The RPM Act: How will the act affect us all in Englishtown, NJ (1972-2021)

Final Report:

Introduction

We have a very big racing community in the United States, it is a family of car enthusiast that not only encourages each other but help each other in terms of mental health. I, myself considered them as a shoulder to lean on when going through some very tough times. The racing community is something we car enthusiasts consider as family, which is one of the reasons why in 1965, the Napp family founded Raceway Park located in Englishtown, NJ. It brought the racing community closer together by offering multiple motorsports activities and holding national events such as the National Hot Rod Association for Funny Car and Top Fuel competitions. Thus, becoming one of the most distinguished drag strips in America and was ranked top five tracks in the country. Raceway Park offered two drag strips (1/4 mile and 1/8 mile), three motocross tracks, a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) road course track, competition go kart racing track, autocross track, ride and drive site and adjacent Old Bridge Airport.[1] But unfortunately the track announced its end of drag racing in January 2018. All quarter and eighth mile events came to an end while dirt bike, karting, road course and drift events continued. With this closure it has torn the racing community farther apart from each other now since there is not a safe place for them to legally perform drag racing activities. The introduction of Recognizing the Protection of Motorsport Act (RPM Act) began in 2016, shortly before Raceway Park announced their closure. The RPMAct was reintroduced by Congressman Patrick McHenry in 2019, his reason being to ensure that any attempt that was being made by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), which has been responsible for the regulation of modified motor vehicles used for racing, was not hindering the racing community. This approach was applauded by many individuals and organizations because over the past years, car enthusiasts have been at the forefront in modifying their street cars into race cars which have been used exclusively at closed race tracks. Although the RPM Act is set to protect the car enthusiast to have their right to race, it is targeting the community unfairly because there will still be pollution and people still modifying their cars therefor it will affect small local communities’ financially.

Many controversial issues and debates have been developed around these modified street vehicles. How will local retail and mechanic shops be affected by the RPM Act? What significance impact will SEMA bring by supporting this act? How will it affect small local businesses who rely on street car events? How will the RPM Act impact the environment in terms of converting vehicles to competition only? These debates and discussions are mostly geared by environmentalists who claim that these cars pollute the environment; hence, they have been blocking and regulating the use of modified vehicles.[2] The act of RPM has allowed individuals that have modified their vehicles for street races to use them without any interference from the EPA.[3]

The passing of the RPM act has had a significant impact on society because it has provided the individuals and manufacturers of these modified vehicles to sell and install aftermarket parts which helps bypass emission control in order to protect these parties from the wrath of the EPA. There have been claims that these vehicles are only used for street races but not for highway commuting, meaning they are used for competition purposes. Therefore, the EPA has been restricted from targeting the manufacturers of these vehicles from selling their products online.

The RPM Act and Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act has been associated with the RPM act in many ways. They are meant to work together to ensure that the pollution is prevented or controlled. The CAA was established to control the pollution emitted from stationary objects, mobiles, and automobiles. The Clean Air Act has delegated duties to the EPA with the obligation of protecting the public health and welfare of the nationwide from pollution. The EPA on the other hand has tried to establish the national ambient air quality standards for specific widespread pollutants based on the latest technology and science. The air quality standards which have been established by the EPA have focused on certain pollutants such as particle pollution, which is mostly on the ozone, Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead.

The government has set standards and principles which the EPA, through the supervision of the Clean Air Act, should ensure that there are adaptable plans and programs to attain and maintain the quality of air, therefore meeting the air quality standards. These plans should be established to ensure that emissions are controlled, and the harm caused by the air quality is downwind across all the states.[4] The Clean Air Act and the RPM have designed regulations that are put in place to ensure that pollution is minimized from growing numbers of motor vehicles especially the modified street cars and industrial plants. These acts have called for the application of the best available technology in manufacturing products, especially motor vehicles which have been on their radar for the excessive emission of products that are responsible for air pollution.

The RPM acts and Clean Air Act have regulations that have been designed to prohibit the vehicles that have been made for street races and they are advocating for the conversion of these cars to be dedicated racecars. Through the EPA the acts have been claiming that the converted race street vehicles should comply with the emission standards which have been set, but the RPM acts have indicated that these motor vehicles are no longer used in the public streets or highways.[5] The RPM Act and Clean Air Act have conflicted each other making the issue to be controversial for other organizations to come up to support the enactment of the RPM act. The act will allow the individuals that are car enthusiasts to have the right of owning these vehicles and even using them on public street roads and highways.

Many parties have been in the support of the RPM Act to be passed by the congress and their other organizations which are supporting the act through sponsorship to help provide the support of congressman McHenry. It also has been noted that the car enthusiast and businesses are putting more pressure on their lawmakers to ensure that the law is passed to protect their rights of manufacturing or converting the motor vehicles into a racecar.[6] This has not been easy task for them since the environmentalists and EPA through the Clean Air act are pushing for the protection of the environment and controlling of the common pollutants which are mostly produced by motor vehicles through the emission of these products.

The Clean Air Act has given the EPA the authority to regulate motor vehicles, but it has been absurd that these regulations have never applied to street cars.[7] When Congress passed this act, they exempted the street cars and authorized the EPA to regulate the non-race cars. The RPM act had to advocate that there will be no interference with the modified vehicles.[8] It has been observed that converting motor vehicles into racing car is part of a culture of American automotive which have played a major role in society. The automotive industry has been able to employ millions of individuals which has facilitated the growing economy.

Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA)

SEMA has been sponsoring and working with members of the congress to ensure that the RPM Act is passed to enable the clarification to make the emission-related changes from converting street racing vehicles into competition racecar. The support that SEMA has given the congress members has to advocate that the emission from these racecars is legal to produce and the industries are responsible for the marketing and installing race products. SEMA has requested its members and any car enthusiast to call for their congress members to support the RPM act.[9] The EPA through the CAA are sought to pass laws that will prohibit the emission of gases from the racecars but they have not succeeded in passing the bill.

SEMA being a massive aftermarket performance parts advocacy group has a great relationship with the RPM act because it has been supporting the passing of the bill since this will benefit the group, its members, and the car enthusiasts. Passing the RPM will deny the EPA the opportunity to seize the companies that are building and selling the parts which are meant for streetcars use only.[10] The EPA declared that it will not seize the racings cars but only the companies which are responsible for the building of these cars. Therefore, SEMA has been targeted by the EPA regulations which are claiming that the Clean Air Act has the authority to implement these regulations on the use of aftermarket performance parts on cars.

SEMA’s support of the RPM act is significant to many parties because it has been a heritage for the automobile communities in Englishtown to use the modified street cars for shows and events that are held in Raceway Park. This move will also ensure that individuals that are employed in the automobile industry within community do not lose their jobs with the implantation of the Clean Air Act.[11] SEMA has issued a notice in the recent past about the agenda of EPA going after the rights of individuals that have modified vehicles. This is because when the EPA has to hunt modified vehicles that are used in the public roads, the manufacturers of these parts of modified cars will be in danger even though it has been said that SEMA is just a trade association, but because of their involvement with cars; they are mostly targeted by the EPA and their association.[12] In some countries changing any part of your vehicle from the engine or modifying the exhaust of the vehicle is illegal.

In this photograph it is clearly showing the type of events that not just the EPA but the community are trying to ban. As you can see there is smoke coming from their tires after burning them onto the pavement, thus polluting the air. This is a very common thing to do before commencing a drag race whether it is on a closed area or public roads. All these types of cars that shows up to these events are always modified, meaning they are creating a lot more pollution than a normal car would do.

It is not just the pollution that many people are concerned about, but the safety of the community who are exposed to these events. As you can see there are no medical professionals in sight and crowds are standing in the middle of ongoing traffic by these vehicles that are getting ready to race. Anything can happen whether it is minor, severe, or fatal when exposed to these reckless events.

When the laws and regulations regarding these environmental acts and pollutions are implemented, events like street racing will be brought to an end and even the supercars that are seen in the movies produced by Netflix and YouTube will no longer be seen because these acts do not support the modification of these street cars.[13] Organized events are important and have a cultural impact on Raceway Park and they can only be supported by associations and corporations such as SEMA. But when acts like CAA are enacted and enforced, motorsport in the United States will be killed because of the car enthusiast and drivers invested in these events. When the RPM act is not included in the law, a lot of parties will suffer. This is why SEMA has been supporting and appearing in many advertisements that are sponsoring the implementation of the RPM.

Many studies and observations that have been conducted that are regarding the race tracks and modification of street race vehicles have indicated that these events are dying and the implementation of the CAA will just make things worse. Several race tracks have been established in the United States which rely on the small racing series to stay relevant and in the market. Race tracks have been closed during an outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and this has effected the automobile industry because many individuals who were employed in this sector lost their jobs.[14] The race tracks are significant and they have an impact on the community because they build and support the society through many initiatives. There are many aspects that surround the race tracks from those individuals that own the gas stations, garages, drivers, engineers, and mechanics who earn a living through the race tracks.[15] Therefore, the support that SEMA has provided for the RPM act has a great impact and is significant to many parties and individuals that are involved in the modification and automobile businesses.

