Racers Against Street Racing Launches Teen Education Program
About Legal Alternatives to Hazardous Street-Racing Practices
DIAMOND BAR, Calif., May 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Racers Against Street Racing
(RASR), a grass-roots enthusiast group that promotes legal alternatives to
illegal street racing, will take its program to driver education classrooms
throughout the country.
"Young drivers today are surrounded by media messages that depict street
racing as glamorous and OK," said Christopher J. Kersting, president and CEO
of SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, which administers RASR.
He noted that it's a rare day when there isn't news about the unfortunate
results of a street-racing incident in this country.
"We want to get a head-start on educating new drivers about the dangers of
street racing and aggressive driving stunts that put them, and others, at risk
of serious injury and death," Kersting said. "SEMA is delighted that new
drivers are embracing the opportunity to improve the performance and
appearances of their vehicles. RASR is launching this program so that
enthusiasts will take their racing activities to organized events at
racetracks."
The RASR program, currently being tested in driver ed classrooms, consists
of a curriculum and video. It addresses the realities of street racing,
informs the students about local street-racing laws, and provides information
about local legal alternatives. The classroom lesson is augmented with a
graphic videotape produced for the MTV show "Flipped." Several members of
RASR who compete in professional drag-racing competitions nationally are
featured in the TV show.
The RASR program says "It's all about time slips. You can brag that your
car will go a quarter-mile in ten seconds, but you can't prove that boast
without an official time slip from a racetrack. That's your real proof."
Around the country, local racetracks are offering "street legal racing
night" programs to young drivers who want to race their cars and come away
with the proof of their vehicle's performance and their driving proficiency.
In Irwindale, Calif., the local police are involved to the extent that they
are giving "tickets" -- to go race at the Irwindale Speedway at no charge.
Other venues with programs for enthusiasts include Old Bridge Township Raceway
Park (Englishtown), N.J., Firebird International Raceway (Phoenix), San
Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, and Interstate Dragway, Moorhead, Minn.
Besides the racing opportunity, some racetracks add other lifestyle
attractions to their street-legal race events. These include car shows,
climbing walls, live music performances and foam play pits.
Gregg Guenthard, RASR's director, said, "You don't have to be a champion
racer like John Force or Stephan Papadakis to be a winner at the motorsports
track. You can get your adrenalin rush with your own daily driver car. These
tracks provide a controlled environment for the drivers and their vehicles."
Several corporate members of SEMA's Sport Compact Council are
financial sponsors of the outreach program to their young customers and
customer-prospects. Founding sponsors include North American Honda,
Motorsports Direct, and Polk Audio, and industry sponsors include Advanced
Clutch Technology, APC (American Products Company), NOPI, Pep Boys, and
RELCO/Reliable Automotive. SEMA, whose Sports Compact Council houses the RASR
program, is also a founding sponsor.
The spokespeople for RASR include professional drag racers Ed Bergenholtz,
JoJo Callos, Abel Ibarra, Lisa Kubo, Len Monserrat, Craig Paisley, Stephan
Papadakis, Angela Proudfoot, and Chris Rado.
RASR, Racers Against Street Racing, became a SEMA activity in fall 2002.
SEMA represents the $27 billion specialty automotive industry. Founded in
1963, the trade association has more than 4,500 member companies. It is the
authoritative source of research data, trends and market growth information
for automakers and the specialty auto products industry. The industry
provides appearance, performance, comfort, convenience and technology products
for passenger cars, minivans, trucks, SUVs and recreational vehicles. For
more information, contact SEMA at 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA,
91765-3914; call 909/396-0289; or visit http://www.sema.org , http://www.enjoythedrive.com
and http://www.rasr.info .
Image available at http://www.sema.org/images/31649.jpg
CAPTION, Image 1: RASR is taking its program to educate young drivers
about legal alternatives to illegal street racing to driver education
classes around the country. According to RASR, Racers Against Street
Racing, it's all about time-slips, the official piece of paper handed to
competitors at racetracks. They prove how quickly your car can go a
certain distance.
Image available at http://www.sema.org/images/31650.jpg
CAPTION, Image 2: Racetracks across the country have opened their
facilities to young drag racers, offering an alternative to the dangers
of illegal street racing.
SOURCE SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association)
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Related links:
http://www.sema.org
http://www.enjoythedrive.com http://www.rasr.info
CONTACT:
Media, Rosemarie Kitchin, ext. 104,
rosemariek@sema.org , or Lisa Guth, ext. 181, lisag@sema.org ,
both of SEMA, +1-909-396-0289
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