- 1320 A West Coast Story
"1320 A West Coast Story", an
independent film , is a feature length documentary on the subject of illegalstreet racing . It is presently showcased at its website. [ [http://www.1320movie.net “1320 A West Coast Story” – official “street racing documentary” website] ] As stated on its website, "1320 A West Coast Story" discusses aspects of thestreet racing subculture, and the producers claim it to be a “…groundbreaking documentary…attempting to debunk any misnomers brought about by a certain Hollywood blockbuster.” The film is still under development as of June 2008, and should be released in 2009. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVrOAw4xGs4 YouTube link which contains more info by producers of “1320 A West Coast Story”] ] It is also currently uploaded on the popular video sharing websiteyoutube under the heading “1320 movie”.Film Topics of Discussion
Drag Racing Standards
"1320 A West Coast Story" acquires its numerical title from the “standard” track length in
drag racing . Many consider the standard track length indrag racing to be exactly ¼ mile, (including theNHRA – the sanctioning body of legal drag racing) which translatesinto 1,320 feet. There is also some debate over the subject of track length, as drag races frequently also occur over half the standard length course, at 1/8 mile or 660 feet. [ [http://www.nitromater.com/nhra/6291-future-drag-racing.html Arguments in blog over drag racing track lengths, 1/8 vs. ¼ mile etc.] ] [ISBN 0962645451 "Those Wild Fuel Altereds: Drag Racing in the Sixties" By Don Montgomery]The Fast and the Furious Critique
As illustrated within the trailer to "1320 A West Coast Story", the producers touch on the popular
Universal Studios franchise The Fast and the Furious. While many people (law enforcement, politicians, watch groups [ [http://floridaagainststreetracing.com/street_racing_articles.html Article illustrating Police pointing to “The Fast and the Furious” as a motivation behind illegal street racing] ] [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1141096.ece Additional article "Street race carnage fueled by Hollywood" - June 11, 2003] ] blame The Fast and the Furious for increases in street racing, "1320 A West Coast Story" will address these issues in depth.Fact|date=June 2008 As the fourth installment of "The Fast and the Furious" is due out in 2009, so is "1320 A West Coast Story" It is not stated on the webpage for "1320 A West Coast Story" whether this is merely a coincidence, or planned. [ [http://www.1320movie.net “1320 A West Coast Story” – official “street racing documentary” website] ]NHRA Critique
The trailer for "1320 A West Coast Story" also discusses the
NHRA . The NHRA is the sanctioning body for professional drag racing. [ISBN 0962645419 "Hot Rods as They Were" By Don Montgomery] In the trailer, a gentleman states “…it (NHRA ) was basically founded as a solution to street racing, but over 40 or 50 years, it evolved into a professional racing organization, with a lot of money involved…” (at time 1:40 in movie trailer).The inference appears to question the modern day motivations of the NHRA; is its mission to generate money, or does its original mission of taking kids off the street and onto a safe track still hold true? [ [http://www.nhra.com/tracks/streetlegal.html NHRA – Original purpose of organization was to curb street racing by providing alternative legal solution] ]
On the NHRA website, it features individuals discussing street racing deaths, and then states:
“As many other legitimate drag racers and NHRA fans have pointed out via online chat rooms and Internet blogs, the deaths could have been prevented. There are 140 NHRA member tracks around the country that offer NHRA Street Legal Drags presented by AAA.” [ [http://www.nhra.com/content/news.asp?articleid=27251&zoneid=8 NHRA – discussion of street racing deaths…] ] [ISBN 9780801866647 "High Performance: The Culture and Technology of Drag Racing, 1950-2000 (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)"]
This film focuses on the street racing issues in California (West Coast), and its lack of tracks as mentioned during the trailer to the film. California is considered by many, including the NHRA, to be the birthplace of modern day drag racing. [ [http://www.nhra.com/apcm/templates/about.asp?articleid=3263&zoneid=101 NHRA – California as birthplace to modern day drag racing] ]
Partial List of Notable Interviews within film
*
Wally Parks (deceased) founder of theNHRA , additionally the first editor ofHot Rod magazine .
*David Freiburger former editor ofHot Rod magazine , current editor of Carjunkietv.com
*William "Big Willy" Robinson founder and President - Brotherhood of Street Racers
*John Naderi former editor Super Street magazine, current editor of Riceboytv.com
*Don Montgomery photographer, author of several Hot Rodding books (see references)
*Carroll Shelby automobile racer, designer
*San Diego Police Department
*Ontario Police Department
*Import scene interviews with actual street racers.
*Lisa Kubo female professionalDrag racer . World record, first to run sub-8 second quarter mile time in a Front-Wheel Drive car.ee also
*
National Hot Rod Association
*Wally Parks
*Street racing
*Drag Racing References
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