Last nights bay area news did a story announcing that the Alameda county council will be meeting today to discuss a possible ban on the Drift racing that is currently authorized at the Altamont motorsports raceway in Tracy California. From what I have heard it is the only place (in Northern California at least) that has the approval to hold legal drift events.
The main complaint I got from the interview they did was that "the smoke from the burning tires was bad for the environment". They don't mention the NASCAR and other race events that go on there also but have specificly put a hit out on drifting.
There was also talk of individuals drifting the local streets before, during, after and between events which I am sure is playing a large part in the possible ban as well. SO KNOCK IT OFF AND PLAY IT SMART. It's a great sport and a thrill but I wouldn't want someone drifting past the front door of my home either. I guess at this point all we can do is wait and see the results of todays meeting of the county councel.
Let's hope they are open minded enough to understand that banning it will only stop the legal drifting activities and increase the illegal ones by taking away the only place to rightfully go. Not to mention that there is actually less of an environmental hazard than most the other racing there as most of the drifters are only slightly modified if at all engine and emissions wise compared to the other NASCAR and such types there.
In my eyes it is still just a new sport that most don't understand and are resistant to accept.
__________________
DEEP, GT CONCEPT KIT,RK SPORT RAM AIR HOOD, RAZZI WING, UP-SHIELD, EIBACH SPRINGS(1.7”R), DEJON CAI AND I/C PIPES, CUSTOM EXHAUST,CUSTOM PAINT AND GRAPHICS, RMR STYLE BAR, LED AND ACCENT LIGHTS, CUSTOM GAUGE FACE, DASHHAWK UNIT,Premium package w/leather, A/C, Auto, 18" chrome wheels, 6-disc audio w/monsoon 7, spoiler, sport pedals.
"BLUE DEMON"
"For those who fought for it, FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never know"
Location: Yuba City, California .... The BIG Cowpie!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunny's GXP
Let's hope they are open minded enough to understand that banning it will only stop the legal drifting activities and increase the illegal ones by taking away the only place to rightfully go.
The Bay Area is dominated by people with a Liberal mind set. In my experience, I have found this Liberal mind-set to be as closed-minded, intolerant and Reactionary as any I have ever experienced, while reaching the heights of hypocrisy. Rest assured, if it "feels" good to ban racing due to the tire smoke and uncorked exhaust of 10 or 20 cars in a region of over 7 million people, they wil do so.
This has nothing to do with the scientific value of the environmental impact of the ban. Banning 20 cars smoking their tires for 5 minutes each in a region of over 7 million people will have an infinitesimal impact on air quality.
If they really want to have an impact on air quality, they would add several airport runways to the region so that planes are not circling above SFO Interational airport for hours at a time waiting to land.
Again, this has nothing to do with actually helping the environment but only about "feeling good" about imposing their Socialist progressive dogma on the people who might otherwise enjoy something that runs counter to their practicing religion in Our Lady of the Pristine Environment Church.
The Liberal politicians and policies of California, most especially San Francisco and Berkeley and the rest of "Bagdad by the Bay", are as idiotic and insane as every intelligent person in the nation thinks they are.
I guarantee this ban will go through, because it "Feels" good and It Is For The Children.
There aren't enough derogatory, inflamatory smilies on the entire collective Internet to express my disgust, distaste and loathing for the brain-dead liberal do-gooder hypocrites who run California and the SF-Oakland Bay Area.
But then, you get the Government you deserve and the brain-dead liberal do-gooder hypocrites who vote this jackasses in are indeed getting the Government they richly deserve.
__________________ Solstice GXP Coupe You still don't need a trunk to haul ass...
even at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas!
WOW.... Sorry Jimbo. I should have waited for you to have your coffee first before I posted this.
Well put. It's an easy target for closed minded success. Let's hope for a diverse council. I've only been in the area for two years and deployed for a year in the middle so I am still trying to get a feel for it here and all the in's and out's of the bay area communities.
__________________
DEEP, GT CONCEPT KIT,RK SPORT RAM AIR HOOD, RAZZI WING, UP-SHIELD, EIBACH SPRINGS(1.7”R), DEJON CAI AND I/C PIPES, CUSTOM EXHAUST,CUSTOM PAINT AND GRAPHICS, RMR STYLE BAR, LED AND ACCENT LIGHTS, CUSTOM GAUGE FACE, DASHHAWK UNIT,Premium package w/leather, A/C, Auto, 18" chrome wheels, 6-disc audio w/monsoon 7, spoiler, sport pedals.
"BLUE DEMON"
"For those who fought for it, FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never know"
Location: Yuba City, California .... The BIG Cowpie!
Sorry guys.
