(Words and photos by Jacob Marshall) – No prep drag racing has taken the country by storm. Fans are lured in by the idea of high horsepower cars on a street like surface, and the drivers are eager to grudge race for big money, without the risk of handcuffs. While I personally have always enjoyed no prep events, their rising popularity was made evident when I got to the racetrack for Streetcar Takeover Indianapolis. Streetcar Takeover is a traveling drag racing event that focuses on some of the nastiest street cars in the country.
With dyno nights and late night parties, it always draws a crowd, and when it arrived in the motorsports capital of Indy, the city brought all it had! I arrived outside the track an hour early, only to find that there were cars lined up outside for as far as the eye could see! As I sat in this track traffic, I quickly noticed that I was surrounded by incredible cars. From a lowered Karmann Ghia and lifted trucks, to fully prepped racers with parachutes, there was no shortage of cool iron outside the track.
When I finally made it through the gate I grabbed my camera and ran for the starting line. Only to find that the same racecars I was sitting in traffic with, were running in the event! Cars come fresh off the street, into staging lanes, splash a little VHT on their tires, and launch off a flashlight with no time on the clocks. Long live late night no preps!
