Motor Head {road scholar}: Controlled chaos

MIDNIGHT MAYHEM TAKES STREET RACING TO THE TRACK

By Newt Briggs

The thinking behind Midnight Mayhem--the public drag-racing event held monthly at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway--is the same logic that sanctions distribution of condoms in high schools and gun safety classes at community centers. The idea is that a certain percentage of teenagers are going to want to drive fast, and the LVMS can provide this opportunity in a safe, controlled environment.

According to Chris Blair, senior director of drag racing operations for the LVMS, "One of the primary objectives of the Midnight Mayhem program was to take the illegal racers off the streets and properly educate them to become responsible drag racers."

But is a responsible drag racer necessarily a safer drag racer? The question becomes especially relevant when faced with annual statistics from the National Highway Transportatin Safety Administration. According to the agency, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 16 to 34. Furthermore, the NHTSA reports that street racing related fatalities have increased every year since 2000.

The verdict at last Friday's Midnight Mayhem was mixed--some in favor, some opposed and some indifferent. Twenty-two-year-old Stacy Lee, who came to the event to watch her boyfriend race his Honda Civic, endorses the LVMS program. "He looks forward to it all month," Lee says. "He actually drives around under the speed limit so that he can conserve the engine and keep the car in tune."

Others like 19-year-old Ben Schneider are not convinced. He says that ever since his friends began participaing in the races, they've been engaging in more impromptu duels on the streets. "I was in a car that almost drove into a ditch," Schneider says. "It's crazy--everybody trying to be like Vin Deisel in The Fast and the Furious."

And then there are those like Alvaro Cortez, who could care less about the philosophical issues and just want to watch the cars race. "You know, you've got to be patient or else it's boring," he says. "It's like, you watch a car going down the track and suddenly you realize that it's going way faster than it should be. You get a certain appreciation for a car that can push past its limit."

Although the Midnight Mayhem cars run two at a time, the cars are not paired in any specific groupings, so the race is really against the clock. To participate, all a person needs is $10, a car that will pass a brief safety inspection and and enough gas and patience to wait in line behind all the other cars. After that, it's a 10- to 16-second run to motorsports glory. The next Midnght Mayhem takes place Friday, April 16.

Faster than a speeding Beetle

Granted, it's cool to watch a a souped-up Volkswagen Bug run an 11-second quarter mile, but if you're looking for a car that'll really blow your hair back, you'll have to check out the NHRA's Top Fuel dragsters at Las Vegas Motor Speedway April 2-4. Some facts about NHRA race cars:

Ą An NHRA Top Fuel dragster accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than 0.8 seconds, almost 11 seconds faster than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach the same speed.

Ą From a standing start, NHRA Top Fuel dragsters accelerate faster than a jumbo jet, a fighter jet and a Formula One race car.

Ą One cylinder of the eight cylinders of a Top Fuel dragster or a Funny Car produces 750 horsepower, equaling the entire horsepower output of a NASCAR engine.

Tickets for the event range from $16-$67 and can be purchased at www.lvms.com.

All for show

If watching a metal rocket roar down a concrete slab still doesn't rev your engine, try out the fourth annual "Vegas Nationals" truck show on April 3 at the Fremont Street Experience. The show--which is bound to feature an eye-popping array of raked, chopped, lifted and lowered trucks--begins at 10 a.m. and runs through midnight. Competitors will vie for a variety of distinctions, including the Editors' Choice awards. In this category, winning trucks will receive a feature article and photo spread in the awarding magazine. And to top it all off, the night will conclude with a bikini contest and a free concert by Southern California's Tijuana Dogs. Info: www.truckinweb.com/truckinnationals.

Correction

Last week, in a shameful blunder that has been observed by at least one sharp-eyed reader, I mentioned a 1957 Ford Mustang when I intended to identify a 1957 Ford Fairlane. Apparently, the exhaust fumes are getting to my head.

Contact the Road Scholar at newtbriggs@lasvegasmercury.com.