I've been in San Francisco for the work for about 10 years, so I'm pretty disgusted with it. I've been looking for a job back in the valley for about a year, so that frustration comes out in my posts. Doesn't belong on a car forum but it is definitely car related.
Bay Area and California politicians hate cars and this is reflected in their every rule and regulation from parking to diamond lanes to environmental laws to fuel mileage, etc.. So a car nut is really ostracized here. They hate SUVs even more. They will do everything they can to take away our freedom and replace it with a socialist view they believe everyone should conform to.
Cars are legal. Cars can legally be raced off road. If somebody wants to run a drift race event safely and legally on an off-road venue, that is one form of freedom. They are free to put on the event. The audience is free to watch it or to skip it. If there is no audience, there is no event. Everyone is FREE to do what they want.
The Bay Area politicians don't want freedom. They want to ban a legal use of cars for entertainment purposes to meet their utopian vision of the world. That is not freedom. This makes me mad because their actions won't have the desired effect of helping the environment. Banning a drift event to help the environment would be like like a docter scrubbing his small left toe before going into surgery. It may be "scrubbing" since you have to scrub before surgery, but it would not affect the outcome of transfering germs to the patient.
The Bay Area politicians don't really care if their irrational limitations on our freedom have any possible scientific desireable result, as long as it makes them "feel" good.
There is no sane, intelligent person who could agree that banning one drift event -- even a series of them -- will have any meaningful, measurable, significant affect on the region's air quality amid 7-million people, hundreds of thousands of trucks transporting goods and thousands of jet aircraft, not to mention all the boats, lawnmowers, leaf-blowers, etc.
This is one definition of insanity. When an action is performed for the sake of action knowing that the end result will have NO desired affect. It would be like feeding balsa wood to a starving man. You let him chew and swallow knowing there is no nutrition to keep him alive.
__________________ Solstice GXP Coupe You still don't need a trunk to haul ass...
even at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas!
There is a direct threat to motorsports here in Northern California. The Board of Supervisors of Alameda County is considering a ban the sport of Drifting at Altamont Motorsports Park. Their rationale for this is the perception that drifting is about street racing, drugs, side-shows and gangs… a perception we have always had to fight. Well, here’s our chance to show Alameda County (and the national media) that we are NOT associated with any of these items. Here is our chance to announce that drifting is a legitimate sport that is enjoyed by lawyers, students, engineers, truck drivers, store owners – every possible segment of the community, as well as by women and men.
In the 30+ drifting events previously held in the Bay Area over the last three years, not once have the Police been involved; not once has any driver been seriously injured on the track; and, not once has any controlled/uncontrolled substance been used at any event. It is apparent that Alameda County is unfairly profiling the drifting community. We are being discriminated due to race, age, and gender. Simply because over 80% of our enthusiasts are minorities, young and male, we are classified as "a threat" to the community. In some ways, this is exactly the same “profile” that was applied to drag racers in the 1960’s… which is now an internationally recognized, multi-billion dollar segment of the motorsports community.
Any of us can attest that if Alameda County is successful in banning drifting at Altamont Motorsports Park, it will provide conditions that could do tremendous damage throughout Northern California. Parents, police officers, drift drivers, educators, and business owners agree that if drifting is ban from Altamont Motorsports Park, it will create a condition in the Bay Area that will actually promote illegal street racing and promote other unsafe activities by young people. If drifting is not allowed, where will young drivers practice drifting, road racing, or other forms of motorsports around the Bay Area? And then, what’s next to go? Road racing? Skateboarding? Street rods?
Drifting is yet another form of motorsport in which anyone with an interest can enjoy their love of cars, speed, competition, etc. Altamont Motorsports Park and its new owners have, over the course of the last year, provided us a safe and controlled means to practice and compete. THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT! OUR SPORT NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! We need your support to show Alameda County that this is important to us, to the business community, and to our local communities.
How to help:
Send a letter, or fax or e-mail to:
Alameda County Planning Department
224 W. Winton, Room 111
Hayward, CA 94544
Mr. Chris Bazar, Planning Director, is a GOOD GUY and a friend to drifters and Altamont Motorsports Park… so don’t take your frustration out on him! Instead, be supportive and positive. In your letter or e-mail, tell Alameda County about your professional background. Tell them how drifting keeps you off the streets. Tell them how safe and controlled the sport is. Tell them how much money you spend (especially in Alameda County) supporting businesses that support drifting and Altamont Motorsports Park. Tell them how you obey traffic rules when traveling to or from Altamont Motorsports Park.
All letters, e-mails and faxes MUST be received by Alameda County by 5:00pm Monday, April 23.
Remember, there's no room to complain if you can't be pro-active on the issue.
