i found this...
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Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Fife, WA
i found this...
From the Columbus Dispatch:
In the near-empty parking lot, a car stereo blasts a pulsating bass and young men hover under car hoods, talking horsepower.
With a pen flashlight, a guy scans the engine of a 1991 Honda CRX and considers the $5,000 that Kris Waters invested in it so he could race on a quiet stretch of road.
Waters doesn’t know how fast the car will go. The speedometer can go to 120 mph. It has been there several times.
His license plate reads WNA RCE.
‘‘People will pull up on the freeway, rev their exhaust, and they’ll look over," he said. ‘‘They’ll scoot their seat up and put both hands on the wheel."
Those are the signs Waters has come to recognize, the signs of someone ready to race.
Nearly every day he street-races with someone, but he has never wrecked a car or been arrested during or after a race, he said.
To Waters, that’s part of the thrill: not getting caught.
It’s not simply luck, he said, but ‘‘survival of the fittest."
‘‘All you’ve got to be able to do is outrun the guy because the cop is going after the slowest car."
Speeding tickets are another matter. Now 25, he figures he has racked up 40 to 50 tickets, many in other states where he has lived, and $3,000 to $4,000 in fines.
More than the adrenaline rush of racing, Waters relishes the challenge of taking a car like a Honda Civic with a standard engine and beefing it up enough to outpace a sports car.
‘‘Any toothless redneck with a Jeg’s (High Performance Center) catalog can make a V-8 go faster," he said. ‘‘It takes intelligence to build a four-cylinder engine just as fast or faster."
When he loses a race, Waters goes home and tinkers with the car to achieve more speed.
He prides himself on what he has done with the CRX he bought for $7,000 in 1996. The car is on its third engine and second transmission. Next is a roll cage.
‘‘I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours have been put into that car," he said.
He also has a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, a 1990 Honda Civic and a 1998 Ford Ranger. He says he spends more each month to improve his cars than the $300 he pays to rent a small apartment in Millersport.
Sometimes that catches his dates off guard when he invites them in.
‘‘They’ll think just because my car is really nice that I live in a really nice house and have a lot of money," he said.
His apartment also serves as a garage of sorts. He often rolls out a tarp on the living-room floor, then spreads out the parts of an engine.
Sometimes, when a car problem stumps him, he takes inspiration from the tattoos on each of his forearms. Scripted in black, one says ‘‘focus," and the other ‘‘faith." The way Waters sees it, any challenge can be met by applying both.
Cars are his world. Owning a car-customizing business and working part time at an autobody shop, Waters spends most of his waking hours working on cars. And several times he has fallen asleep working under them.
He has been racing since age 7, when he spun a three-wheeler across a frozen Buckeye Lake. At 14, he raced a dirt bike in the woods of rural Vinton County. When he got his driver’s license two years later, he sold the bike, bought a car and started souping it up.
When he’s not customizing or fixing a car, he’s often watching racing on television or playing car video games.
On weekend nights, he meets other aficionados in empty parking lots to check out cars. Some race from there, but Waters refuses to do that. The crowd draws police attention, he said, and the risk of being arrested is high.
These days, Waters mostly races on freeways, on city roads between stoplights and in shopping-center parking lots, mostly in Heath and Lancaster. Although he occasionally comes to Columbus to hang out and check out cars, he doesn’t usually race in a big city where, he pointed out, it’s easy for a police cruiser to hide in heavy traffic.
Police concede that it’s tough to nab drag racers.
‘‘The only way we’re going to catch them doing it is if we’re seeing them, and they watch for us as much as we watch for them," said Sgt. Steven Mahl of the State Highway Patrol.
Waters knows that many would consider him a hazard on the road, but he distinguishes himself from reckless drivers.
He’s confident about what his car can and can’t do, so he can drive fast without losing control, he said.
But that doesn’t take into account obstructions on the road, other cars along the way and how those drivers might react to his high speed, Columbus Police Lt. Jeffrey Blackwell said.
‘‘Take it on a private course that doesn’t have a minivan with kids in the back seat," Blackwell said.
Waters wants to do just that. He plans to compete in autocross racing sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. But first, he’ll have to squirrel away some money and attract a sponsor to help cover his costs.
Until then, he said, the highways and streets suit him just fine.
In the near-empty parking lot, a car stereo blasts a pulsating bass and young men hover under car hoods, talking horsepower.
With a pen flashlight, a guy scans the engine of a 1991 Honda CRX and considers the $5,000 that Kris Waters invested in it so he could race on a quiet stretch of road.
Waters doesn’t know how fast the car will go. The speedometer can go to 120 mph. It has been there several times.
His license plate reads WNA RCE.
‘‘People will pull up on the freeway, rev their exhaust, and they’ll look over," he said. ‘‘They’ll scoot their seat up and put both hands on the wheel."
Those are the signs Waters has come to recognize, the signs of someone ready to race.
Nearly every day he street-races with someone, but he has never wrecked a car or been arrested during or after a race, he said.
To Waters, that’s part of the thrill: not getting caught.
It’s not simply luck, he said, but ‘‘survival of the fittest."
