APRIL FOOL: Sarasota to give street racers a course of action

Bobby Simpkins sits behind the steering wheel in his beautiful red 2018 Dodge Challenger Demon in his Laurel Park neighborhood, just staring at the emptiness in front of him.

In 2018, when he bought the roaring 6.2 liter, Hemi V8, 1,025 horsepower machine, he paid just a touch over $96,000. Like a caged lion, he can only sit and dream of what the open land could be.

"I bought it, but I can't do anything with it," he says "This monster has so much horsepower, that if I take it out on Fruitville, I tap the gas pedal and I'm doing 60. So here it sits."

In six years of owning the potent leviathan, he only has 28 miles on it.  

He would love to challenge and race next to other street powerful vehicles like a Chevrolet Corvette or a BMW 335i E90 but alas, there's no opportunity to do so.

But in a latest city of Sarasota development, Simpkins will get his chance to flex his muscle car.

The city will begin, and allow, organized street drag racing, which will take place on Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 10 p.m. through midnight. Practice for the races will start at 9:30.

A special introductory race night will be this Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m.

The course has to be a straight shot, and the straightest path is Fruitville Road, starting just east of the Tamiami Trail roundabout and travelling to Goodrich Ave, which is approximately a half-mile. 

Fruitville will close to all traffic, beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and for this Tuesday, April 1, the road will shut down at 4 p.m.

Right now, the starting line, located in front of 1225 Fruitville, will feature a hand-held starter with a white flag. However, a specially designed electronic starting device, better known as a "Christmas tree" will hang over Fruitville from the turn markers. 

The lights go in a series of stages to ensure a competitive start, starting with blue, then a series of amber lights, followed by green and red, which indicate a start penalty.

The city will begin hiring a specialized artist to create the Christmas tree light system with a cost of no more than $2.6 million to taxpayers. Officials have indicated they would like to put their own spin on the Christmas tree with purple lights, a nod to the Van Wezel, as opposed to the standard blue ones.

Also on Tuesday, April 1, live music featuring the GatorNationalities rock band from Gainesville will perform cover songs like Drive My Car from The Beatles, The Passenger from Iggy Pop and 1000hp from Godsmack.

Food and drink vendors will line up along Fruitville as well.

According to several city officials, street racing is a problem all over Sarasota, so the effort to contain and organize allows racers an opportunity to challenge one another without harm to the general public.

There have been efforts for organized street racing in South Florida and in Tampa at the Gandy Bridge, but they've recently stopped. Sarasota may be the only city in the state to allow it.

Now, there is organized golf cart racing in The Villages, but speeds rarely exceed 30 mph. Fort Meade also has Nasgrass, a lawnmower speedway.

Unorganized street racing is illegal in Florida, with 12,979 citations issued from 2018 to present according to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. 

Police and EMTs will be on hand in case any crashes occur. Fans of racing can watch any time along Fruitville and see the cars on display, before racing, in the parking lot at Sprouts Market on Fruitville and Links.

However, fans will have to watch at their own risk.

Needless to say, Simpkins is elated with the news.

"This is phenomenal," he said. "Now I get an opportunity to show what this puppy can do. With this much horsepower, there isn't a car that can beat it, unless, of course, there's another Demon owner out there. I can't wait."