FEEDING THE NEED FOR SPEED RACEWAY A SAFE PLACE TO GET A MOVE ON.

Byline: Aaron Levine Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Littlerock's Ernie Narez sat in his 1990 Acura Integra, anticipating the green light.

The 19-year-old revved his engine, the roar of his motor drowning the sound of the wind blowing across the Antelope Valley.

But Narez was not worried about being caught by the police. He wasn't afraid that it is illegal to drag race on public streets. And although Narez doesn't race often, he was not concerned about injuries.

He didn't have to be.

Narez was at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale, where driving fast is legal and medical assistance is close at hand.

``It's just a rush to go so fast,'' Narez said, smiling, after he went down the quarter-mile track.

When novices such as Narez or race aficionados arrive at this safe haven, located in a remote area off Avenue T, they can drive their vehicles as fast and as many times as they want - legally.

``A $15 entry fee, as opposed to a $300 ticket for illegal drag racing plus a $600 impound fee for your car, is huge,'' said Narez, who said he attended a couple of illegal races in the past.

On this Friday, called ``Friday Night Grudge,'' Narez was with three friends talking, laughing and comparing car parts before taking the track. The four locals were among about 150 drivers who rolled through the gates between 5:30 and 10 p.m. The drivers' ages ranged from 16 to 65, although most were in their late teens and 20s. They came from as far south as Long Beach and as far west as the Conejo Valley.

``It's a hassle, but it's worth it,'' said 19-year-old Ryan Alcantra of Newbury Park. ``It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get here. With all the preparation time, it's more like a day-long event.''

``Friday Night Grudge,'' which started in 1982, is the most popular weekly event at the LACR, where anyone can race or merely test the speed of their cars.

``Everybody has fun here. You can even bring your family out and have them sit in the bleachers to watch,'' 21-year-old Manuel Aldaba said.

And although most drivers at Friday's races are intermediate to advanced, a new program on Wednesday night, called ``Street Legal,'' has attracted novice racers. The program started in April and is designed to keep older teen-agers off the street.

It appears to be working. Roll call has grown from 30 cars on the first night of ``Street Legal'' to an average of 80 cars. Last week, 112 cars showed up. Track manager Bernie Longjohn estimated that up to 85 percent of the vehicles on Wednesdays are driven by 20-year-olds and younger.

``A lot of cars that would be messing around are instead here getting their thrills,'' said Los Angeles deputy sheriff Scott Graham, who talks to young adults about the perils of drugs, gangs and street racing.

``It's a win-win situation. It doesn't create a problem for the residents driving around, and it gives the automotive enthusiasts a place to go to test their skills and test the performance of their cars.''

Graham, 38, not only races his car at LACR on Friday nights, he also challenges the four winners of the Wednesday night program at the end of each month.

``Everybody would love to beat a cop or to race a cop and not get a ticket,'' Graham said.

Of course, first-time drivers may wonder how their car could compete with a race car such as Graham's. The answer is called bracket racing, which, like a handicap in golf, levels the playing field.

In bracket racing, all cars first go through trial runs to attain an average or ``dial-in'' time. When a race takes place, the car that has a dial-in time slower than its opponent receives a head start. For example, if a 15-second car races a 10-second car, the 15-second vehicle will get a five-second head start.

``Theoretically, they'll both get to the finish line at the same time. But the difference is your ability to react at the starting line. If I leave a millisecond after my light turns green and you leave one hundredth of a second after your light turns green, I have an advantage, regardless of what car I'm driving,'' Longjohn said.

Most tournaments at LACR use bracket races, which also takes money out of the equation. People spending thousands of dollars for an engine have no more of an advantage than the average car.

``You can still beat any guy because you're a better driver,'' said Ali Anshar, the 28-year-old owner of Easy Street Motor Sports in Sherman Oaks.

Anshar said because of bracket racing, he won the championship at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma as a teen-ager three years in a row, despite driving a 14-second Camaro.

It also means that a variety of cars show up on Wednesday and Friday nights, ranging from hot rods to Volkswagens, souped-up Chevys to stock pickup trucks.

``I've even seen minivans and diesel trucks,'' said Palmdale's Ryan Trapp, 20, who has come to LACR about 10 times.

Added Longjohn: ``The best part is that whether you drive the car or I drive it, a man or a woman, a 16-year-old or a 65-year old, the car does not know who is driving it, so that's the great equalizer. Therefore, anyone can compete in drag racing.''

