Drag Racing

Prince George's County authorities have identified the final two victims killed after a car plowed into a crowd of spectators watching an illegal drag race, as county officials continue to investigate the long-standing problem of street racing. Otis Williams, 35, of Indian Head and Milton Pinkney, 41, of La Plata were among eight killed early Saturday when a Ford Crown Victoria drove through a smoky haze and straight into a crowd of people who had moved onto the highway to watch the race.

ACCOKEEK -- They come to the street races for the thrill, to win money on bets, to prove something. But yesterday, racing fans, along with residents, mourners and curious onlookers, came to a flat stretch of highway here for a very different reason: to leave flowers, to pick up car pieces, to grieve and to ask if something could have been done to stop a drag race that killed eight people early Saturday morning. Some wondered aloud whether the tragic accident will bring an end to the chronic, dangerous scene or if the races will just crop up in a new location.

Geneva Williams chats warmly as she helps the next customer at the Highland Post Office. It is hard to imagine that this soft-spoken person is known up and down the East Coast as "Gee Wiz" Williams -- the woman who slams the pedal to the floor during weekend drag races, pushing her modified 1968 Chevrolet Camaro to speeds of 187 mph in 7.35 seconds. Williams, 43, is not just a competitor in the Outlaw 10.5 Series of drag racing, so named for the narrow 10 1/2 -inch tires on which the cars run. She is the fastest female driver in the category, having set the record in 2003 at Cecil County Dragway in Rising Sun. In seven races this year, the Laurel resident has had two first-place finishes, on May 19 and June 11. She aptly describes her vehicle as "so violent and forceful" that its front wheels lift 2 to 3 feet off the ground at the start.

Lawrence "Larry" Albert Kopp, a national drag racing champion who began as a Rosedale tow-truck operator and mechanic, died of pancreatic cancer Monday at his Rosedale home. He was 56. For the past three decades, he rebuilt Chevrolets for racing, including Corvettes, and drove a quarter-mile in 7.594 seconds. He won the 1976 National Hot Rod Association Modified Eliminator Championship in Ontario, Calif., and the 1998 Pro Stock Truck title in Pomona, Calif. Mr. Kopp also appeared in Chevrolet advertising for its 1999 S-10, a small version of a pickup truck.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Nicolle Douglas faced a decision. She could pay for breast enlargement surgery - or spend the money to enhance the speed of her strawberry-red 1993 Ford Mustang GT. "I chose the supercharger," Douglas said. Douglas, a 29-year-old car enthusiast, created a Web site that features photographs and information about her Mustang. She is also the founder of Girls Can Too, an online magazine created for women who love cars. She describes it as a "Cosmopolitan magazine for female car enthusiasts."

Epamenondas Efthemeos Efantis may be the greatest drag racer you've never heard of. Even if he uses the shorter, Americanized version of his name, not many race fans know Paul Efantis. But Efantis, in his import performance shop in Frederick that specializes in Toyota Supras, has put together a world's best street dragster. For the past two years, running in various organized drag races, his 1997 Supra has held the distinction of being the world's fastest Supra street car, having zoomed down a quarter-mile track in 8.82 seconds - 160 mph. Last year, he matched that mark to set an Import Drag Racing Circuit record that still stands as that series conducts one of its biggest events this weekend in Englishtown, N.J. And this year, while running full time in the Number One Parts Inc. Race Wars Sport Compact Drag Racing Association's series, Efantis has won an unprecedented four straight races.

Not everyone takes the road Angela Proudfoot has to reach her desired destination of being a professional drag racer. How many roads can there be, you might ask? Drag racing, that heart-pounding, earth-shaking, ear-numbing sport in which drivers buckle themselves in and set off as if blasting to the moon, is fairly straightforward. But what if you're a young woman interested in limber movement and what makes people tick? What if you had a double major in (modern) dance and psychology at the University of Maryland and want a master's degree in dance therapy to combine all of your talents and work with deaf people?

WHEATON - Drag racing appeared to be the cause of an accident early yesterday in which a car slammed into a utility pole in Wheaton, killing all three occupants, Montgomery County police reported. The three men - all from Silver Spring - were identified as the driver, Edy Armando Merlos-Morales, 27, and passengers Guillermo Manuel Garra, 23, and Sergio Lopez, 32. They were found dead when police arrived at the scene in the 2000 block of W. University Blvd. about 1:20 a.m. Police said the car, a Toyota Celica, was traveling westbound at a high speed when it struck a curb and crashed into the pole.

Scott "Mo Daddy" Mohler, a Frederick native who grew up in Glen Burnie, graduated from Glen Burnie High and spent some of his free time drag racing near the Interstate 70 Park and Ride, has become the world's quickest and fastest All-Motor, Dodge Neon driver. He earned the title last week at the National Hot Rod Association event in New Jersey, where he completed the quarter-mile course in his 1998 Neon in 10.62 seconds at 128 mph and won the Sports Compact Pro Stock Class. "I'm just an average Joe," he said via cell phone after completing his day's labor as a call-center supervisor at Adelphia cable company.

Let Dave Greytak be an inspiration. He's 59 years old. He's been drag racing, off and on, since he was 14 but turned professional only three years ago in the Super Chevy Nitro Coupe division.Now he has become the sport's world champion."Truthfully," Greytak said, "I was really excited for everyone around me -- my employees, my team, my family. It wasn't so much winning it for me, but the thrill I got from looking into everyone else's eyes."Greytak, a Maryland resident since 1985, lives in Centreville, the Queen Anne's County seat.