The NYC to LA race is called the “Cannonball Run”, and it’s very illegal… but well known enough that there was a movie made about it in 1981 starring Burt Reynolds and Dom Deloise among other stars. It’s not a documentary it’s a funny comedy.
There’s another race somewhere, on a real race track and legal, where the entrants have to document that they spent less than $500 on their cars, not including mandatory safety equipment. “The 24 hours of Lemons” If I remember correctly.
I’ve read about this “beater race”. I like the idea.
A couple of former co-workers and I thought about partaking in a 24 Hours of LeMons event a couple years ago. We had found a 1988 Ford Crown Vic police car that had been sitting behind a local business. Turns out nobody was really sure who had the title to it, and nobody at the company claimed they knew whom it belonged to. After a month or two passed two of members of our cabal left for other jobs, and I got a job elsewhere as well and we lost touch. It’s still on the bucket list though.
Also Chumpcar as an alternative to LeMons
Similar price cap and rule set. Slap (carefully weld) in a rollcage, race seat and 6 point belts into a crap-can car and have at it.
LOL at not knowing the difference between racing and drag racing.
Do you even know what people are talking about when they say “racing” ?
Drag racing, and Cannonball highway driving, as I have said repeatedly, has nothing to do with real racing.
Try to learn something from this video
Notice the RPMs and the braking.
This is phyically impossible to do with an automatic
You mean drag racing isn’t real? Darn, how do they get the simulations that realisttic?
How did they get me to imagine that I was watching drag racing when I was at the track? Hallucinogenics? I don’t recall ingesting anything! 
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Flashback to some of the arguments I used to have with my now ex wife.
Done?
"One more thing"
OK, now, done?
“And one more thing”
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LOL at not knowing context. [quote=“UsedEconobox_2_UsedB, post:74, topic:97575”]
100% of race cars allow manual operation of gears, not an AUTO tranny
[/quote]
By definition drag racing is a form of racing.
I recognize that it’s a very broad term, there are many types of racing, Usian Bolt races, John Penney races, Jimmie Johnson races, Dave Villwock races, Micheal Phelps races and so on.
“Try to learn something from this video…”
SMH, you don’t get it do you? I happen to agree with your argument about manuals an road course racing. What I don’t agree with was with the remarks other remarks you made. I quoted the offending remarks and offered a counterpoint for each one.
I wonder if it is time to close this thread? Yesterday, I observed a white Toyota Camry on the highway. The driver appeared to be a woman. I could hear the car being shifted into a lower gear range as it went into a four wheel drift around a curve then upshift after accelerating on the straight-away. My immediate thought is that some of these comments about racing and paddle shifters may be egging @Marnet on, who started this thread.
@Triedaq. FDLOL. Too funny.
Nope, not me. I was taught to ease off ahead of a curve then accelerate through it.
Hitting a curve too fast and braking while in it can be disasterous. I see regular proof as my house is on a hill overlooking a very badly banked sharp “S” curve on a steep hill. The ravine on the other side collects lots of vehicles, especially in wet or icy weather. Sadly, there are also occasional head on crashes.
I confess I would have liked to learn to drive a stick shift and have fun tackling winding twisty hilly roads that way. But with my arthritis I stick (pun intended) to my automatic tranny … but still have fun on such roads! Even at moderate speeds such roads are fun.
In fact, a favorite hour long drive in the countryside nearby has just such crowned twisty curvy hilly roads I regularly cruise just to get away from the city rat race. It also was my test track for test driving cars when car shopping. I have to use interstate to get across the river, so test driving the route provides stop and go city traffic, interstate highway, then the real fun. By test driving the exact same route each time, it gave an excellent consistency for comparison of the vehicles.
Once in awhile a salesman insisted on accompanying me. It was fun to watch their growing disbelief at the route and how I was so comfortable driving it. 
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Or it can be faster… 
Its called “trail braking” and is used to control load transfer while turning…
Until it pitches you into the weeds if you overdo it. Many racing schools teach it. It works better on some cars (front-engine, rear drive cars) than others (Porsche 911 specifically)
I’m pretty sure the sport of racing predates motorized transportation. The Romans probably did it with chariots.
I can’t find anything on the internet to verify this but it is my speculation that the sport of harness racing with horses that trot instead of gallop got its start because before cars, instead of speed limits, there were no galloping zones in towns, and of course, horses that could run fast without galloping were sought out and bred by gentlemen so they could speed through town without disobeying anti-galloping ordinances.
The Romans DID do it with chariots! And they raced on foot before chariots were invented! The remains of Roman coliseums, complete with still-existing tracks, still exist. Rick Steves visited one in one of his travel shows. Tourists still go there to race just for fun. The coliseums had both oval tracks (just like NASCAR) and sprint tracks (Just like NHRA). Except without the cars.
I’d bet that races have existed long before writing was invented 5,000 years ago.
I think racing is the world’s oldest sport. The first thing we do as children is to try to get somewhere first by running, then later on bicycles.
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[quote=“B.L.E, post:98, topic:97575, full:true”]
I think racing is the world’s oldest sport. The first thing we do as children is to try to get somewhere first by running, then later on bicycles. Then we get driving age it becomes serious.
There isn’t a kid in this world who didn’t run somewhere as fast as he could just so he wouldn’t be a “rotten egg”.
I can just see it now. The police officer asks “where’s the fire?” and you tell him, “there’s no fire, I just didn’t want to be the rotten egg” or alternately “the bogie man was after me, it’s a good thing you showed up to scare him away officer”.
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For a guy who thinks this thread should be closed, you sure do have a lot to say. I recommend you practice what you preach and consider this thread closed.
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Let me add that if you really think drag racing, land speed records, sailboat racing, NASCAR etc isn’t “real racing”, I suggest you try those sports and show us how easy it is to win.
Well, the race is on
And here comes pride up the backstretch
Heartaches are goin’ to the inside
My tears are holdin’ back
They’re tryin’ not to fall
My heart’s out of the runnin’
True love’s scratched for another’s sake
The race is on and it looks like heartache
And the winner loses all
George Jones