The scream of the engines drowns out all other noise at the Muncie Dragway. The cars are heard even before their headlights cut bright streaks across the tracks, leaving a white cloud of fumes hanging above the pavement glowing underneath the spotlights.
It is here, in this gasoline-stained environment, where the members Ball State's Cardinal Cars automotive club bring their hot rods every Wednesday to see if they can shave a few fractions of a second off their racing time.
Fueled in part by a recent upsurge in the popularity of high-performance automobiles, the club is once again taking to the track.
"There's been so much curiosity, especially after movies like 'The Fast and the Furious,'" graduate student and acting president Chris Karson said. "That probably rekindled a lot of interest. There's a need and we're just trying to fill it."
Originally formed in 1998, the organization went on hiatus after most of its founding members graduated. Karson stuck around and helped form the current incarnation this semester. There are about 45 people on the mailing list, and about six or seven active members.
At the drag way, members sport their red and black polo shirts, making last-minute adjustments to their engines and filling their tanks. On this night, they brought out a full-sized 1979 Chevy van with a 454 supercharged engine in it. It's the vehicle's first time at the track, and it runs the quarter-mile length in about 13 seconds. The fastest cars can run the track in under 10 seconds.
Corvettes and Mustangs intermingle with modified station wagons and minivans at the strip. Karson believes one of the biggest misconceptions about the club is that people need a fancy car to participate.
"That's not how we judge people, by the vehicles," he said. "We judge them by who they are. Everyone thinks you need a good car, but that's not the case. It's just the interest of wanting to learn new things."
"You don't necessarily have to drive the best car, or a fast car, or be into drag racing," treasurer Tim Eddy said. "You can basically be a novelist. If you have an interest in cars, you're welcome to come by."
The organization hopes to attain a greater diversity of automobiles. Most club members drive vehicles made within the past 20 years. Foreign cars as well as newer models are becoming more popular among drag racers.
"A lot of that is because they're cheaper, more fuel efficient. That's also what people's parents buy for them, because the insurance is less expensive," member Nate Duncan said. "I'd venture to say that 'Fast and the Furious' also kind of stimulated that. In the movie it's pretty much all foreign cars."
Like in the Vin Diesel movie, they pour a good deal of funds into their wheels.
"What I get from donating plasma goes into here," said member Phil Bainbridge pointing to his 1994 Ford Escort GT.
"Just modifying it, I've spent about $700 to $800," Eddy said about his 1986 Monte Carlo. "It's not so much modifying it as it is maintenance, for which I've spent about $3-4,000. But it's a hobby, just something I like to do."
The club's black-and-red van features a new engine and drive train. The machine roars to life, rumbling like a mill crushing rocks. Members open the back doors to reveal a metal tank sticking up about a foot above the floor, and pour a jug of pink $3.50 a gallon racing fuel into it. The vehicle guzzles a gallon each time it makes a run.
Members claim the van is actually safer than most regular street cars. Drivers don a helmet and strap themselves in with a variety of heavy seat belts. The interior is lined with padding, and metal bars lock in place right under the side doors. The fire extinguishers and ambulances on the sidelines are reminders of the dangers of speed.
"This is the type of thing for the adventure seeker," Karson said. "But because of what we do, the one thing we ask of people is that they're responsible. We have people trained in CPR, who we call our safety officers, in case something does go wrong."
Karson, probably more than anyone else in the club, understands the dangers. He is wheelchair bound as a result of a drunk driving accident when he was 19. But he continues to mount the passenger seat and give his advice on engines.
"I try to be adaptive to my environment, but with a good group of people to help me," he said. "There's nothing I can't do,"
The engines rev louder still as the van edges onto the starting line. The vehicle may be bulky but it takes off in to the darkness with such force, that it feels like it's going to fly off at the end, like an airplane. Passengers are thrown back, pressed in between the springs in their seats and tight cords of the seat belts. At it's best, the van tears across the track in just over 12.5 seconds.
Only at the end of the night, when the cars have driven home, does the sound of crickets or anything else in nature prevail. Although members acknowledge the club isn't quite as glamorous as the world portrayed in "The Fast and the Furious," the adrenaline rush is as extreme.
"It's for the love of cars," Bainbridge said. "It's fun to see if you're a better driver than the other person, or see if you can beat your previous record."
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