So if this feels like a threat to you or your community, do something.
What's next?
AutoX? Answer You Bet
Location: Yuba City, California .... The BIG Cowpie!
Gunny,
I'll be curious about the outcome and happy to eat my words if I'm wrong. That would make me happy to see a little sanity. Neighborhoods like Dublin and Pleasanton are not quite as insane as San Francisco and Berkeley, so I won't be dumbfounded if they don't ban drift cars - only mildly shocked. You have a small chance. Those areas are upscale with a higher percentage of reasonable people than the bay area at large. But intelligence does not always equate with rational behavior. Silicon Valley is stocked with brilliant people, yet they pass some crazy laws down there.
__________________ Solstice GXP Coupe You still don't need a trunk to haul ass...
even at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas!
Location: Yuba City, California .... The BIG Cowpie!
Good luck and hopefully your voice will be heard. They won't decide tonight or say either way, but I'll be curious how the public testimony leans and how the final outcome plays out. I'm sure it will be a while before a final decision is announced.
Give 'em hell!
__________________ Solstice GXP Coupe You still don't need a trunk to haul ass...
even at Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas!
Well that was fun...NOT. 5 hours and 45 minutes later the Alameda county chamber has made it's decision. Until further notice, Drift competitions at the Altamont Motorsports Raceway has been banned.
Now for the interesting part. Prior to the drifting events was brought to the table there was also an appeals by a resident neighbor to the track appealing a permit request by the Altamont staff to approve overnight RV parking on site for no more than 30 RV's. Alot of the complaints were the same but it was decided and finally approved by the chamber (with restrictions) for no more than 7 event's on the schedule.
That being said there was an already aggitated room on both sides of the table. The appealing party showed a well edited clip of the drifting event that was held at the raceway which showed absolutely NO good examples of what proper drifting is. It was simply clips of cars loosing control, spinning around in excessive smoke, and running off the course.
Now, before this gets out of the right visual relm I want all reading this to know that this ban was primarily NOT placed based on Drifting itself as a sport. The two main reasons the ban was placed was the following:
1. In the currently operating permit (established in 1996) all types of racing was authorized minus drag racing and mud bog type events. As Drifting was not a well known racing style in the US in 96 it was determined today that the similarity of the smoke and noise of the tires produced by drifting are some of the same factors that caused drag racing to be excluded.
2. This I feel was the primary decider in todays decision. There has apparently been a poor track record (no pun intended) with the current owners of the Altamont Raceway of misleading and repeated infractions to current permit authorizations such as concerts and other unapproved scheduled events. I firmly believe that had the past history of the owners been a more professional and traight forward one the appeal to ban would not have been successful.
These two reasons were even more impacting than the many complaints about the noise, smoke and high speed traffic on a very narrow road.
And finaly the kicker. The head chair in todays events in not only the representative for this very district the track resides in but was also the very individual who back in 1996 was the primary supporter of bringing the Altamont raceway into a new life when it was previously slated to be closed all together. He was adimate about retaining the history of the track and was even furthermore adimate to address specificly the drifters who were in the room today that he was very torn that this decision would have the restricting ramifications of taking away basicaly the only current available location to drift legaly in northern California and that a location that could give this ability for an affordable cost to the individual (unlike it would be at Infineans $20,000.00 track rental) needs to be established to continue efforts to reduce the ongoing illegal activities by younger enthusiests.
All hope is not lost. The door was left open for the Altamont staff for future possabilities. They have been working since late 2005 to aquire new permits, environmental surveys, etc... for the raceway and if an agreement and dare I say a revival of truce between the track, the surrounding residents, and the council members then the option for coming to agreed factors in regards to holding drift events in the proper safe and acceptable manor it could be reinitiated into the approval of the new permits above the now current restriction to only NASCAR style oval track racing events.
I think I've hit it all so for now keep driving and keep drifting and by all means to those that do keep and show it as the professional style event it is meant to be. We'll see what the future holds.
Reporting live from the chamber room (no actually I am home now) this is the "Gunny's note". Now back to you Forum.
__________________
DEEP, GT CONCEPT KIT,RK SPORT RAM AIR HOOD, RAZZI WING, UP-SHIELD, EIBACH SPRINGS(1.7”R), DEJON CAI AND I/C PIPES, CUSTOM EXHAUST,CUSTOM PAINT AND GRAPHICS, RMR STYLE BAR, LED AND ACCENT LIGHTS, CUSTOM GAUGE FACE, DASHHAWK UNIT,Premium package w/leather, A/C, Auto, 18" chrome wheels, 6-disc audio w/monsoon 7, spoiler, sport pedals.
"BLUE DEMON"
"For those who fought for it, FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never know"
