On the right track

Senior Walter Martinez feels the adrenaline rushing through him as he straps in, knowing that in a few moments he will be traveling at 120 miles per hour. After the flash of a green light, his car comes to life, roaring and springing off the ground. The race will be over in less than 15 seconds, so he has no room for error. He must change gears with precise timing while being able to control a car going the speed of a roller coaster. Perfection is key.

The thrill teens get after receiving their license for the first time and the little experience they have driving can be the catalysts for accidents, according to drag car instructor Edmond Richardson. However, auto racing allows teens to release this urge and experience driving at high speeds, making them safer drivers on the roads, says Richardson. With the rising number of junior racing leagues, more teens like Martinez are finding auto racing to be a satisfying alternative to unsafe joyriding on the streets. Though Martinez has taken a brief hiatus from drag racing due to a near-accident on the track, he still believes that drag racing has allowed him to experience the thrill of racing cars in a controlled environment.

Pressure release

Martinez, who began drag racing during his freshman year, says the urge to stomp on the accelerator can be a powerful feeling for new drivers. "Once they get their car, they have to 'put it to the metal,'" he says. "Once you get that feeling, there is nothing else you care about." He believes that drag racing has helped him overcome the pressure to go street racing when he first started driving. "Without it, I would have used the main roads to get that adrenaline I get at the track," he says.

Senior Richard Higgins experienced the same feeling after he hopped into a go-kart at the age of ten. Hearing stories of his father's adventures as a professional race car driver had always fascinated Higgins, but nothing compared to the thrill of driving a go-kart. After passing his driving test in Maryland, Higgins went to a racing school in Arizona to get his Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) license, so that he could participate in racing events. Higgins went through rigorous training, during which he learned a variety of racing techniques. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 16 to 19-year-olds have the highest risk of car crashes than any other age group, mainly due to inexperience. However, Higgins says that the extensive training has allowed him to develop safe habits. For example, Higgins says that he has picked up the habit of always looking far ahead while driving, which gives him a wider field of vision and allows him to avoid collisions. "Training at a younger age, I was able to fall into the groove," he says. Both Martinez and Higgins have never been involved in a car accident.

Martinez says that drag racing has presented an opportunity to learn how to get better control of a vehicle while driving. Because he is put in an environment where he is going at extreme speeds that require uninterrupted concentration, Martinez believes that this concentration training can help him avoid accidents. "It prepares you for those accidents that you are able to avoid," he says. According to Richardson, since auto racers are more familiar with driving, they are more alert and can make better judgments on the road. "You can see something before it happens," he says.

Beyond the finish line

Racing on the track not only helped Higgins become a better driver, but also fostered a stronger relationship with his father. Since Higgins lives with his mother, racing served as a common passion to bring him and his dad together. Higgins says that it's hard for many teens to connect with their parents, but racing has helped him tremendously. "Racing gave me a chance to bond with my father just because we were doing something we both love," Higgins says. Richardson says that auto racing is a sport both teens and their parents enjoy. "Sportsman racing is family-oriented," he says. "They get to spend quality time together in close-knit area."

Martinez has felt a similar connection with his two older brothers and his father ever since they introduced him to the sport. Since his break from racing, Martinez has helped build a drag car that his brothers use to race. On one such project, they bought a Honda Civic and made it more appropriate for drag racing by replacing its motor. The hours they spend together in the garage or on the track have helped them create a strong bond with one another, especially since his brothers are both adults, Martinez says. "When we are building motors, we start joking and talking about lots of things," he says. "It gives just time to just chill and relax." Furthermore, Martinez's brother has inspired him to pursue a career as a mechanic. Being a drag racer and working with cars has helped him not only gain a considerable amount of driving experience, but carry out his passion in life, says Martinez. After becoming a mechanic, Martinez wants to get back into drag racing as a hobby. Higgins isn't quite as sure about his. All he knows is that he's going decide where he will live based on the availability of auto racing tracks. "I want to end up near a race track," he says. "I'm going to try to bend my future to find that place."