Most of the people will be breaking laws especially in the streets and public roads which might be very chaotic because a lot of emission and pollution will be experienced hence the process cannot be controlled.[16] Therefore, to conclude the participation and support of SEMA in the RPM act, it is significant to keep the cultural heritage of motorsport in Englishtown race way for the next generation. It should be possible for individuals to save their racecars to enable the lawmakers to have the perspective and the importance that racecars are off limits. They should be willing to pass the RPM and support the idea of car enthusiast because their contribution to the economy is much more than causing damage to the pollution that is brought by the emission from the modified street vehicles.[17]

Economic Struggles

There are economic implications that can be caused by the implementation of CAA which will have an impact on the modified street car for both the manufacturers and owners. Through the EPA, the environmentalists have been addressing the significant impact of air pollution. When the EPA decided to have a full force implementation of the CAA, the economy will be affected severely in Englishtown because a lot of small local businesses will depend on the activities that surround the main event such as food, gas, entertainment, etc. in order to earn a living. If it weren’t for these events that surrounds the modifications of street cars, the small local businesses will be rendered jobless causing the community’s economy to deteriorate. The local tuners will also be affected due to the closure of Raceway because of the emission control bypass they offer to car enthusiast and any individual that will be found with the modified street car will be arrested and their cars will be seized by the EPA.[18] This might not be a smart move when considering how the economy will be affected because this will create a bigger problem than compared to the air pollution and emission of harmful gases into the air.

Tampering with the economy through the implementation of CAA and aftermarket devices that modify the street cars to be expensive because the EPA requires that when such modification are made, they should meet the standards of air quality set by the EPA. In order to meet the standards, individuals will need to hire expensive technicians who can work on the previous advanced technology which will only benefit the transportation workforce and programs that have been commissioned by the government through the new law.[19] Therefore, there should be a mutual agreement between congress and the EPA before the implementation of the CAA because this is more than protecting the environment. After all, the economy and lives of many individuals will be ruined.

Community

The Raceway Park will be affected by the RPM act in both positive and negative ways. Englishtown itself will be affected in a positive way because there will be less pollution in this area once the act is enacted. In the negative sense, small local businesses that rely on the events held by Raceway Park will have less customers therefore unable to make a living wage.

The RPM Act has a significant impact on the community because of many reasons which have been evaluated. Most of the factors that have contributed to the positive impact of the act on the community is that most of the individuals have been employed because of their involvement with the automobile industry and aftermarket companies which are responsible for modifying the street cars, building race tracks, individual owning gas stations, garages, being mechanics, engineers and even drivers who are participating in these race competitions.[20] Therefore, it can be concluded that a lot of people have benefited from the automobile industry.

Unfortunately, there are other implications which have been brought by the modification of street cars to the non-car enthusiast who feels like these events and the cars are a source of pollution to the environment and most of them have been advocating for the implementation of the Clean Air Act for them to preserve the environment. This has not been the case with car enthusiasts because they have been allowed to have modifications for the motor vehicles hence they can drive with pride and joy on the streets.[21] Those people that are not educated about the cars and their nature when modified, have found it difficult to understand the culture and heritage of motorsport since those who are educated about the cars have the belief that this is a way of preserving this culture and passing it through the next generation.

Environment Injustice

The implementation of the RPM act has been viewed by the EPA as a way of doing injustice to the environment because there are many activities that are involved around the modification of the street racecars. The emission from these vehicles has interfered with the quality of air that is in the atmosphere and the loud and costly noise from these vehicles has been evaluated by the EPA as a way of polluting the environment.

They have argued that motorsport is not safe and great for the environment but according to SEMA it has been observed that there are greater ways in which motorsport has contributed to the positive environment.[22] Therefore with the pollution that is coming from motorsport, the EPA through the CAA has the authority of implementing regulations that will ensure that there is a reduction in pollution of the climate from the modified street racecars.

In Englishtown New Jersey , there has been environmental inequality that has been brought by the RPM act but its benefits to the society and economy have been appreciated. Many individuals that are dependent on these events involving the Raceway Park race tracks and modified race cars will lose the clients hence there will be no profit to support the economy because of the implementation of the CAA. Therefore, there should be a mutual agreement between congress and the EPA before the implementation of the Clean Air Act because this is more than protecting the environment.

After all, the economy and lives of many individuals will be ruined. When the laws and regulations regarding these environmental acts and pollutions are implemented, events like club racing which are great sports in the history of American will be brought to an end and even the supercars that are seen in the movies produced by Netflix and YouTube videos will no longer be seen because these acts do not support the modification of these street cars.

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Notes

[1] “Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.” Wikipedia

[2] Farber, Daniel A. “Racing the clock: Deadlines, conflict, and negotiation in lawmaking.” The Timing of Lawmaking. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

[3] Ibid

[4] Parker, Stuart. “Auto Parts Makers Eye Suit Over Truck GHG Rule Emission Limit Provision.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.6 (2016): 26-27.

[5] Westin, Peter Gustav. Race Space: The Transformation of Iconic Motorsport Circuits From Public Use to Large Technical System (1950–2010). Diss. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019.

[6] Westin, Peter Gustav. Race Space: The Transformation of Iconic Motorsport Circuits From Public Use to Large Technical System (1950–2010). Diss. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019.

[7] Ibid

[8] Ibid

[9] Topinka, Robert J. “Racing the Street.” Racing the Street. University of California Press, 2020.

[10] Weishoff, Cameron M. “Pavement Is for Getting There, Dirt Is for Racing”: Identity and the Discourse of Motorsports Culture. Diss. University of Wyoming, 2021.

[11] Ibid

[12] Parker, Stuart. “Auto Parts Makers Eye Suit Over Truck GHG Rule Emission Limit Provision.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.6 (2016): 26-27.

[13] Skeete, Jean-Paul. “The obscure link between motorsport and energy-efficient, low-carbon innovation: Evidence from the UK and European Union.” Journal of Cleaner Production 214 (2019): 674-684.

[14] Yohannan, Suzanne. “Judges Press Governments On CERCLA Air Emissions ‘Disposal’Claim.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.8 (2016): 22-24.

[15] Parker, Stuart. “Auto Parts Makers Eye Suit Over Truck GHG Rule Emission Limit Provision.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.6 (2016): 26-27.

[16] Topinka, Robert J. “Racing the Street.” Racing the Street. University of California Press, 2020.

[17] Boningari, Thirupathi, and Panagiotis G. Smirniotis. “Impact of nitrogen oxides on the environment and human health: Mn-based materials for the NOx abatement.” Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 13 (2016): 133-141.

[18] Farber, Daniel A. “Racing the clock: Deadlines, conflict, and negotiation in lawmaking.” The Timing of Lawmaking. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

[19] Skeete, Jean-Paul. “The obscure link between motorsport and energy-efficient, low-carbon innovation: Evidence from the UK and European Union.” Journal of Cleaner Production 214 (2019): 674-684.

[20] Parker, Stuart. “Auto Parts Makers Eye Suit Over Truck GHG Rule Emission Limit Provision.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.6 (2016): 26-27.

[21] Farber, Daniel A. “Racing the clock: Deadlines, conflict, and negotiation in lawmaking.” The Timing of Lawmaking. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

[22] Boningari, Thirupathi, and Panagiotis G. Smirniotis. “Impact of nitrogen oxides on the environment and human health: Mn-based materials for the NOx abatement.” Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 13 (2016): 133-141.

Bibliography

Boningari, Thirupathi, and Panagiotis G. Smirniotis. “Impact of nitrogen oxides on the environment and human health: Mn-based materials for the NOx abatement.” Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 13 (2016): 133-141.

Farber, Daniel A. “Racing the clock: Deadlines, conflict, and negotiation in lawmaking.” The Timing of Lawmaking. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017.

Parker, Stuart. “Auto Parts Makers Eye Suit Over Truck GHG Rule Emission Limit Provision.” Inside EPA’sir Report 27.6 (2016): 26-27.

Skeete, Jean-Paul. “The obscure link between motorsport and energy-efficient, low-carbon innovation Evidence from the UK and European Union.” Journal of Cleaner Production 214 (2019): 674-684.

Topinka, Robert J. “Racing the Street.” Racing the Street. University of California Press, 2020.

Weishoff, Cameron M. “Pavement Is for Getting There, Dirt Is for Racing”: Identity and the Discourse of Motorsports Culture. Diss. University of Wyoming, 2021.

Westin, Peter Gustav. Race Space: The Transformation of Iconic Motorsport Circuits From Public Use to Large Technical System (1950–2010). Diss. Georgia Institute of Technology, 2019.

Yohannan, Suzanne. “Judges Press Governments On CERCLA Air Emissions ‘Disposal’Claim.” Inside EPA’s Clean Air Report 27.8 (2016): 22-24.

“Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.” Wikipedia, 20 Oct. 2019.