I think part of the equation is what are we defining as street racing? Two folks doing a couple of informal runs, away from other traffic and on limited access roads, or the heavy hitter trailered cars running 10 and 9 second runs essentially on fairly well travelled streets, for big money, and with huge audiences. Or those who have seen Fast and Furious too many times. I'm against dangerous, stupid, wasteful racing or showing off (see that guy burning his demon up as an example), whether its on the track or on the street. There is a way to have fun on the street while still being safe, at least for everyone else. That, rightly or wrongly, is something I'm okay with - as long as everyone is meticulous.
and as with anything else, you have to be adult and realize what you are risking. On the track, you're risking large financial losses if you wreck or blow the car up, and of course injury (mainly just to you, or the other driver). On the street, you have all those things, plus jail time, and death or injury to innocent bystanders. No one should do either without being as careful as possible to weigh the implications.
I see a very similar set of arguments in the gun control debates. One thing we can't do though is believe that street racing, even stupid, fatal, street racing doesn't happen. What we need to do is figure out what we're going to do to stop it. Is it education? Is it cars that max out at the posted speed limit? Is it mandatory jail time for first offenses? There's a lot of questions, and I'm not supporting or slamming anyone, just put some of my own thoughts down on this difficult issue.
