Is this fair?
 

If you're trailing behind a car you want to race, and you jump on the gas without warning him that you're about to, is that fair?

My opinion is no. I may be too conservative, but I feel that one must determine that the other guy wants to race before you go.

You just appear as a jerk if you nail it and leap out ahead with tires spinning every time you pull up next to a fast car. My opinion is you need some assurance that the other guy wants to go.

THEN, if I know he wants to go, I give a long hard loud rev and it's all business when the light changes. Take no prisnors then and I just hope my car is faster.

Rev

sure it's fair. i drive like that normally. call me a jerk. just don't consider it a win if the other guy doesn't go.

So PG, you just approach every fast car you see and just do a "fly-by"? How do you ever know if you have a legitimate win?

Rev

Well, I'll tell you what happened, and why it wasn't a flyby.


I had been following this really nice blue LX hatch. 2.25" exhaust, 10-holes, but still very sharp-looking. There appeared to be 3-4 youths inside.


Unfortunately, I was too busy scanning for possible trouble, so when he pulled up to a light (where the road widens), I didn't get to it before it changed. Rather than "jump" the light, I hung a little less than two lenghts behind him. He was definitely lining up, and I blew it. I felt that by hanging back, whatever advantage I had by jumping on it first was negated by the lead he had.


If that's unfair, then I owe that young man an apology. :D

I see your reasoning, but I still think it's a bit of a cheap move (But I'll forgive you because it seems you had his best interest in mind when you did it...lol). Did he launch hard from the light? If he had started pulling away before you did then it would be ok. But even though he had a two car lead on you, it wasn't much of an advantage becuase you got on it first and he didn't have enough time to react. He probably realized that you were racing only an instant before you passed him, not enough time to make up for the difrence in speeds. Why didn't you just pull along side and go from a roll? That would have made things a little more fair.

Too much traffic. By the time we would have lined up, it would've been a 60-foot race.


Like I said, I felt justified in jumping on it because I was behind him, and we were going the same speed for several seconds. Without an impartial third party to signal the start, isn't it actually less fair to go from an even roll?

Re: Is this fair?
 

NO.

If anyone "sneaks" me, it makes me feel that they're scared to race heads up. Heck, I could beat a Viper if I "sneak" him. All I have to do is turn if off once I get pass him. I say start dead even.

One must start from an "even advantage" or else it's not a real race.

That's why the track is "real". Each car starts from he same "tree" and is timed by the same lights.

Rev

It's only fair if it's an even start or if you're both agreeing to give the slower car a lead to make it more fun/close. If there was too much traffic to get even with each other and run em, there was too much traffic to be racing in the first place. Be careful guys, I street race myself, but I've been thinking twice lately since a friend got a ticket for racing by a marked car, but one of the sneaky ones with no roof lights, etc, only insignias on the doors which he couldn't see until it was too late. He was in a 69 firebird and got spanked by an 00 gt on juice in case you care. :)

Cop cars are running nitrous??


Saturday I saw a 2002-2002 body style totally unmarked GT/Roush/Cobra or what ever. Red with lights inside car. had an 18 wheeler pulled over.

Location Maryland at east end of the Bay Bridge.

I guess be VERY careful who you race. I don't think there was any to tell that one. I was shocked.