‘‘All you’ve got to be able to do is outrun the guy because the cop is going after the slowest car."
Speeding tickets are another matter. Now 25, he figures he has racked up 40 to 50 tickets, many in other states where he has lived, and $3,000 to $4,000 in fines.
More than the adrenaline rush of racing, Waters relishes the challenge of taking a car like a Honda Civic with a standard engine and beefing it up enough to outpace a sports car.
‘‘Any toothless redneck with a Jeg’s (High Performance Center) catalog can make a V-8 go faster," he said. ‘‘It takes intelligence to build a four-cylinder engine just as fast or faster."
When he loses a race, Waters goes home and tinkers with the car to achieve more speed.
He prides himself on what he has done with the CRX he bought for $7,000 in 1996. The car is on its third engine and second transmission. Next is a roll cage.
‘‘I can’t even begin to tell you how many hours have been put into that car," he said.
He also has a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, a 1990 Honda Civic and a 1998 Ford Ranger. He says he spends more each month to improve his cars than the $300 he pays to rent a small apartment in Millersport.
Sometimes that catches his dates off guard when he invites them in.
‘‘They’ll think just because my car is really nice that I live in a really nice house and have a lot of money," he said.
His apartment also serves as a garage of sorts. He often rolls out a tarp on the living-room floor, then spreads out the parts of an engine.
Sometimes, when a car problem stumps him, he takes inspiration from the tattoos on each of his forearms. Scripted in black, one says ‘‘focus," and the other ‘‘faith." The way Waters sees it, any challenge can be met by applying both.
Cars are his world. Owning a car-customizing business and working part time at an autobody shop, Waters spends most of his waking hours working on cars. And several times he has fallen asleep working under them.
He has been racing since age 7, when he spun a three-wheeler across a frozen Buckeye Lake. At 14, he raced a dirt bike in the woods of rural Vinton County. When he got his driver’s license two years later, he sold the bike, bought a car and started souping it up.
When he’s not customizing or fixing a car, he’s often watching racing on television or playing car video games.
On weekend nights, he meets other aficionados in empty parking lots to check out cars. Some race from there, but Waters refuses to do that. The crowd draws police attention, he said, and the risk of being arrested is high.
These days, Waters mostly races on freeways, on city roads between stoplights and in shopping-center parking lots, mostly in Heath and Lancaster. Although he occasionally comes to Columbus to hang out and check out cars, he doesn’t usually race in a big city where, he pointed out, it’s easy for a police cruiser to hide in heavy traffic.
Police concede that it’s tough to nab drag racers.
‘‘The only way we’re going to catch them doing it is if we’re seeing them, and they watch for us as much as we watch for them," said Sgt. Steven Mahl of the State Highway Patrol.
Waters knows that many would consider him a hazard on the road, but he distinguishes himself from reckless drivers.
He’s confident about what his car can and can’t do, so he can drive fast without losing control, he said.
But that doesn’t take into account obstructions on the road, other cars along the way and how those drivers might react to his high speed, Columbus Police Lt. Jeffrey Blackwell said.
‘‘Take it on a private course that doesn’t have a minivan with kids in the back seat," Blackwell said.
Waters wants to do just that. He plans to compete in autocross racing sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. But first, he’ll have to squirrel away some money and attract a sponsor to help cover his costs.
Until then, he said, the highways and streets suit him just fine.
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From: the moral high ground
Re: i found this...
...‘‘Any toothless redneck with a Jeg’s (High Performance Center) catalog can make a V-8 go faster," he said. ‘‘It takes intelligence to build a four-cylinder engine just as fast or faster." ...
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 485
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From: Central Florida
I ain't toothless, I got the best teeth money can buy thanks to the fine folks at Sears. I'll have all 32 by the end of the year 'cause I'm still making payments.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 984
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From: SW MO
I'm offended!
I have at least one tooth, and a "SUMMIT" catalog!!!
Hmmm... Hope the cops start watching "freeways, on city roads between stoplights and in shopping-center parking lots, mostly in Heath and Lancaster" and nail that dumbass...
I have at least one tooth, and a "SUMMIT" catalog!!!
Hmmm... Hope the cops start watching "freeways, on city roads between stoplights and in shopping-center parking lots, mostly in Heath and Lancaster" and nail that dumbass...
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 528
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From: Indy
I would have to say that is some of the most irresponsable journalism I have seen in a while.
He is essentially praising a wreckless driver that should of had his license pulled a long time ago.
Assuming the story is true, what insurance company would sell someone insurance that has had 40-50 speeding tickets in 9 years (that's a tickets ~2.25 months)?
He is essentially praising a wreckless driver that should of had his license pulled a long time ago.
Assuming the story is true, what insurance company would sell someone insurance that has had 40-50 speeding tickets in 9 years (that's a tickets ~2.25 months)?
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 4,867
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From: NH
Originally posted by 36fan
Assuming the story is true, what insurance company would sell someone insurance that has had 40-50 speeding tickets in 9 years (that's a tickets ~2.25 months)?
Assuming the story is true, what insurance company would sell someone insurance that has had 40-50 speeding tickets in 9 years (that's a tickets ~2.25 months)?
