Police Seek “Regional Alliance” to Combat Street Racing Scourge

Amid a resurgence of deadly street racing crashes, and the looming closure of a sanctioned dragstrip that has provided a safer alternative to street racing, the Los Angeles Police Department is spearheading an effort to create a "regional alliance to combat these deadly events."

"Our commitment to the growing epidemic of street racing in our communities is vital," states a March 25 letter from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Valley Traffic Captain John McMahon. The letter invites "key community  and government stakeholders," including representatives of other law enforcement agencies, to a Tuesday meeting at Valley Traffic Division.

Last fall, Valley Traffic launched a renewed effort to suppress street racing events that often operate as middle of the night flash gatherings that take over a stretch of straight road.

During an alleged early morning street race in Chatsworth on February 26, and recorded on cellphone video, an accelerating Mustang veered out of control and into a group of apparent spectators on a sidewalk, killing two of them.

Last week in Gardena, two more were injured and another died, including the driver of a car that crashed while allegedly racing another vehicle that did not stop.

"One of the objectives will be to form a joint task force committee...to gather best practices from multiple agencies and implement those practices in a joint effort to aggressively enforce street racing in our communities," the letter stated.

Among those planning to attend the Tuesday meeting are representatives of Irwindale Event Center, the only remaining facility in Los Angeles and Orange Counties conducting weekly drag racing open to ordinary road cars.

"We offer a safe and controlled environment," said Bob Klein, Vice President of Team 211 Entertainment, LLC, which operates the Event Center.

However, it is possible the facility will be closed at year's end.

The Irwindale property was sold last year, and the new owner has notified the Irwindale City Council of an intention to seek permitting to develop a major shopping center on the site.

Team 211's lease expires at the end of the year, Klein said.  Though the operators would be prepared to continue racing beyond that date if for some reason development was delayed, they have received no commitment.

Irwindale Speedway opened with a half mile oval track in 1999.  The one-eighth mile dragstrip was added two years later, and has operated almost continuously since then.  The drag races are sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Assn (NHRA), which sets standards for safety equipment and race operation. Emergency crews are on hand to respond to any accidents.

This season the weekly Thursday evening meets have been drawing 250 drag racers, their $20 fee entitling them to as many as half a dozen runs, depending on how busy the track is.

The racers range from retirees with vintage hot rods to a generation of twenty-somethings who favor smaller imported cars they have souped up.

Some will acknowledge street racing in the past.  "It's just not safe.  I'd rather come here anyway," said Al Houston, an aircraft mechanic who races a Datsun 240Z with a Corvette V-8 he shoe-horned under the hood after removing the original six cylinder engine.

"I've always liked going fast," said Baron Bhogosian, a Pierce College Student who races an older red Corvette that earned him his sobriquet, "The Red Baron."  He aspires to transfer to USC to study chemical engineering.

Bhogosian will admit to revving his engine at the occasional stoplight, but says he avoids street racing.

"It's not worth it," Bhogosian said.  "You can come out here and spend $20 and have people who can help you if you do crash and need help."

At Irwindale, Bhogosian sees "a lot of people who used to street race."

Over the years, Irwindale Police have launched initiatives to encourage street racers to switch to the track, including  covering their $20 entry fee.  

"The Irwindale dragstrip has always been a good outlet," said Sgt. George Zendejas.

More than a decade ago, Tom Gibby, a police officer in another San Gabriel Valley department, launched a team called "West Coast Super Cops" in part to reach out to street racers and encourage them to meet him at the track.  Not everybody who races Gibby is a former street racer, but whoever bests him gets a T-shirt announcing he "Beat the Heat."

Gibby's team now campaigns a fleet of four new Subarus from South Coast Subaru in Costa Mesa. Dealership owner Matt Moloci said he decided to get involved after driving past the aftermath of a particularly  horrendous traffic collision that he learned had occurred during a street race.

"When I saw that accident scene I thought there's something we can do," Moloci said.  "There's got to be an alternative...and that is sanctioned racing."

Both Moloci and Gibby say the need has not lessened, and worry what will happen whenever Irwindale closes for good. 

"What the public needs to know is that these kids will do this street racing if they don't have an outlet," Gibby said.

Reality is, some street racers cannot be persuaded to come to the track.  The very fact street racing is illicit gives it an added thrill for some, Houston said.  But many in the pits at Irwindale Thursday  evening expressed conviction that legal strips do keep some off the street. 

"You're not going to stop everybody," said Dennis Wile, a retired firefighter who campaigns a one-of-a-kind Jaguar sedan with an American engine on Irwindale's strip.  "But just like baseball, build it, and they will come."

Southern California has been home to literally dozens of dragstrips since giving birth to the sport in the 1950's, the original motivation even then being to give young drivers a safe place to find out whose car is faster.  

But in metropolitan Los Angeles, rising property values, population growth, and neighborhood resistance to dragstrip noise have squeezed out almost all the tracks.  The Auto Club Raceway in Pomona still holds major drag racing events, but not weekly meets.  The next closest option is in San Bernardino County, where the dragstrip at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana offers road cars a chance to race on Saturdays.

The operators of the Irwindale dragstrip are hopeful that another property owner will be willing to considerer opening a strip, and have offered to consult or become directly involved.

"We'd love to help anybody interested in opening a track," Klein said.

It's an idea he'll share with others at the Tuesday meeting to coordinate a regional response to street racing.