James ‘ Birdman ’ Finney
Q A &
James ‘ Birdman ’ Finney
Street racing falls into the category of being pretty dangerous as well . What are your thoughts on street racing ?
Street racing is dangerous . People shouldn ’ t do it ( laughs ). But it ’ s just what we are . We wanna ’ race , we wanna ’ do something . And if there ’ s nothing out there for us to do , then that ’ s where we ’ ll be , on the streets . I love the no-prep game . It takes street racers off the street , it brings them to the race track , and it ’ s the best place for them .
Would you say the excitement and thrill of street racing with the combination of no-prep and the danger of getting caught is what makes no-prep such a big hit ?
No . I would say that ’ s what started no-prep . What made no-prep so big was a lot of big-name racers and , honestly , the Street Outlaws . People
that were watching them on TV could actually go to a race track , see the Street Outlaws race each other . It ’ s not like you can go see them race each other out on the street . So bring them off the street and bring them onto the track with a no-prep situation . It ’ s an excellent idea and the pioneers of no-prep did just that . That ’ s what made it big .
How does that work for your street races ? Is there a Facebook page you use to know you ’ re going ? And how often do you get caught ?
We get caught just about every time and the cops just run us off usually . And no , I don ’ t tell anybody when I ’ m going street racing because I don ’ t need the crowd out there . Because if you do that , somebody , one , is going to get hurt because they wanna ’ stand beside the cars — I won ’ t let go of the button if there ’ s somebody standing by the car — and two , the cops are going to show up . No , I don ’ t advertise that .
How well do you scout the areas ahead of time ?
Very well ( laughs ). Very well . We check the areas out , check the road out , check local law enforcement . I ain ’ t saying any more about that ( laughs ). No comment !
A lot of people feel that to be a successful no-prep racer , especially with cars as powerful as yours and Pro Mods , there ’ s got to be traction control involved . Is it ?
It ’ s not illegal . I ’ ve been trying to make it illegal because it takes away from the whole idea of the sport . You can go buy an expensive traction-control device and it gives that person a great advantage out there . I don ’ t have traction control . And I ’ m a strong advocate for no traction control . If they don ’ t outlaw it in these no-prep races , I ’ m going to have to get it myself one someday because I won ’ t be able to keep up . They ’ ll start to get me . And I can ’ t have that . Gotta ’ keep up with the times . It ’ s a class I don ’ t want to see killed because of money . If people can go out and spend five , ten , fifteen-thousand dollars on traction control , they ’ ll kill the class because the little guy can ’ t afford that , you know , for a little box to go into his car . You can ’ t do it .
You ’ ve made a name for yourself winning some of these big races , but what are your plans for down the road ?
You ask some tough questions ! You know , I ’ m just rolling with the punches . Me and my crew , my guys , we ’ ve been friends for 25 years . We ’ re just a bunch of garage guys who are out having fun and rolling with the punches . So whatever happens , happens . I hope no-prep stays around for a while . We ’ ve never had such a good time drag racing . We ’ ve raced more than we ever have in all of our lives . I tell you , in two years , we ’ ve made more passes with someone in the other lane than we have the whole time we ’ ve been drag racing . So I hope it keeps going like it is . DI
PHOTO : DYLAN MCNEIL
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