Is this 1955? And where did I park my DeLorean?

You’ll be wondering what year it is too after you read this report from WDIV-TV out of Detroit over the weekend. The Local 4 News, on a tip from a victim of a recent street racing-related incident, staked out the Epworth and Linsdale streets—a popular location for illegal street racing in the city—to capture the competition and the crowds lining the street. Following up on their story, Local 4 spoke with Detroit Police Department officials concerning the problem.

Deputy Chief Lt. Renee Hall confirmed that there are “consistent law enforcement efforts”, between the PDP, Michigan State Police, and the Wayne County Sheriff’s office, to curtail street racing in Detroit, up to and including impounding vehicles of racers and spectators. They’ve also set up surveillance cameras at known locations.

But their newfangled idea for combating illegal street racing? Opening sanctioned drag strips.

Somewhere in the dragstrip high in the sky, Wally Parks is scratching his head wondering where these folks have been for the last 60-plus years.

Yes, Hall is proposing using sanctioned drag strips to get racers off the streets, which is—dating back more than six decades–the very reason our sport exists. Now, to be fair, what the DPD is proposing is not building actual standalone drag strips, but rather, cordoning off little-traveled roads in the city and allowing people to race with supervision and safety measures in place

And that, while certainly not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, might just be the right idea for cities that want to battle street racing the right way. As we’ve seen, racers in growing numbers are showing a preference to the simplicity and machoism of racing on the street. Call it the ‘Street Outlaws effect’, the ‘Fast and Furious effect’, or whatever you will, but that’s the directions things are going. So rather than arrest them and run them off the street, why not give them a place to get their jollies, on a real road, safely and legally?

We like the idea. Let’s just hope they don’t try to call it groundbreaking.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY ON LOCAL NEWS 4