Sam Memmolo
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Racers Against Street
Racing Provides Legal Drag-Racing Alternatives News stories across the country have told tales of illegal street racing resulting in injury and even death when the racers' machines go out of control. This is bad for the hobby and bad for the young enthusiasts who love their cars. To address the problem, SEMA joined forces with Racers Against Street Racing (RASR), a coalition of auto manufacturers, aftermarket parts companies, professional drag racers, sanctioning bodies and automotive magazines, to promote safe and legal alternatives to illegal street racing on a national level. RASR seeks to be the conduit for all of the worthy, street-legal racing programs that currently exist across the country, Also, it aims to help disseminate information to those seeking to establish such programs. Since young street racers are digital mavens, the tool RASR intends to use the most is the Internet, with a Web site that supports racing programs, contests, driver and car galleries and has links to RASR sponsors. RASR also has an educational component that will soon go out to the future drivers of the United States. Using driver education courses, schools and automotive events, RASR has a video, produced by MTV's Flipped Video, named "Speed Demons." The video tells the tale of two street racers who go through real-life lessons of incarceration and death to understand they need to take it off the streets and onto a track. SEMA knows that public opinion of the vehicle hobby must remain positive for it to flourish, and getting illegal racers to a safe venue, while still having a good time, is essential. SEMA For more information or to get involved in
RASR,
April 2003
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also sees this as an important
industry endeavor, with companies such as American Honda signing on as a
founding sponsor and American Products Co./APC and Reliable
Automotive also signing on as sponsors. With these sponsors and more
financial support from the performance industry,
RASR
can reach out across the country with its message: If you want to race, go to a
racetrack.