The EPA Wants To Kill Racing Fun

GReddy Racing Scion FR-S (Credit: Scion)

The U.S. EPA doesn’t want you to take a regular, road-going car and turn it into a track-only monster. This shocking news (or maybe it isn’t, depending on your view of the EPA) was pointed out by SEMA, which is hopping mad about the whole thing.

Apparently, the EPA not only wants you to not convert your Porsche Cayman or Ford Focus ST into a true-blue racecar, it wants to go after the people who would help you live that dream. The proposed government regulation would outlaw the sale of specific aftermarket components. According to SEMA, the whole thing was slipped into regulation that’s about emissions and fuel efficiency, which seems like a bit of a stretch.

Already, the Clean Air Act outlaws specific modifications for road-going vehicles with the aim of cutting down on pollution. SEMA asserts that Congress never intended the law to be enforced on racing vehicles of any kind, affirming that intention repeatedly.

SEMA says that it isn’t making up the EPA’s plans, because it met with officials to double check on what they were thinking. The only kinds of aftermarket modifications the agency is wanting to target have to do with emissions. SEMA is weighing its options right now, saying it will keep trying to reason with the EPA “through the administrative process.” If that doesn’t work, SEMA isn’t beyond appealing to Congress for some help. It also mentioned the possibility of lawyering up and letting a judge decide the matter, if that’s what it comes to.

For now, everything’s up in the air. Come July of this year, we’ll all find out if the EPA is hell-bent on choking out the fun in motorsports, or if the agency realizes it doesn’t want to go there. Hopefully it’s the second option, otherwise a nasty fight is likely to follow.