Drag Racing

Marion Hare, of Millers, always was fascinated by drag racing. Three years ago, he was making plans for an addition to his house. Instead, he purchased a race car."My wife wasn't too happy," recalled Hare. "Now she likes it a lot better than me."Hare and his wife have been racing every week at the 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia. In fact, Hare has become so involved with racing he hasn't had any weekends to build that addition.His interest in drag racing came early in life. But he was side-tracked when he became involved in dirt track racing about 12 years ago. He owned a street stock car, with Ernie Jones of Westminster as his driver.

An Anne Arundel circuit judge sent two Glen Burnie men to prison yesterday for causing a motorist's death by drag racing on Route 100 and later trying to hide their involvement.Judge Martin A. Wolff sentenced William L. Isenberg, 36, to six years in prison for manslaughter and related convictions for leaving the scene of the crash that killed Pasadena resident Charles W. Miller, 31, on Oct. 25, 1996.Wolff, who convicted the two after a nonjury trial in November, sentenced Perry M. Waldvogel, 25, to three years for manslaughter and related convictions, with half of it suspended, plus two years of supervised probation.

A 36-year-old Glen Burnie man charged with manslaughter in the death of another driver on Route 100 last year testified Friday that he was speeding and drinking -- but not drag racing, as prosecutors claim.Prosecutors in Anne Arundel Circuit Court argued that William Isenberg and Perry Waldvogel, 25, drove away after they caused the crash of a pickup truck near Marley Station.Waldvogel's family later claimed that the car left damaged on the highway belonged to a member of the Waldvogel family, that it had been stolen earlier that night, Oct. 25, 1996, and was being driven by a thief, according to state police.

The whole point of drag racing is to become involved. It's infinitely more fun to play the game than to watch.And drag racing, with its handicapping system called bracket racing, makes it easy to become involved. All you need is a car and the desire to win. Drag racing's popularity has grown because it is easy for anyone to come off the street and race anything from the family car to a expensive dragster.Howard Smith of Finksburg started drag racing nine years ago the way most drivers get started, by going to the local track as a spectator with a few friends.

What type of motor sports enthusiast would you expect to say the following?"I love the thrill of racing, the feel of acceleration. It is impossible to describe. Even if I lose a race, I still feel high."These weren't the words of a drag racer or sprint car driver, but the feelings of snowmobile racer Mike Haga of Gamber.Around this time of the year, most motorsports are winding down. But one is just beginning -- drag racing with snowmobiles. The first race of the year was run last Sunday on the grounds at the Kingsdale, Pa., Volunteer Fire Company just over the state line from Taneytown.

If you ask Marvin Ford of Westminster the best way to go drag racing, his reply would be, "On two wheels."Ford is one of many Carroll Countians who enjoy drag racing on motorcycles at 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia. Like most two-wheel competitors, he started his drag-racing career behind the wheel of a passenger car.Ford began racing in 1979 with his brothers, Marion and Malcolm. His first car was a 1957 Chevrolet. He also owned a motorcycle that he rode during the summer. Satisfied with the car, he never gave any thought to racing his bike.

Drag racing has grown in popularity because it appeals to all levels. From the professional driver to the weekly bracket racer to the occasional hobbyist, everyone can enjoy their day at the track.Local tracks like 75-80 Dragway in Monrovia provide the occasional competitor like Dano Passaretti of Sykesville a safe place to race with friends when time permits.Until eight years ago, the 33-year-old Passaretti had never been to or thought about going to a race track. His boss, Jeff Doffmeyer of Mount Airy, and some other co-workers began bugging him to go the races with them.

Finksburg's Charles Brittain always has enjoyed the fast lane.He has been involved in racing for more than 18 years and was a regular at Dorsey Speedway as a crew member on a championship late-model team. He raced a couple of times in the daring Figure-8 division.After Dorsey closed, Brittain turned to drag racing, where a lot of his friends were competing. He found it less exciting and more expensive than oval racing. Three years ago, he discovered an affordable way to race -- go-karts."Racing cars was becoming too expensive," said Brittain.

A Carroll County teacher killed in a head-on collision on Route 140 near Finksburg apparently was the victim of drag racing, high-speed competition that is on the rise in the county, state police said yesterday.Geraldine Lane Wu, 42, a Westminster woman who taught middle school and had three children, was dead at the scene soon after the Monday night crash, police said. Her 14-year-old daughter, Min-li, and the other driver involved in the crash were released yesterday from the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

At Vince Sigismondi's Baltimore County apartment backing up to Interstate 70 near the city line, the early-morning hours on weekends frequently bring the sounds of drag racing. "I usually come out between 1 and 4, and smoke a couple cigarettes and exercise my leg a bit. I can sit out there and hear them doing the quarter-mile," the 51-year-old Army veteran said Monday. "I say, 'God help them if they hit something. ... They're finished.' " Early Sunday morning, as Sigismondi was dozing at his apartment off Ingleside Avenue, two lives came to an end on the lightly traveled stretch of I-70 inside the Beltway when an apparent drag race took a deadly turn.