According to the Palmdale Police Department, there has not been a major problem with illegal street racing in the Antelope Valley in recent memory.

``That's because they have a local track,'' Graham said. ``Before the Terminal Island Racetrack in Long Beach was shut down, street racing was all but eliminated down there too, because it was a centrally located track.''

Terminal Island closed three years ago, leaving raceways in Palmdale, Bakersfield and Carlsbad, along with one at the L.A. Fairgrounds in Pomona, as the only other options.

``We need more tracks,'' Anshar said. ``At least this is here. If it wasn't, kids would get hurt racing illegally somewhere else.''

Moreno Valley mayor Bill Batey, who makes the weekly trek to LACR to race his 1973 Camaro, said that not enough is being done to accommodate the growing hobby.

``You see skateboard parks being made, but we tend to forget the kids who are driving their 3,000-pound cars,'' Batey said.

``There's a problem with illegal racing in every town - it's a matter of (getting) the elected officials to admit it. Without a doubt, it's a problem in my city, and with the lack of track availability, it's only going to get worse.''

Batey, who also is captain of the Riverside City Fire Department, vividly remembers an incident where a 1965 Chevy Nova was wrapped around a pole as a result of an illegal race.

``It's only a matter of time where we have another tragedy like that,''Batey said.

According to Longjohn, LACR has one of the lowest injury rates in the country because of the immediate medical attention provided and the safety inspections for all cars. Inspections include a brake check and making sure the car battery is tied properly.

Longjohn estimated that an average of two to three people are injured every year.

``If you're racing down an ordinary street and you hit a pole, you're in serious trouble,'' Longjohn said. ``Here, the worst you can do is hit a guardrail and 1,000 feet from you is a fire truck and an ambulance waiting to help.''

Longjohn also said parents don't need to be concerned about the environment.

The notion of violence, helped by movies such as ``Rebel Without a Cause'' and ``The Fast and the Furious,'' is not true at LACR.

``They know that we're not going to put up with fighting,'' said Longjohn, who added there has been one scuffle this year and it was quickly broken up. ``The guys at the gates are real cops and they will arrest you. People that fight know they won't be allowed to race here again.''

Most of the crimes reported in the past have been related to the stealing of equipment, but since the raceway has prohibited spectators from going into the pit area, the problem has abated.

When 61-year-old James Squires and his 58-year-old wife, Marie, first drove into the gates with their red and white Ford Lightnings, a few younger drivers smirked.

Their grins didn't last long.

``Once we go through the lines, they all know that we're dead serious,'' James Squires said. ``It gives us older people a charge to know that we can keep up with people like that.''

Marie Squires has won 11 trophies and James seven.

The two ``grandparents'' of the raceway have been regulars at Wednesday and Friday nights for the past two years. On most nights, James will come straight from his job at the L.A. Department of Water and Power to meet Marie, who brings dinner to the track before they race.

According to James Squires, the only reason the two might miss a night is to play in a bingo tournament.

The Squires should serve as a lesson to anyone who may feel self- conscious about driving against people half their age.

Said James Squires: ``When I'm out there, I feel that I'm as young as anyone else.''

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Preparing for a race, cars heat up their tires at the ``Friday Night Grudge'' at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale.

(2 -- color) Miguel Ortiz, Ernie Narez and Audel Narez, from left, wait for the L.A. County Raceway ``Friday Night Grudge'' races to start so Ernie can run his Integra.

(3 -- color) Two cars race down the quarter-mile track at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale. ``Friday Night Grudge,'' which started in 1982, is the most popular weekly event at the LACR, where anyone can race or merely test the speed of their cars for a $15 entry fee.

(4 -- color) Pit crew member Brent Parrino kicks back in a car seat doing double duty as a chair, waiting for the ``Friday Night Grudge'' races to begin at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale.

(5 -- color) Cars line up at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale, waiting their turn on the track in the ``Friday Night Grudge'' races.

(6 -- color) Dave Hickman, left, and Jon Harrison put racing tires on Hickman's 1991 Honda CRX before the ``Friday Night Grudge'' races at the L.A. County Raceway.

(7 -- color) Spectators at the L.A. County Raceway in Palmdale watch cars line up to race in the ``Friday Night Grudge'' matches. The weekly event draws racers from as far south as Long Beach.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer