Newest Hybrid Event Offers Up Something for Every Drag Racing Taste

There is a reason that events like Street Car Takeover, which plays June 18-19 at US 131 Motorsports Park, are luring participants and fans away from more traditional drag racing events produced by sanctioned organizations.

That reason is diversity.  Consider the wealth of competitive options.  Over the two days, Michigan’s fastest track will stage races on the quarter mile and on the eighth mile; races with timers and scoreboards on, races with timers and scoreboards off.  There’ll be standing start races and rolling start races; races for daily drivers, for vehicles with small tires and those with not so small tires and races exclusively for stick shift vehicles.

There’s even something for those who prefer their vehicles in a stationary position – a massive car and truck show.

According to officials, Street Car Takeover is a lifestyle event featuring something akin to do-it-yourself competition in vehicles with which people readily identify – Chevies, Fords, Dodges, Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas, Kias, Volkswagens, Pontiacs, Buicks and Barracudas.

Specifically, the Street Racer Heads Up class features a guaranteed cash payout of $3,000.  It’s contested on the traditional quarter mile with clocks on and times shown on the read-out scoreboards.  But, get this, participants must complete a 25-mile pre-race cruise leaving from the racetrack to assure the street-abilty of the vehicle.

The counterpoint is the Small Tire class in which drivers compete on the eighth-mile course for a $3,500 guaranteed purse with times and speeds not shown.

There’s a Heavyweight class with a 4,200-pound minimum weight in which trucks and SUVs run against cars with both V8 and six cylinder engines running on both diesel and gasoline with competition equalized by either the addition of prohibition of power adders like nitrous oxide, superchargers or turbochargers.

There are 10-second, 11-second and 12-second Index classes for daily drivers, a separate class for 4-speed, 5-speed, 6-speed and 7-speed stick shift vehicles, a Mild Street class and a separate truck and SUV class.

What really sets the series apart, though, is a phenomenon called “roll racing” which abandons drag racing’s typical dead stop start in favor of a rolling start in which competing vehicles cross the starting line at 40 miles per hour and then try to avoid exceeding a target speed limit of up to, depending upon the class, 130 mph, 140 mph, 150 mph and the unlimited King of the Bakery, at the quarter mile finish.

King of the Bakery (remember that it’s “roll” racing) is the ultimate goal although champions also will be crowned in Mild Street, Modified Street and Daily Street classes.

Gates open for racers at 3pm on Friday, 4:30pm for spectators.  Drivers meeting for roll racers at 6:30pm, testing on the track (roll racers) from 6:45pm-8pm, eliminations begin at 8pm.  Saturday gates open at 9 am for racers, 11am for spectators, on track at 12 noon for testing, eliminations begin at 3:30pm, car show 11am-5-pm and burnout contest at 3pm. Adult admission to Street Car Takeover is $35 for two days or $20 per day if purchased in advance, $40 for two day and $25 per day at gate with children six and under free with a ticketed adult.  Tickets and VIP parking are available in advance at www.streetcar-takeover.com.

-www.us131msp.com-