Portland observer., April 06, 2022, Image 1

Police Hiring
Moves to High
Gear
‘Help shape the
future’ chief says
See Local News, page 3
PCC Names
New President
Adrien Bennings
called a passionate
leader
See story, page 2
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Volume LII • Number 07
‘City
of
Roses’
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • April 06, 2022
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Doug Lyons is champion drag racer who is promoting safe alternatives to illegal street racing. Lyons competes on sanctioned race tracks in Portland, Seattle and
Woodburn with his modified 1967 Camaro. “If you want to be a drag racer, it’s best to do it on a track,” he says.
Racing Sanctioned
Champion driver puts
emphasis on safety
By Beverly Corbell
The Portland Observer
Champion Portland Drag Racer Doug-
las Lyons Sr. understands the tragic conse-
quences of street racing.
One of the few Black drag racers in
the state, Lyons admits to making mis-
takes when he was a young man when he
started out illegally racing on Portland
streets but he gave it up after witnessing
negative outcomes.
“I saw too many bad crashes,” he said.
“It got too dangerous and there were too
many close calls. You get tickets, you get
your license suspended and you can get in
an accident. It’s just not worth it.”
But Lyons, 68, didn’t give up racing,
and instead began a 30-year career racing
on sanctioned tracks where he’s won many
trophies and plaques.
Now he wants to get more Black peo-
ple to join in and race at the track and not
on the streets, “where it’s safe and you can
have some fun.”
“If you want to be a drag racer, it’s best
to do it on a track,” Lyons said.
He’ll even teach you how.
“I would work with them to tell them
what they need to know, how to get in-
volved,” he said. “It can be expensive or
non-expensive and the faster you go the
more expensive it is.”
Lyons, who has about 20 trophies,
drives a modified 1967 Camaro with a
“big block Chevy engine” that is boosted
with nitrous oxide and can hit 170 mph in
eight seconds.
He said the first thing you have to
know is how to work on an engine.
“You have to be willing to do most of
your own work if you don’t have a lot of
money to pay people, and you also have
to do it in a safe manner. Safety is always
first,” he said.
Drag racing can get expensive, de-
pending on the kind of car you have and
the motor, which can range from $2,000
up to $20,000 and even higher. Lyons
recommends getting sponsorships to
help with the cost.
But it’s worth it if that’s your thing, he
said, and it’s for all ages, men and women.
“They even have junior dragsters for 8
year olds, up to 13 or 14 years old,” he said.
Lyons races at three tracks, the Wood-
burn Dragstrip, the Portland International
Raceway, and the Pacific Raceways in Se-
Continued on Page 12