruise ins and the tires that they run, the smell of their exhaust, and read read and read some more about combinations of your competition. This will help you when it comes time to read a car at the street races. If he showed up at the cruise in wearing factory street radials, but now he's on MT Drag Radials or Bias ply cheater slicks, you now have a clue.
Back in the day, it got to the point that I could just listen to a Fox body and tell what it had under the hood, as well as it's potential just by listening. Over time, you too will get the hang of it. Stroker motor cars make a distinct sound, supercharged cars as well as turbo cars. Visit other car specific web site Message Boards, especially if there are ones dedicated to the locals in your area. Heck, they do it too us for the exact same reasons. Take mental notes when at the track of locals as well. Take a stop watch with you to the track and use it to gauge those who run with No Time or NT on the window. Knowledge like this is very useful on the street. With all of this knowledge, you will be better prepared when it's time for you to finally do battle. If you are looking for some viewing material that shows what true street racing is all about, there are 3 really good videos that you need to pick up.
2FAST2REAL for Hollywood "REAL STREET RACING" 2005
Amazon.com: 2Fast2Real for Hollywood: DVD: 2 Fast 2 Real for Hollywood
Outlaw Motorsports RAW DVD
Outlaw Street Racing
Both by Outlaw Motorsports,
..:: OUTLAW MOTORSPORTS ::..
I picked both up for $30.00 and they are very good videos. couple of familiar faces on both of these videos. Some of our Buick brothers representing for us all. Now, I'm not knocking Import racers, but there is a difference between your Musclecar street racers and your typical Honda Import racers. Don't get me wrong, there are some serious Imports out there such as your DSMs, EVOs, and some STIs. Pretty much anything that is AWD with a turbo can be a serious street threat and should not be taken lightly so watch out. They are out there. It's truely awe inspiring to see one of these street rockets blast off the line with all 4 tires spinning enroute to a 10 second pass. You've been warned.
Another thing, know your surroundings, know your outs just in case the man shows up. Showing up to the scene rolling on skinnies and 10s with pure slicks your first time out, doesn't do anything for you as far as stealth goes. All it does it draw attention from the trailer queens and crotch rockets. Oh yeah, that reminds me, don't race a crotch rocket, all it does is give you a rep for being super fast and untouchable, especially if you go out and wax a Busa or two.
It's all about knowing your competition, running your race, and not showing all your cards on your first run. You'll never make any cheeder if you totally annihilate everyone you ever run. Only beat them enough to let them think they really have a chance. Typically 1-2 cars at most, not bus lengths. Back when my old Grey car was running 12.ohs, there was a solid month of races I had with a friend of mine with a Mustang. He was basically judging his improvements from bolt ons by how much he lost by against me. And it was a friendly bet. I was running the No 5.0 stickers on my car at the time and the bet was, if he won, I had to take them off. Being he was a friend, I didn't want anything in return, but each race I would only beat him by a car or two. When it came to the point that he was finally equal or just faster we only ran one more time, but I told him, if I barely beat him that was it, because we were equal. That day finally came and I barely beat him by a nose. At the time, my best track pass had been a 12.09 @ 109. The next weekend after that race he went out and ran a 11.99 @ 111 at our local track. He was happy and all it did for me was to light a fire to build my first combo with big boy parts. Which eventually went 11.30s at 118 before spinning a rod bearing with 140k miles on the stock bottom end.
Anywho, back to the story,
Roll out on your street tires, but make sure your car can decently hook up on them because there will always come a time in your outings where you will have someone that won't race you unless you are on your street tires. This is why you want your street tires to be either MT Drag Radials or Hoosier Quick Times. Not regular hard as a rock radials. Remember, spinning ain't winnin....
Keep your race tires in the trunk along with a small jack and a 4 way. This way, if you must you can swap tires out right then and there. But if it doesn't come up and they are not needed, don't pop your trunk. Practice your launching on your street tires of choice, keep a 1 liter bottle of water in the trunk along with a bottle of VHT. Do a good water burn out, back up in your tracks, pour down some VHT and do another burn out across the starting line, trying to keep the car straight while doing so and back up in your tracks. Do not pour the water or VHT too close to the actual spot that your rear tires will be launching in. That's a big no no. And only let your close friend pour the water/VHT down. Watch and learn the style of the starter. Real street racers go as soon as they see him move even the slightest bit. If you chase someone, it's a race. If he leaves first and you sit there, it's the same as a mulligan, but don't make a habit of that cause that's the quickest way to start a riot. Be ready and don't be caught sleeping. Don't carry or flash huge wads of cash. In most of my races, I typically would not race for money, just pride & street cred, and the occasional sticker on the car. You know, the ones that look like a No BS sign but have either 5.0 or LS1 inside the slashed circle.
Ok, I hear the Men in Black knocking at my door now, I'm done.
Me street race? I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations.....
