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A real shootout at the dragstrip

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motomattx

10+ Year Contributor
3,955
1,621
Dec 9, 2010
wampum, Pennsylvania
I am not sure if anyone on here has seen on their news or not but I know it went national (it was on CNN), anyway there is an event called IFO (Import Face Off) the event travels around the country and happens to make three stops in this state, one in spring, one in June and one after the Shootout in September, we generally try to go to them all, there are usually a decent amount of Dsm/Evo's that show up (lets say around 10 of them) so over the weekend my buddy and I went to the June round at Dragway 42, this strip was just recently bought by a new investor who planned to put around one million dollars into it, but ended up going for broke and invested around ten million dollars in it so that it would be on the same level as the larger tracks like Norwalk, although 42 doesn't directly compete with Norwalk because they chose a different sanctioning body so as to not compete with them.

This track is only around 30 miles south of Norwalk and is a very nice track and its only been open in its current state for a few years, again the track is beautiful, new concrete everywhere, new timing system, the grounds are manicured like a golf course, it looks like a million bucks, just a nice place to be. There were an insane amount of people there on Sunday, the staff at IFO are estimating 2000 people, I would say closer to double that honestly, with Covid there are still attendance restrictions so maybe that is the reason for what I saw vs what they estimate. Around 5:30 pm after the show was over and trophies were being presented, a drunken or drugged up idiot in a Chevy pickup truck decided to show up and start doing burnouts in the parking lot, throwing gravel at cars in the pits and at the families and everyone near them. Naturally there were some upset people very upset (it was 90 degrees and super humid and sunny out so tempers were high) a fight broke out, the owner of the track and the person in charge of IFO confronted the guy in the truck, the guy in the truck got out and punched both of them in the face, he then went back to the truck got a gun and started shooting, a person in the crowd with a concealed carry returned fire, all in all around 20 shots are known to have been fired, sadly around 6 people were hit in what was basically a active shooter situation, one person who was not actually involved but rather just observing was shot dead, others were transported either by themselves or by the paramedics that showed up 20 minutes or so later (which seemed like an eternity) we ended up locked down for a few hours as the place was surrounded by law enforcement.

We were very close to the action ,closer than I ever wanted to be, (my bike was parked literally where the shooting took place an hour prior and I went up and got it so that it would be safe by me where I could see it and so that it could be out of everyone's way), I had my buddy on the back of my Z125 riding through the pits and we heard the shots, they were almost directly across from us, as we were trying to move through the crowds on the bike which is slow, he said to me "that didnt sound like a two step" I said "maybe" it wasn't rhythmic the way that a two step is, several seconds later as we are working our way through the crowds around the trophy area we heard the announcer say "everybody get to your cars and forget it, go, go, go" right then we knew it wasn't a two step but what we expected, gun shots, people were running everywhere in every direction, basically running for their lives, I hit the gas on the bike and got to the other end of the facilities as quick as possible and waited for the police to come take care of things. It was pretty crazy, the shooter left the track in another vehicle, his truck was still on the property when the police got there and they are still to this hour looking for him and are looking for any video or pictures anyone has to be able to identify him, apparently they said for undisclosed reasons that they cant identify him from the truck that he left behind.

I know that there were some Evo/Dsm guys there, Early performance had their orange Conquest there, the red Conquest was there, Hobo Evo was there, etc. If anyone saw anything or has information I would urge you to come forward to get this guy off of the street, remember that this could have been any drag strip anywhere, it can happen.

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Thanks for sharing - I had no idea about this amid all the other shootings that occurred over the weekend. Each and every one of them are absolutely senseless.

What a shame. Sad to hear of the loss but also glad to know it wasn't worse and that you and your group are good!
 
I feel bad for the guy that died. This is a stark reminder to immediately move away from conflict. Even verbal conflict. Don't try get a closer look, don't pull out your phone, don't try even try to help. Leave immediately. Things can escalate faster than you can react.
 
I feel bad for the guy that died. This is a stark reminder to immediately move away from conflict. Even verbal conflict. Don't try get a closer look, don't pull out your phone, don't try even try to help. Leave immediately. Things can escalate faster than you can react.
Absolutely, always stay the heck away from anything that could get violent, this guy that was shot was watching the fight unravel rather than just getting in his car and getting out of there or walking far away, often times competing groups of Puerto Ricans at these events will be having words with each other in a language different than english, when I walk up on one of those gatherings I look at hands to see if anyone is reaching for a gun or weapon and then I get passed them as soon as possible, I was explaining this to my buddy that couldn't fathom this this event happened, I told him that not only did I know that one day it would happen but I was surprised that it hadn't happened sooner.

How tragic .. Believe me brother .. the Lord was with you that day .. he put that thought in your head to move your bike ..
I too believe that, and in the case of the guy that didn't make it, I suppose that his mission here was complete and he went doing something that he loved.

As an update, an arrest has been made and charges are being filed on one suspect and the guy in the truck has been identified, I hope that he gets everything that he has coming.

 
Absolutely, always stay the heck away from anything that could get violent, this guy that was shot was watching the fight unravel rather than just getting in his car and getting out of there or walking far away, often times competing groups of Puerto Ricans at these events will be having words with each other in a language different than english, when I walk up on one of those gatherings I look at hands to see if anyone is reaching for a gun or weapon and then I get passed them as soon as possible, I was explaining this to my buddy that couldn't fathom this this event happened, I told him that not only did I know that one day it would happen but I was surprised that it hadn't happened sooner.
Why do you have so much fear? You fear Puerto Rican or languages other than English? Do you shake when you step outside your home or at the idea?

I too believe that, and in the case of the guy that didn't make it, I suppose that his mission here was complete and he went doing something that he loved.
Why do you feel this way ?
 
Why do you have so much fear? You fear Puerto Rican or languages other than English? Do you shake when you step outside your home or at the idea?
I dont fear Puerto Rican people at all, or anybody for that matter, the Puerto Rican racers and their teams are very how should I say "passionate" when it comes to winning at the track and also when it comes to losing, they seem to like to harass each other/get in each others faces after the race is over in my own experience, and since I cant tell whether they are just trash talking or actually making serious threats against each other, since I am rusty on my Latin, I stay away from those confrontations, anytime there are large groups arguing I move away from the situation for that matter.

Why do you feel this way ?
Religious beliefs, I believe that when your no longer needed in this world to do Gods work, he calls you home.
 
Man, this sucks :( . Is it me or it is almost always donuts/burnouts that ruin car events?

At Epping NH IFO (where they had record attendance at IFO event), they must have had 5-6 police officers. I am surprised track owner got involved...

But this even usually has extensive 2-step competition, which sounds like gunfire, I wonder if this will continue?
 
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