The Dodge Charger revved its V8 Hemi engine, the deep rumble echoing through the Ford City Mall parking lot as smoke poured from the rear tires.
Draco hit the gas and turned the wheel, sending the Charger spinning – or moving – in a tight circle to applause and cheers from more than 100 people.
“It’s an adrenaline rush – it’s hard to explain – but you feel free in the moment,” said Draco, the name the 21-year-old goes by on the street circuit. “You know, it’s one of the few times I feel like I’m in control of my own destiny.”
A Sun-Times reporter and photographer spent several weekends at these meetings, which have long drawn complaints about noise, disruption and danger.
They are often organized in minutes through a social network that taps into street racing culture. Many times, people leaving a meeting separated by the police will drive until they get the coordinates of another meeting that same night.
And despite a final blow that could cost participants their cars, there is no shortage of drivers or spectators.
“I love everything about what we do”
Draco has been going on dates since before he had a driver’s license. He fell in love watching his older brother travel to them. Cars and street stunts have taken over his life, even though his brother has left the scene and asked him to do the same.
“It’s, you know, big brother wanting to protect little brother, but I like cleaning grease off my hands after working on a car,” Draco said. “I love everything about what we do.”
It’s a story that’s played out in Chicago for decades. Lower Wacker Drive was a great weekend meeting place for four-cylinder cars until speed bumps put an end to them there a few years ago.
Encounters have spread across the city, now pulling big muscle cars into industrial parks, empty mall parking lots, and even downtown on occasion, much to the chagrin of residents and their elders.
“In 2016, it was just people burning or racing and not really doing that,” Draco said. “Then COVID shut everything down, so carpooling was pretty much dead, but since then it’s come back strongly and people started doing checks and road closures.”
A man, who drives by Draco, looks out of his 2018 Dodge Charger SRT as other cars circle nearby during a pickup in the parking lot of Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side, Friday night, Aug. 12 2022.
“This is a deadly hobby”
One of those purchases happened last month at the intersection of Clinton and Monroe streets in the West Loop. Traffic was blocked in all directions by makeshift roadblocks. A teenager was accused of throwing fireworks at the police.
The media fallout — with video — led the City Council to authorize the Chicago Police Department to impound vehicles involved in street stunts. The police must mail the owner “a notice of intent to seize” along with a probable cause statement and a police report.
A Chicago police spokesman did not know if any vehicles have since been impounded. People at recent events were also unaware of any bans.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42n.d) led the effort to remove drag runners and skimmers from the Lower Wacker, and he has been one of the most outspoken proponents of the closure ordinance.
“Since the ordinance was passed, we’ve seen some improvements downtown,” Reilly said. “We can’t directly tie this to the passage of the ordinance, but I think word has gotten out that Chicago now has a very tough ordinance on the books.”
Reilly said motorists know that if their car is caught on video, Chicago police will have reason to pull them over.
“Eventually we’ll find your vehicle parked on a city street and simply tow it away. And when you want it, you can pay the city $5,000,” Reilly said. “This is a deadly hobby and it doesn’t belong on our city streets.”
He mentioned a 20-year-old man who was killed while drag racing his best friend on Lower Wacker Drive.
Passengers hang from the windows of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup in the parking lot at Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
“It’s only a matter of time before there’s another fatality,” Reilly said. “If people choose to continue to break these laws, we plan to make their examples public by strictly enforcing the new ordinance.”
Draco, who wore a black ski mask to hide his identity from police, said the ordinance would happen but did little to stop the meetings. Most drivers seen in recent events had their license plates removed.
“What I think about the ordinance is, I don’t blame them because I understand what’s going on,” Draco said. “It’s fine to have fun and be sure about it, like we usually do, but a few weeks ago some were messing with the police, fighting them and throwing fireworks at them, so when you do that, of course that s– by ordinance it will happen.”
“We are not bad people”
Dee and Jojo were at a meeting earlier this month near Cermak Street and Lumber Street, standing side by side watching cars move in figure 8s. They asked that their last names be withheld.
“We’re not bad people,” Jojo said. “Every person here has a common interest and that is to feel the atmosphere and see cars that they absolutely love.”
“I think there’s a bad misconception with these meetings that it’s messy and uncivilized, but really we try to practice safety,” Dee added. “Everyone is trying to highlight safety and there are group chats and Instagram pages telling everyone to drive safe.”
People like Dee and Jojo rely on social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and even the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
Both drivers and spectators wait for the coordinates — refreshing their apps — and then rush to the location before the event is broken up by the police.
Passengers hang from the windows of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup at an intersection on the South Side, Friday evening, July 29, 2022.
As one corner of the street fills with cars, those at the back form a barricade that prevents the police from breaking through. A circle is formed, the pit designated for the movement of cars.
For the next 15 to 20 minutes, the cars take turns turning in tight circles, sometimes passengers hanging out the window, as the crowd cheers.
Sometimes, when the police arrive, the officers will not be able to pass the barricade in their cars and are forced to walk. They may write citations for illegally parked cars or observe the event until it breaks up, but participants said they did not receive any traffic tickets for participating.
Once the police are spotted, onlookers run to their cars before driving away. Many of them cruise around town until the next message arrives. This cycle repeats until 2 am or later.
A woman who asked to go to AM said that she has only been going to these meetings for three months. She and the others stood in the center of a pit as a car drove around them.
“We just like to be here and chill,” AM said. “It’s a change in gear from what our normal day-to-day life is, so it’s fun.”
People watch as a car goes in circles during a takeover at an intersection on the south side, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
A passenger wears a mask while hanging out the window of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup at a south side intersection, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
A car drives in circles during a check at a southbound intersection, Friday evening, July 29, 2022.
Passengers hang from the windows of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup in the parking lot at Ford City Mall on the Southwest Side, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
Passengers hang from the windows of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup at an intersection on the South Side, Friday evening, July 29, 2022.
A passenger wears a mask while hanging out the window of a car as it drives in circles during a pickup at a south side intersection, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
Passengers hang from the windows of a car as it circles during a takeover at an intersection on the South Side, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.
People run to their vehicles outside Ford City Mall after Chicago police officers break up a search warrant in the parking lot, Friday night, Aug. 12, 2022.